News And Notes

Out of His Funk

A SLOW start (72-72, four over par) doomed Fred Funk in his senior debut. Funk admitted that the pressure of being among the pretournament favorites got to him. "I was telling myself to be patient, but I wasn't patient," he said. "I was getting mad and storming off the course. That's not like me." Then, on Friday evening, Funk bumped into Gary Player. "Gary told me not to let the media put pressure on me," he said. "It's still golf and I still have to go out and play." Renewed, Funk shot 65-70 on the weekend to finish 11th. Any regrets? "I wish [Player] had talked to me on Wednesday." �-- Art Stricklin

"We were careful to dip the butts in water before we stamped them out, but the way the greens are, you have to smoke something." �-- JIM THORPE, WHO, LIKE HAJIME MESHIAI (ABOVE), SMOKED DESPITE PARCHED CONDITIONS THAT PREVENTED SPECTATORS FROM DOING THE SAME

FIRST ACTS
A number of players at the U.S. Senior Open have realized significant achievements in careers other than golf. Here are some of the more noteworthy. --J.G.

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