Derksen wins by two strokes

Updated: April 10, 2005, 11:59 AM ET

Associated Press

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SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands -- Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands shot a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Madeira Island Open by two strokes.

Derksen, who won his second European Tour title, knocked in six birdies and a bogey to finish at 13 under and beat overnight leader Andrew McLardy (70), and Gary Orr (69). Derksen also won the 2003 Dubai Desert Classic.

Kyron Sullivan, who led Friday and Saturday, finished in a tie for seventh after carding a 3 over. Sullivan had five bogeys and two birdies in his final round.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

Woods on third-round 65: 'Not bad, huh?'

Updated: April 10, 2005, 12:25 PM ET

By Ivan Maisel | ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The specter of Tiger Woods with a three-stroke lead and one round to play at the Masters Tournament revived a feeling that has lain dormant for three years: the utter lack of drama in the air in anticipation of the final round.

Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesWoods birdied seven consecutive holes in his third round.

Really, can we expect a Chris DiMarco or a Thomas Bjorn, who's four strokes back, to prevent Woods from winning his fourth green jacket? DiMarco surrendered a four-stroke lead in the time it takes to watch PTI, give or take a Kornheiser rant. Give us 22 minutes, and we'll give you the world? How about give DiMarco 22 minutes and he'll give you the lead.

Bjorn is the greatest player Denmark has ever produced, and may be as tortured as Hamlet. A year ago, he walked out of the Irish Open claiming he had "demons in his head."

Woods is on the cusp of his ninth major championship, his first in three years. The drama that golf produced as Woods rebuilt his swing, such as the Phil Mickelson-Ernie Els duel at Augusta National a year ago, is receding into the past.

The overnight storyline when darkness interrupted the third round -- could Woods overtake DiMarco? -- dried up before the morning dew did. Think Germany overtaking Poland, Michael Phelps in Lane 4 at the local YMCA swim meet.

It took Woods 22 minutes to catch DiMarco on Sunday morning, and another 10 or so to pass him. Woods birdied his first two holes, while DiMarco opened with a double-bogey at No. 10.

"I don't think Chris would've ever thought standing over his second shot at 11 that he'd be tied with Tiger," Bjorn said.

Woods birdied No. 12 and No. 13 as well. As he stood on the 14th tee, 13-under, Woods had strung up a record-tying seven consecutive birdies. He was 9 under for the round, and the course record of 63 appeared to be his for the taking.

Just as quickly, however, Woods faltered. He bogeyed the next two holes, and parred in for a 65 and a 54-hole total of 205. DiMarco, rather than seize the opportunity, began matching Woods shot for shot. He, too, bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes and threw in another at the 17th. That's a back-nine 41, a third-round 74, and a three-shot deficit to Woods.

DiMarco's assessment: "I really can't think of a poorly struck shot, and I shot 41. ... You had to expect it. There were 27 holes left. Anything can happen in 27 holes. Anything can happen in nine holes."

Woods' assessment: "Not bad, huh?"

His 205 matches his score after three rounds the last time he won at Augusta, in 2002, back when Woods' kingdom stretched, as Mufasa said, as far as the eye could see.

Three years later, a new swing has eliminated the old certainty. Woods is still capable of the stray hole or two. He had a day full of them on Thursday, when he played 12 holes in 2 over, and he leaked some oil getting the third round finished Sunday morning.

Woods is sniffling. The pollen is out in force. Judging by the golf Sunday morning, the pollen may be his toughest opponent.

"I started well today," Woods said. "I kept it going. I'm in position. ... Most majors, you're going to make a bunch of birdies. Most majors are a bunch of pars. The greens are soft and receptive."

Ho hum. Tiger's ahead.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Ivan.Maisel@espn3.com.

Final-round scores from Madeira Island Open

Updated: April 10, 2005, 11:30 AM ET

Associated Press

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SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands -- Final-round scores from the $770,000 Madeira Island Open at the 6,826-yard, par-72 Santo da Serra Golf Club:

Robert-Jan Derksen, Netherlands   67-70-71-67-275

Andrew McLardy, South Africa      67-71-69-70-277
Gary Orr, Scotland                69-70-69-69-277

David Higgins, Ireland            69-66-74-69-278

Tom Whitehouse, England           71-69-71-69-280

John Bickerton, England           66-69-74-72-281

Andrew Coltart, Scotland          68-71-72-71-282
Mikko Ilonen, Finland             67-74-69-71-282
Kyron Sullivan, Wales             64-70-73-75-282
Simon Wakefield, Wales            68-72-72-70-282

