17th-hole struggles doom Jobe’s title pursuit

Takoma Park native Funk plays through stabbing back pain to finish tied for sixth

shook hands with after finishing the final round of the Constellation Senior Players Championship, and his playing partner had a message.

Take away the17th hole, Langer said, and Jobe would’ve won.

In the four-day tournament at Caves Valley Golf Club, Jobe had two bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-3 hole. Jobe tied with Langer at 17-under, one stroke behind his UCLA roommate

“Obviously, I didn’t like that hole,” Jobe said with a smile. “It’s disappointing. I played well this week.”

Jobe joked after Saturday’s round that the key to overcoming his struggles on the 17th would be to just hit well and make par. Although he did that in the second round, Jobe hit the ball into the water, suffering penalty strokes, on the first and third days.

After he teed off at the spot Sunday, he swung his club in frustration as the ball landed in a bunker. His next shot went into the rough.

The 51-year-old, who won his first PGA Champions Tour event in June, felt he struggled with his swing throughout the week.

While his short-range efforts felt natural and his putt was consistent, he “didn’t hit hit the ball well.”

“My golf swing was kind of horrible, and that hole dominates,” Jobe said. “It’s a tough hole. It exposed my weakness, and so I’ve got to get my swing better.”

Jobe had a chance to force a playoff against McCarron with a putt for birdie on the 18th hole, but he put too much of an angle on the attempt and settled for par.

“That 18th hole was kind of my day in a nutshell,” Jobe said. “I didn’t hit a great shot.” Stabbing pain for Funk: took his tee shot on the 16th hole Sunday at Caves Valley, and the stabbing pain between his shoulder blades and through his ribs didn’t relent.

After his next shot on the par-5 hole, he walked to the side and “bawled.”

“I haven’t cried in the middle of a round in a long time,” Funk said, “I was just trying to get done.”

The Takoma Park native said he would’ve withdrawn from the event at Caves Valley if he weren’t playing in front of a local crowd. Instead, he pushed through the pain, stemming from a rib injury he suffered about three weeks ago, and tied for sixth place at 11-under.

“A lot of the swings on the back nine, it felt like not one knife but a row of knives running in my shoulder blades and then my midback,” Funk said. “I came in this week not sure whether I could play, but I really wanted to come in because it was home, and it’s a big tournament.”

Funk endured the injury while doing an “ab roller” exercise, and it forced him to withdraw from the American Family Insurance Championship in late June. He also missed the U.S. Senior Open two weeks ago for his oldest son’s wedding, though he said he would’ve rested his injury anyway.

Throughout this week, Funk worked with the on-site chiropractor because he hadn’t played to his standards or felt fully healthy while practicing in Florida.

And he said his performance through four rounds in Owings Mills reflected that “back and forth” preparation. Entering the final day, Funk countered his15 birdies with 11 bogeys.

While his injury flared up after an aggressive swing on the fourth hole Sunday — Funk said he couldn’t breathe during many of his attempts afterward — the former Maryland golf player and coach managed five birdies, including four on the back nine.

He doesn’t believe he risked further injury because the pain likely comes via muscle spasms, so Funk was pleased with his grit to finish the local event he called “really special” earlier in the week.

“By far the worst I’ve felt all week,” Funk said. “Any other round, if I wasn’t playing well and trying to just post whatever I could post and stay in the top 20, I would’ve withdrawn.” Goydos has big Sunday: tried not to think about it, but he knew the first six holes would be his best opportunity to make up ground in the final round.

That stretch was where he’d made his one eagle through three days at Caves Valley — and also bogeyed four times en route to starting Sunday at 1-under.

So, the 53-year-old focused on one shot at a time.

With that approach, he emerged from the stretch with five birdies to set the foundation for his best outing of the week. Goydos finished the major at 8-under.

“You make putts and you kind of get going,” Goydos said. “It kind of puts you in a good mood and good things happen.”

After breaking even on the par-4 first hole, Goydos made a series of putts, which he said had been his shortcoming in the earlier rounds, to drop his score.

On the third hole, for example, he sank a 12-foot putt. Then, 15-footers on Nos. 4 and 5. He finished the five-birdie stretch with a 10-foot putt on the sixth, matching his round-high five birdies from the opening day.

“It gives you some energy to kind of finish out the round,” Goydos said. “That’s kind of what I did.”

He made three more birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th holes.

After never dropping his score lower than 3-under during the event, Goydos had reached 9-under. He was especially proud of his performance on the par-4 14th hole, what he considered one of the most difficult on the course.

A bogey on the 18th — he missed a short putt just after playing partner

made par to remain even — left Goydos wishing his round ended on a more positive note.

Still, he hopes Sunday’s overall success will continue in two weeks at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Bridgend, Wales.

And with the same incremental mindset the four-time PGA Tour Champions winner used to make his early birdies, Goydos wants to use the week off to fix his mistakes before looking ahead.

“It was a nice way to finish,” Goydos said. “It wasn’t a great week until that stretch of six holes, and hopefully I can build off of it.”