There's no better time to be finding top gear.
That makes Fred Funk's victory at the Insperity Championship perfectly measured for a three-time major champion tuning up for a key portion of the season.
Tom Lehman was runner-up at Insperity and his timing is excellent, too. The reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year and Charles Schwab Cup winner, Lehman is -- surprisingly -- winless this year. But he, too, signaled at the Insperity that he's ready to step it up.
After two weeks off, Funk, Lehman and defending champion Tom Watson will lead the field at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., for the Senior PGA Championship. The Golf Club is a new Jack Nicklaus design in the southwest corner of Michigan, near the Indiana border.
The Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek, June 7-10, will be next on the major championship schedule. Beginning with the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, June 28-July 1, the final three majors will come in rapid-fire succession. The U.S. Senior Open is July 12-15 at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich., followed by the Senior British at Turnberry's Ailsa Course, July 26-29.
If Watson can shake off a recent injury, he'll be a central figure in the majors. Watson withdrew from the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am in Tampa with an injury to his right arm. The same injury prevented him from playing in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf.
Funk birdied four of the last five holes to chase down Lehman. It was the first victory for Funk since the 2010 Tradition, and seventh Champions Tour win overall. His exceptional play was matched by a sense of relief after a series of ailments -- and surgeries -- left him wondering about exactly where he stood in the Champions Tour hierarchy. He demonstrated at the Insperity that his name still belongs near the top.
"I've been through a lot," Funk said. "It's been a battle. I had (the knee) replaced and I had a staph infection ... I had 18 drainings. Just a lot of issues with that. And then last year, I tore up my thumb and had two surgeries on that.
"I've been really blessed with this opportunity to play again and to play at a high level. I had to fight hard, I tell you, I didn't want to give up yet. I love it too much. I don't like playing and losing. I don't like playing with these guys and not being in the mix."
At the Senior PGA, Funk will have a chance to add to his majors haul. He's twice won the JELD-WEN Tradition (2008, 2010) to go along with the 2009 U.S. Senior Open.
Lehman shot a final round 68 and a 13-under par 203 total at The Woodlands.
"I was really proud of the way I played," said Lehman, who finished in the top 10 for the third time in seven events. "I hit a bad shot on the first hole, a wedge. Other than that, I hit just good shot after good shot after good shot, and really felt in control of my game and rolled the ball pretty nicely."
In Benton Harbor, Lehman will be eyeing his third Champions Tour major. He won the 2010 Senior PGA and the 2011 Regions Tradition.
Watson is the Senior PGA champion. He won the title last year on another Nicklaus design at Valhalla Golf Club. Everybody knows his record as a five-time British Open champion and his affection for Turnberry, where he won the 1977 Claret Jug in a legendary duel with Jack Nicklaus. And everybody knows what Watson, at age 59, nearly accomplished there in 2009 before losing a playoff to Stewart Cink. And there's Watson's Michigan connection, where two of the majors will be this year.
"I've had the opportunity to play Harbor Shores Golf Club and it's really an interesting and fun golf course," Watson said. "It's difficult and with those winds coming off the lake, if we get those northwest winds in May, it will be one heck of a test."
At Indianwood, Watson will encounter a classic Wilfred Reid course with all the traditional trappings that he and others so revere. Besides, Watson has a special place in his heart for Michigan. As a youth, he spent his summers in Northern Michigan.
"Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be able to go up there just about every summer with my mom and dad who loved going up there, up to the Long Lake area up near Petoskey," said Watson, a Kansas City native.
"I basically cut my teeth in golf up there. I played courses such as Belvedere. I have some wonderful memories playing against my father in the club championship there when I was a kid. I played him when I was 14 years old and I had him 2-down with three to go to win the club championship and he ended up beating me.
"And then the next year I got him. I got him as a 15-year-old. And we did have some wonderful memories up there and I would love to go back again."
