Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 23, 1993 TAG: 9308230077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One bounce of the ball. That was the difference Sunday as Naff won the Roanoke Valley Golf Association event at Countryside.
Sixty-one of the 63 golfers who teed off Wednesday morning at Blue Hills had been eliminated.
The two finalists, Naff and Funderburke, fashioned identical bogey-free rounds through the first 15 holes of their 36-hole match-play shoot-out Sunday at sun-baked Countryside.
They then embarked on an ebb-and-flow journey of momentum, each winning five of the next 19 holes outright.
But neither could gain control. Seven-and-a-half hours after they started, the two friends came to No. 17, their 35th hole of the day, deadlocked.
But when Funderburke's second shot on the par-5 hole landed just beyond the sand trap guarding the front of the green and bounced backward into the bunker - and when Naff lofted a 6-iron safely onto the green - Naff, the qualifying medalist, took permanent control.
Funderburke blasted out of the sand above the cup, and then left a 15-foot downhill putt on the front lip.
Naff two-putted for birdie, escaped the final hole with a half and captured the championship - the biggest tournament victory of his career - 1-up.
"Seventeen was when he gave me the match," Naff said, insisting his victory was a product of Funderburke's bad luck more than any extraordinary shot-making on his part.
Reflecting on the pivotal hole, Funderburke was incredulous. "I was 220 yards out. I hit a 3-wood right at the flag," he said. "It was just a matter of inches. I could have been putting for eagle, and possibly winning the match. Instead, I'm in the sand."
Faced with a must-birdie to tie on 18, Funderburke singed the hole with another 15-foot putt. "I just couldn't beat Rodney today," he said. "It was his day."
The morning 18 was a display of consistency.
Naff dropped birdie putts from 20 feet (No. 7) and 15 feet (No. 10). In both cases, Funderburke responded in kind.
At No. 3 and No. 12, Funderburke made ho-hum pars, while Naff faced challenging putts to tie. No problem.
Funderburke won No. 16 - when Naff caught his tee-shot on the par-3 a bit heavy and deposited his ball in the pond - and 17, when Naff three-putted.
After a 15-minute lunch break, Funderburke was 2-up, although both golfers were under par. Funderburke shot a 68 and Naff fired a 70.
"I wish we hadn't stopped," Funderburke said.
Naff closed to 1-down on No. 2, when a birdie gave him his first hole of the day.
Errant tee shots cost Funderburke No. 4 and No. 5, moving Naff ahead. But Funderburke rebounded to win No. 6 and No. 8 - a brilliant par, despite a penalty stroke. Funderburke's drive caromed into a cavernous ditch, but after a drop, he got up-and-down from 125 yards.
"I think that shocked him," Funderburke said. Naff three-putted for a bogey.
Naff regained the advantage, however, when he won Nos. 9-10. Offsetting bogeys at No. 12 (Naff) and No. 13 (Funderburke) enabled Naff to hold the lead until No. 16. This time, he hit over the green into a hazard and took his only double bogey of the day.
Naff, a former Northside High School wrestler, wowed the gallery throughout the tournament with John Daly-esque drives. In the afternoon round, Naff nearly reached the 406-yard par-four 10th with his tee shot.
Typically, Naff shrugged it off. "The ball hit some rocks," he said.
In the Valley Am seniors division, Gibby Wingfield defeated two-time champion Gene Funderburke, Mark's father, 3 and 1 in their 18-hole championship match.
Wingfield won the first three holes, moved four ahead through nine, and then survived a Funderburke charge. Funderburke won Nos. 12-13 to close to 1-down, but a costly three-putt at No. 14 put him two down with four to play. Wingfield ended the match with a birdie at the 17th hole.
"When I got 4-up, I got a little lax," Wingfield said, celebrating his victory with two chili dogs and a large soft drink. "It was hard to concentrate. I guess that's easy to do. But I played well all three days [of match play]. I was just trying to keep the ball in play."
"I don't think I hit one really good shot on the front nine," Funderburke said. "This game is played between the ears, and my brain was lacking a little bit today."
by CNB