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By Greg Hardwig
Naples Daily News
A Champions Tour event broke out at The Franklin Templeton Shootout on Friday.
Two members of the 50-and-over circuit, Fred Funk and Jeff Sluman, grabbed a share of the lead with an 8-under 64 at Tiburón Golf Club. Woody Austin, 43, and Mark Calcavecchia, 47, closed with birdies on three of the last four holes to tie for the lead. Another over the half-century mark, 52-year-old tournament host Greg Norman, is in third with playing partner Bubba Watson one shot back.
Funk, one of the more accurate drivers on the tour, and Sluman, known for his strong iron play, made for a perfect pairing in the modified alternate shot, the more difficult of the three formats in this unofficial PGA Tour event.
"After the start we had, we didn't really feel down about anything, but just kept plugging along, plugging along, and finally the tide turned and we started hitting it close," Funk said.
 | | Funk, one of the more accurate drivers on the tour, and Sluman, known for his strong iron play, made for a perfect pairing in the modified alternate shot. |
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"If I didn't have Fred as a partner, I would probably still be on the second hole looking to make a triple-bogey or something," said Sluman, who won this tournament with Hank Kuehne in 2003 and 2004. "He's the all-time great partner. You know he's going to drive it in every fairway out here, and he did."
The 12 two-man teams will play best ball on Saturday and a scramble format on Sunday.
The long-hitting, left-handed Watson is a replacement for Steve Stricker, who withdrew for family reasons. Defending champions Rod Pampling and Jerry Kelly are in fourth at 6-under.
Funk and Sluman rallied from a poor start. They were 1-over after five and Sluman had to make a 6-footer to avoid a double-bogey on No. 3.
But Funk slid in an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 6.
"I just barely limped one in the hole," Funk said.
That started a run where the two played the final 13 holes in 9-under. Sluman hit the approach shot and Funk made the putt on Nos. 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 17, and they switched it with Funk's approach on Nos. 12, 13 and 16.
Calcavecchia, playing in his 14th Shootout, and Austin, who had never been invited to an offseason tour event before, stayed out of trouble and had their own birdie binge, with theirs also being on the back nine -- they birdied six of the nine holes and just missed on a couple of others.
"We were in such good shape every hole," Austin said.
Norman, who has won his own event once in its 18-year history, and Watson birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 18 to get within a stroke.
John Daly and Fred Couples double-bogeyed No. 14 and bogeyed No. 18 and are in 12th at 2-under. Daly nearly drove the 370-yard par-4 13th, and the pair had a tap-in for birdie. But on the next hole, the par-5 14th, Daly hit the team's second shot in the water, and Couples hit his into the trees.
Sunday's winners of the $2.8 million event split $700,000. Merrill Lynch is in its second year as title sponsor.
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