David Drysdale, Scotland          70-73-70-70-283
Knud Storgaard, Denmark           69-74-71-69-283

Michael Kirk, South Africa        68-76-71-69-284
Stuart Manley, England            70-70-72-72-284
Richard McEvoy, England           65-74-73-72-284
Rolf Muntz, Netherlands           70-67-73-74-284
Jarmo Sandelin, Sweden            71-72-74-67-284

Matthew Morris, England           65-74-76-70-285
Van Phillips, England             70-69-70-76-285
Stephen Scahill, New Zealand      64-73-72-76-285
Graeme Storm, England             74-69-74-68-285

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

Funk is feel-good story at TPC Updated: April 3, 2005, 5:22 PM ET By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com 0 0 0 EMAIL PRINT PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- After five days, three lengthy weather delays and, oh, let's say a few billion raindrops in the greater Ponte Vedra Beach area, The Players Championship came down to five feet, eight inches. And 165 pounds. And 48 years. AP As usual, Funk showed plenty of emotion on the course during the final round. Those are the pertinent numbers for Fred Funk, who made a par putt on the final hole that was just five inches shorter than himself to claim the biggest title of his career. The other applicable statistic is 85.7 percent. That's the ratio of fairways he hit this week. So for everyone out there who believes that only long bombers can win important events on tour these days, Funk just poked that theory down the fairway and out the window. "I felt kind of like Herbie the Volkswagen, the Love Bug, because I'm just out there just hitting my little pea-shooters and the bombers are going 40 by me," Funk said in his usual candor after the round. "I tried not to let that bother me, because I knew it was more important to be in the fairway." Funk is an unwonted champ, but hardly an unwanted one. Followed by a band of brothers known as Funk's Punks, he is a man of the people, a guy who cherishes the value of such a title. You see, he wasn't born onto the tour like some players. He was an assistant golf pro. He coached golf at the University of Maryland. He was a newspaper circulation supervisor. And now he's making headlines of his own. Such as: "WE GOT THE FUNK" and "FEELIN' FUNKY" and even the somewhat palatable "FUNKADELIC!" After all, it's his unusually cool surname that first makes most Punks aware of the man known as Chickenhawk. What makes them stick around is his unusually cool personality on the course. "The gallery really started jumping on when they saw me start getting closer and closer, and then I actually got the lead," Funk said. "It was pretty loud and emotional." And so was he. When Funk narrowly missed a putt down the stretch on Monday afternoon, he fell over backwards with emotion, lying down on the green for a few seconds before returning to the business at hand. Later, when he made that five-foot, three-inch putt on the 18th hole, he responded in typical Fred Funk fashion, slamming his hat to the ground like a touchdown celebration. "I knew I hadn't had the tournament in my hand at that point yet because someone behind me could catch me, and I knew that," Funk said. "But it was just pent up emotions, I think. I really felt good." How could he not? After all, that's a pretty weighty accomplishment for a guy who came within one snooze button of never realizing his dream. Funk lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, a mere five minutes from the TPC-Sawgrass course that hosts the event. On Saturday, while most of the field was pacing through the locker room, waiting through another weather delay, Funk was at home. Asleep. Now he'll have reason to rest easy, since the victory comes with a five-year exemption on tour. Funk sarcastically asked, "What am I going to do with that?" after the round, since that would make him a 53-year-old in a land of young bucks. But don't bet against him. After all, Fred Funk has already proven that size doesn't matter. Maybe age doesn't, either. Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

Funk is feel-good story at TPC

Updated: April 3, 2005, 5:22 PM ET

By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- After five days, three lengthy weather delays and, oh, let's say a few billion raindrops in the greater Ponte Vedra Beach area, The Players Championship came down to five feet, eight inches.

And 165 pounds.

And 48 years.

APAs usual, Funk showed plenty of emotion on the course during the final round.

Those are the pertinent numbers for Fred Funk, who made a par putt on the final hole that was just five inches shorter than himself to claim the biggest title of his career.

The other applicable statistic is 85.7 percent. That's the ratio of fairways he hit this week.

So for everyone out there who believes that only long bombers can win important events on tour these days, Funk just poked that theory down the fairway and out the window.

"I felt kind of like Herbie the Volkswagen, the Love Bug, because I'm just out there just hitting my little pea-shooters and the bombers are going 40 by me," Funk said in his usual candor after the round. "I tried not to let that bother me, because I knew it was more important to be in the fairway."

