Week 17 Approach Shots: JELD-WEN Tradition

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Perhaps the hottest player currently on the Champions Tour is 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition champion Fred Funk. A six-stroke winner at the recent U.S. Senior Open in Carmel, Ind., Funk blistered the course with a 72-hole total of 20-under-par 268. His 20-under-par score represented the most strokes below par in a USGA championship, breaking Hale Irwin's mark of 17-under-par at the 2000 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley CC.

Quick facts

WHAT: 17th of 26 official Charles Schwab Cup events WHEN: Aug. 17-23 WHERE: Sunriver, Ore. COURSE: Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort ROUND 1 TV: GOLF, Thurs., 7:30 to 10 p.m. ET ROUND 2 TV: GOLF, Fri., 8 to 10:30 p.m. ET ROUND 3 TV: NBC, Sat., 4 to 6 p.m. ET ROUND 4 TV: NBC, Sun., 4 to 6 p.m. ET KEY LINKS: Scores | Power Rankings | Tournament site

One week prior to his win at the U.S. Senior Open, Funk lost in a three-man playoff at the Senior British Open at Sunningdale. His victory at Crooked Stick marked the seventh consecutive time he has finished in the top five in a major championship on the Champions Tour. During that time he has earned $1,772,400 or $253,200 per start.

Funk has posted eight rounds in the 60s in his last nine starts and will begin this week's JELD-WEN Tradition with a string of 93 consecutive holes without a three-putt. He is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in all three major championships this year.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP RACE HEATING UP: With just about one third of the season remaining, the race for the Charles Schwab Cup will head into the homestretch starting at the JELD-WEN Tradition. With his win at the U.S. Senior Open, Fred Funk grabbed the lead in the season-long race from Bernhard Langer, who had led since the start of the season. Funk leads Langer by 218 points and Loren Roberts by 356 points. However, with a smaller field and a large first-place prize on the table, that race could get even tighter after this event. A total of 780 points will be awarded to the winner, and as Funk demonstrated at the U.S. Senior Open, a victory could vault a player to the top or directly back into the race.

STELLAR PLAY BY COCHRAN PAYS DIVIDENDS: Outside of Fred Funk, probably no player benefited more from his play at the U.S. Senior Open than Russ Cochran. A conditionally exempt player at the start of the year, Cochran had appeared in just six events prior to the U.S. Senior Open, open-qualifying for four of those. However, by virtue of his third-place finish, Cochran earned $175,152 and vaulted up 18 spots (24th to sixth) on the reorder list, which will essentially get him into the remaining full-field events. He has won $280,425 and is now 36th on the money list, up 30 places from prior to the tournament.

NEW FACES TO COMPETE IN THE EVENT: Several new players will tee it up at the JELD-WEN Tradition for the first time, including some major championship winners. The former major winners are Greg Norman, Tom Lehman, Bob Tway, Larry Mize and Hal Sutton. In addition, Olin Browne, Russ Cochran and Ronnie Black, all former PGA TOUR winners, will compete for the first time.

NORMAN TO MAKE FIRST START IN EVENT: World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman will make his first appearance in the JELD-WEN Tradition. The winner of nearly 90 titles worldwide and the world's No. 1 player for over 300 weeks in the 1990s, Norman will be making his sixth start on the Champions Tour in 2009. His best finishes were a T4 at the 2009 U.S. Senior Open and a T6 at the 2009 Senior British Open, where he was the 54-hole leader. Norman has played very well in major championships on the Champions Tour, with seven top-10 finishes in eight starts, including five in the top five.

TWELVE WINNERS IN 16 EVENTS: Through the first 16 events, the Champions Tour has had 12 different winners, with Bernhard Langer, Keith Fergus and Loren Roberts the lone multiple winners. At this point in 2008, there were five multiple winners -- Langer, Tom Watson, Denis Watson, Jay Haas and Scott Hoch -- as well as 12 different winners.

SEVERAL LOOKING FOR FIRST WINS IN 2009?: Several 2008 winners are still looking for their first wins in 2009, including Jay Haas, Scott Hoch, Jeff Sluman, Denis Watson, R.W. Eaks and Tom Watson, all multiple winners a year ago. Others without a win include Tom Kite, Jerry Pate, Mark Wiebe, Bruce Vaughan and D.A. Weibring.

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS IN JELD-WEN TRADITION FIELD: This week's stop on the PGA TOUR is the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC. A number of former winners of that event are in this year's JELD-WEN Tradition field. Scott Hoch (2001), Hal Sutton (2000), Mark O'Meara (1996), Andy Bean (1994), Joey Sindelar (1985), Scott Simpson (1987), Craig Stadler (1980) and Lanny Wadkins (1983) all own wins in the event.

Weather forecast for the JELD-WEN Tradition

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Sunny Temp: 88 high/49 low Sunny Temp: 84 high/48 low Partly cloudy Temp: 78 high/46 low Sunny Temp: 78 high/46 low

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JELD-WEN Tradition snippets

Oldest and youngest: Jack Nicklaus claimed his first of four Tradition titles just two months and 11 days after turning 50 and is the youngest winner in tournament history. Nicklaus is also the oldest winner, earning his last Tradition title in 1996 at 56 years, 2 months, 17 days. Good start is critical: In the previous 20 JELD-WEN Traditions, only Eduardo Romero, the 2006 champion, has opened with a round of par or higher and gone on to win. Three years ago, Romero was T24 after his even-par 72 in the first round, the lowest position ever by a winner. Closing the deal: Of the 18 JELD-WEN Traditions that have gone 72 holes, nine have been won by the 54-hole leader/co-leader. Fred Funk was the 54-hole leader in '08 and Mark McNulty, the '07 champion, was a co-leader after three rounds. Before McNulty, the last third-round leader to win was Doug Tewell in '01. Playoffs facts: There have been six playoffs in 20 JELD-WEN Traditions. The longest playoff came in 2000 when Tom Kite defeated Tom Watson and Larry Nelson is six extra holes (Nelson eliminated on second extra hole).