Funk: Long par 4 at AT&T 'downright stupid'

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- When a par 5 become a par 4, the result can be, in the words of Fred Funk, "downright stupid."

No. 6 at Congressional Country Club is this week's prime example. It is listed as 518 yards for the AT&T National - the third longest par 4 on the PGA Tour so far this year - and the large water hazard around the right front of the green makes it even more daunting.

"I don't like their mentality with that hole," said Funk, who double-bogeyed the hole to mar his even-par round of 70. "I think it's downright stupid, actually."

The hole produced one adventure after another during Thursday's first round. Defending champion K.J. Choi and Jim Furyk both landed in the front bunker yet saved par. Bo Van Pelt's 40-foot putt provided one of only two birdies among the morning rounds. Corey Pavin, one of the shortest drivers on the tour, had no chance at all: He laid up despite hitting a tee shot that landed in the middle of the fairway.

"That green's designed for a par 5," said Rich Beem, who parred the hole after missing a 15-foot putt for birdie. "That's the problem with par 5s turning into par 4s."

"It's difficult," added Furyk. "You've got to get the ball in the fairway, or you're going to be struggling."

Choi said he was so concerned about the hole that on Wednesday he practiced the very bunker shot he ended up hitting on Thursday.

"It's a one-dimensional hole," Funk said. "If you hit the fairway and you're a long hitter, you can get your shot to fit in there. The shorter hitters are going to have a long, long, long shot in there with a green that's really designed for a wedge."

FUNK & THE DRAGONFLY: Funk's other difficult hole came at the 18th, which he bogeyed because of an intruding insect in the tee box.

"I had a dragonfly hit my shaft on the way down," Funk said. "And I just totally flinched and hit 150 yards off the tee dead right in the trees."