Funk is an unwonted champ, but hardly an unwanted one. Followed by a band of brothers known as Funk's Punks, he is a man of the people, a guy who cherishes the value of such a title.

You see, he wasn't born onto the tour like some players. He was an assistant golf pro. He coached golf at the University of Maryland. He was a newspaper circulation supervisor.

And now he's making headlines of his own.

Such as: "WE GOT THE FUNK" and "FEELIN' FUNKY" and even the somewhat palatable "FUNKADELIC!"

After all, it's his unusually cool surname that first makes most Punks aware of the man known as Chickenhawk.

What makes them stick around is his unusually cool personality on the course.

"The gallery really started jumping on when they saw me start getting closer and closer, and then I actually got the lead," Funk said. "It was pretty loud and emotional."

And so was he.

When Funk narrowly missed a putt down the stretch on Monday afternoon, he fell over backwards with emotion, lying down on the green for a few seconds before returning to the business at hand.

Later, when he made that five-foot, three-inch putt on the 18th hole, he responded in typical Fred Funk fashion, slamming his hat to the ground like a touchdown celebration.

"I knew I hadn't had the tournament in my hand at that point yet because someone behind me could catch me, and I knew that," Funk said. "But it was just pent up emotions, I think. I really felt good."

How could he not? After all, that's a pretty weighty accomplishment for a guy who came within one snooze button of never realizing his dream.

Funk lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, a mere five minutes from the TPC-Sawgrass course that hosts the event. On Saturday, while most of the field was pacing through the locker room, waiting through another weather delay, Funk was at home. Asleep.

Now he'll have reason to rest easy, since the victory comes with a five-year exemption on tour. Funk sarcastically asked, "What am I going to do with that?" after the round, since that would make him a 53-year-old in a land of young bucks.

But don't bet against him.

After all, Fred Funk has already proven that size doesn't matter. Maybe age doesn't, either.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

Singh tries to shrug off losses

Updated: March 25, 2005, 5:29 PM ET

By Tim Rosaforte | Golf World

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The man has picked himself up and dusted himself off and is right back where we expected him to be after the opening round of The Players Championship. In contention once again, hunting down another victory, playing golf with supreme confidence, Vijay Singh has begun the process of putting himself in position to win a golf tournament. Five days after rinsing a 7-iron on the 72nd hole of Bay Hill, 12 days after missing a playoff putt the length of a table leg at the Honda, Singh shot an opening round 67 at TPC-Sawgrass to take the early lead over Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson in this week's Battle of the Big Four.

Instead of being demoralized, Singh hosted his party Monday night, poured liberally from his wine cellar and was his usual gracious self, laughing afterward about how the affair started from one or two guys to what now seems like the entire field. "It's just an outing that I like to invite my friends – and the players are all my friends – and my family," Singh said. "It's great to get together for once. I'm just happy I can do that."

You win 25 times on the PGA Tour and it's easier to serve Opus and put those demons from Mirasol and Arnie's Place behind you. But as machinelike as Singh can seem when he plays golf, he is human, too. He hasn't totally put behind him what happened in Orlando and Palm Beach Gardens. "I mean, it still plays on my mind," Singh admitted in his pre-tournament news conference. "It's nothing that you just kind of forget about a week later. It's disappointing … you get in a situation like that and then you give it away. People play all year to get into that position once and I've done it two weeks in a row."

The thinking is you shouldn't ascend to the No. 1 ranking after back-to-back blown tournaments, but Singh just keeps feeding the computer top-three finishes. In his last three tournaments, he finished third behind Tiger and Phil at Doral, then second twice on the tour's swing up the Florida Turnpike. If his putter were working the way it did in 2004, there would be no question of his position ahead of Woods.

But instead of obsessing about it, trying to "protect," Singh is just playing. He won nine times last year with that approach, overtaking Tiger at the Deutsche Bank Championship before Woods took the ranking back for two weeks after his victory at Doral. "Right now, my goal is to go out and win tournaments," he said. "I really do not worry about the No. 1 position, if it's going to be overtaken or not. If I'm No. 1, it's a great privilege, but it's not my ultimate goal."

Always dogged, Singh is trying a new approach to the Players. The TPC is his home course and the back end of the range should be named in his honor, but overall he has not played well at Sawgrass. The 67 tied his best start since 2001, when he finished second behind Woods. He missed back-to-back cuts in 2002 and 2003.

