As any poker player will tell you, it usually takes more than an ace to win a big hand. Sometimes it can even contribute to you losing a bundle.
And you can go on tilt and lose your rhythm after something good happening as easily as something bad.
When Fred Funk knocked in a hole-in-one on No. 16 at Kapolei Golf Course on Sunday it pushed him into a tie with Paul Goydos for the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.
But momentum is only as good as your last swing, and Goydos’ mostly steady play down the stretch prevailed for the Champions Tour rookie’s first win on the senior circuit.
As spectacular and rare as it is — even for the world’s greatest players — Funk’s ace was not the shot of the tournament — that would be Goydos’ birdie putt that immediately followed and put him back into the lead by himself.
Goydos was rightfully proud of keeping his cool.
As anyone would be in his cleats, Funk was stoked … especially in that situation, with the tournament on the line. He admitted afterward that the adrenaline continued pumping after he had pulled his ball out of the hole and gone back to work at the next tee box.
"I was trying to settle down on 17," Funk said.
Goydos knew the feeling.
"You do get jumpy," he said, recalling the giddy sensation after his lone ace on the PGA Tour at The Colonial a few years ago. "When I holed out on 11 (in Saturday’s second round) I felt it. You get a little jumpy and have to calm yourself down in that situation."
While Goydos concluded his run of four birdies on the 17th, Funk settled for par after driving into the rough.
The dead calm of Saturday’s second round had been replaced by light breezes. That was no problem — until they shifted 180 degrees toward the end of the day.
"I was perplexed with the wind," Funk said. "It made 17 and 18 play hard."
He had played the final two holes to a combined 3 under in the first two rounds. But Funk only managed par when he needed just a little more magic after the leader opened the door.
Goydos’ flyer over the green stopped somewhere between Makaha and Makakilo. But he calmly found his way back to the pin with a chip and two putts, just enough to avoid a playoff with Funk and Scott Dunlap and a changed flight fee.
As Dunlap noted following nearly an hour of waiting around after his 7-under 65 that tied for best round of the day, "(Funk) makes the hole-in-one and someone else beats me."
Funk expressed dissatisfaction that the BMW he gets for acing 16 is just a two-year lease. Of course, he could buy a couple of them if he wants with the $176,000 for tying with Dunlap.
Goydos — who said he leased one himself recently — can buy a fleet if he pleases with the $330,000 first-place check.
That trophy means a lot, too. He said he might not have closed out so calmly without the experience of losing a lead in the final holes, as happened at the 2009 Valero Texas Open.
"I stayed in the moment," he said. "You learn by messing things up. Just keep playing. Good things were happening."
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.
