Funk enjoys brief senior moment

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – At 48 years and 6 days old, Fred Funk can become the oldest man to win the U.S. Open today. He only is three strokes off the lead, so it could happen, but in case it does not, he made sure Saturday to savor a brief moment when he led the event at 5-under par after birdies on the 11th and 12th holes.

“I actually said to Mark (Long, his caddy), ‘Hey, isn’t this cool? I’m leading the U.S. Open right here,’ ” Funk said. “He says, ‘Hey, it doesn’t mean anything until tomorrow.’ I said, ‘I know, but it’s still pretty cool.’ “

Funk’s senior moment did not last long. He bogeyed the 14th, 16th and 18th holes and shot 72. He said his biggest mistake was an ill-fated chip shot on the 16th, a par-5 that yields many birdies.

Funk was his usual quotable self after the frustrating finish, praising his legion of fans. (Earlier, on the sixth fairway, Long said to him, “You attract an interesting crowd.” He answered, “Yeah, drunk and uneducated.”)

However, his wisecracks were laced with criticism of the course conditions, which he called “silly.” He compared the state of the greens to linoleum and joked that he might practice on the hardwood floors of the house where he is staying.

Funk said the difficulty of the course eventually relaxed him because he chose to accept the reality that everyone was in the same awful position and stop worrying about it.

“I’m going to go out there and have fun tomorrow,” he said. “If I shoot 90, fine. If I shoot 65, that’s fine. I’m going to have fun because it’s nearly laughable right now. It’s unbelievable right now, the conditions of these greens.”

Nearly a record day for Clark

Tim Clark was a couple of feet and an inch from the round of his life, let alone the U.S. Open.

The native of South Africa shot a 4-under 66, the best score of Saturday’s third round and only one of three under par at Shinnecock Hills. In addition to moving him onto the leaderboard — he’s tied for sixth place, four shots behind leader Retief Goosen — it started conversations of what could have been.

He had a tap-in eagle on the par-5, 537-yard 5th hole and he missed a 2-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th. A 64 would have been one shot off the Open’s 18-hole record. The double-eagle would have been just the second ever recorded in an Open. T.C. Chen had one in 1985 at Oakland Hills.

It would have been the second double-eagle in a month for Clark – with the same club, no less.

“From the fairway it looked like it went in the hole; I got up there and it was literally an inch behind the cup, pretty much a tap-in eagle,” he said of the 6-iron from 210 yards. “I made a double-eagle with that club in the qualifying for this event.”

He had four birdies and two bogeys, but it was the par on 18 that kept him from really enjoying the round.

“I just hit a bad putt. It’s a tough way to finish,” he said of his short run at another birdie on the final hole. “I guess I have to put that behind me and go out tomorrow.”

Clark, who has been bothered by a sore right wrist, finished tied for ninth last week at the Buick Classic.

With Goosen leading, Ernie Els tied for second and Clark, South Africa has three players in the top seven heading into the final round.

Father and son tied

Jay Haas shot a 76 in the third round and his son Bill had a 71 leaving them tied at 6-over 216.

On Sunday, Father’s Day, Jay Haas will tee off at 11:40 a.m., 30 minutes and three groups before Bill, an amateur who will turn pro next week.

“If I had made a par on 18 we would have been one group apart,” Jay Haas said. “That would have been nice but this whole week has been something special.”

Third day not a charm for Tiger

Tiger Woods had a 3-over 73 Saturday to continue his struggles in third rounds of the U.S. Open.

Woods, who has won this event twice, has broken 70 only once in the nine third rounds he has played. He had a 69 at Southern Hills in 2001, when he finished tied for 12th. The years he won he had a third-round 71 (2000) and 70 (2002).

Woods closed his round Saturday with an eagle 2 when he holed a sand wedge from 106 yards.

“I tell you what, that definitely put me back in the tournament, where if the wind blows and I play a great round of golf, I can still win this tournament,” he said.

Levin heads amateurs

Spencer Levin had a 1-over 71 and was at 3-over 213, the low third-round score for the four amateurs who made the cut.

Chez Reavie and Bill Haas both had 71s and were at 216. Casey Wittenberg had a 75 and was at 217.