Rod Funseth

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington,[11] Funseth's father was a men's clothing store operator and salesman, born in Sweden.[2][12] Rod competed with his older brother Carl for city junior titles[13] and graduated from North Central High School in 1951.[14] Funseth briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow[3][15] to study civil engineering, but did not graduate.[16] He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[17]

Funseth returned to Spokane after a semester and worked in various jobs in Washington while competing as an amateur.[18] One of these brief jobs was as a civilian draftsman at the Bremerton Navy Yard, west of Seattle.[2] He won the British Columbia Amateur in 1956 and turned pro that fall, first in Palm Springs, California.[19] In 1959, Funseth became an assistant pro under Masters champion Claude Harmon back east at Winged Foot,[20] north of New York City and later at Thunderbird in Palm Springs.[21] Funseth entered a handful of tour events in 1962, and received sponsorship of $800 per month from Spokane's Athletic Round Table (ART) in 1963 to allow him to play full-time. He played out of Esmeralda, a municipal course in east Spokane built in the mid-1950s. It was initially funded by ART (land and clubhouse) and was named for the group's mascot, a grinning cartoon mare.[21][22] Funseth had the smiling horse insignia on his tour bag for several years, which invited frequent inquisitions.[23] Keeping meticulous records of all his earnings, he reimbursed the ART to the last dollar.[24][25]

Funseth played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1963 through 1979 and won three tour events. The first was the Phoenix Open Invitational in 1965 at the Arizona Country Club, which came a week after losing a final round lead at the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs.[26] Funseth's second win came eight years later at the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, the season-opener in 1973 at Riviera.[27] His final PGA Tour win came at age 45 in 1978 at the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open,[11] which paid for his horse barn.[28][29]

His best finish in a major championship was just months earlier, a tie for second at the Masters, one stroke behind Gary Player.[30] Funseth was in the last pairing on Sunday and had a three-under 69, but Player carded a record-tying 64 (−8) for his third green jacket.[31][32] Funseth birdied the par-5 15th hole, but parred the last three, with a putt left on the lip at the 16th and another narrowly missing on the final hole to force a playoff.[33]

Funseth was known on tour as an avid fisherman,[3][15] a passion shared by Johnny Miller,[34] his next-door neighbor in Napa,[1] and Jack Nicklaus.[23] The three played in an exhibition golf match in Spokane in 1975,[35] a rarity for Nicklaus at the time.[36]

Funseth became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour after reaching age 50 in April 1983. He had a great deal of immediate success, winning the unofficial Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (team event with Roberto De Vicenzo) in early May,[37] and a nine-stroke victory at his tour debut at the Hall of Fame Tournament three weeks later in North Carolina at Pinehurst No. 2.[6][38] Funseth also finished second to Billy Casper in a sudden-death playoff at the U.S. Senior Open in July.[39]

Funseth's condition declined in 1985 as his body weight was reduced to 100 lb (45 kg) by September and his breathing assisted with oxygen.[25] He died at age 52 at his home in Napa, California, beside the 12th hole of the Silverado Country Club,[4] next door to friend Johnny Miller.[1] In 1999, he was inducted posthumously into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.[45]

Funseth was survived by his wife Sandi (née Hawkins), a former competitive water skier from Redwood City,[1] and their two children, Lisa and Mark, in their late teens.[7][11] He met Sandi during the rainy Crosby event at Pebble Beach in January 1965, when she was a spectator in a long leg cast (from a snow skiing accident) and had been offered shelter in a tournament tent;[2] they were married later that year.

• Rod Funseth at the PGA Tour official site
• State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame – Golf
• Rod Funseth at Find a Grave