But that was yesterday and Singh is looking to tomorrow. The man might be bullheaded at times, but he learns from his mistakes and shakes them off as well as anybody in the game. "I've just taken a real relaxed attitude this week," he said. "I think I put too much pressure on myself this week to go out there and play well. This is a big event. I would say in the players' minds, it's a major event ... it'll be one of the biggest achievements of my career if I can win this thing."

Tim Rosaforte is a senior writer for Golf World magazine

Second round to be continued on Saturday

Updated: March 25, 2005, 7:01 PM ET

Associated Press

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The 17th hole was still the only island green Friday on the TPC at Sawgrass.

But just barely.

The second round of The Players Championship lasted all of 44 minutes before rain saturated the Stadium Course and left half the fairways unplayable. Nearly seven hours later, officials had no choice but to send players home until 7 a.m. Saturday and figure out what to do next.

"The perfect scenario would be getting the second round in tomorrow," PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell said. "We really haven't thought much beyond that."

Steve Jones, who opened with a 64 for a one-shot lead, won't play until noon Saturday.

This was the seventh time in 13 tournaments that weather halted play during a round, and it was the second straight week that Mother Nature had thrown a PGA Tour event into chaos. The first round of the Bay Hill Invitational was washed out after three hours, creating three marathon days until a Sunday finish.

Golf's fifth major might not be that lucky.

The forecast includes thunderstorms the rest of the week, and Russell wouldn't rule out anything - a 54-hole tournament for the first time in the 31-year history of The Players Championship, maybe even the first Tuesday finish on the PGA Tour in 25 years.

"We're keeping all our options open," he said.

Still undecided was whether the second round would resume at 7 a.m., or if it would start over. The 30 players on the course were not allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairway. That means the entire second round would have to be played under those terms, even if balls were coated with mud. The only other option is to start over.

That would be welcome news for Ernie Els.

The Big Easy provided the usual dose of craziness for such a short day of work. He hit his opening tee shot so far to the right that it nearly landed in the caddie's parking lot. He blasted off pine straw back toward the fairway, and it took one bounce and struck Lee Janzen in the right hip.

Asked if he had ever been hit on the PGA Tour, Janzen replied, "And it wasn't an amateur?"

Els then missed the green with a sand wedge and was facing a 12-foot putt just to save bogey. If the round has to start anew, he would return to the first tee.

Skip Kendall and Joe Ogilvie were both 2 under for their rounds after two holes, with Kendall holing a 35-yard chip for eagle on the par-5 second. Those starts would be erased if officials deemed there was too much mud.

Most players were stunned that the tour did not allow them to lift, clean and place, especially with rain in the forecast through the weekend. Some already dealt with mud balls under sunny conditions Thursday, perhaps none worse thanRobert Allenby on the par-5 16th when he hit two in the water and made a triple-bogey 8.

"I aimed at the tree left of the green," he said. "It was closer to the 17th hole."

The PGA Tour prefers to play the ball down, although it is quick to go to lift, clean and place when it rains at regular tour events. Janzen was among those who believe The Players Championship gets special treatment.

"I guess if your philosophy is you're not going to play it up regardless because of what you think other governing bodies would do ...," Janzen said, referring to those who run the U.S. Open, British Open and the Masters.

"The mind-set is they would never play it up, so why would we? But I think if you've got conditions that are iffy and you need to play golf, then you need to do it."

Russell said officials decided to play the ball down because of a forecast that made it look like the northeastern tip of Florida would miss the heavy stuff.

"We thought there was a good possibility we'd get lucky," he said.

This year? Fat chance.

The grounds crew planned to work into the night and return at 4 a.m., with hopes of getting the course ready to resume the second round. Russell wants to play the ball down, "the way golf is meant to be played."

"But we're just going to have to look at the conditions and see what they dictate," he said.

The tour is certainly well-rehearsed for these conditions.

There was fog in San Diego, wind in Phoenix and rain just about everywhere else. The worst was the Nissan Open at Riviera, where it took four days to play 36 holes, and Adam Scott beat Chad Campbell in a one-hole playoff for a victory that didn't even count in the record books.

Players are getting accustomed to spending their time indoors, comparing locker rooms instead of scorecards.

"This has a bigger locker room, but Bay Hill was better because I live there,"Charles Howell III said.

Vijay Singh (67) ripped his opening tee shot down the middle on No. 10 when his day ended at 8:44 a.m.

Tiger Woods (70) worked on his game at the back of the range after the round was suspended Friday afternoon. Phil Mickelson (70) usually shows up four hours before the start of his round to work on his game. But when he arrived at Sawgrass in a steady rain, all he could was take his caddie to breakfast.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press