Top 25 players to watch in 2012: No. 25 Fred Funk

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Can Fred Funk return to his best form after a season twice interrupted by surgery? That's the question the three-time Champions Tour major winner must answer in 2012.

XM interview Birdie at Mitsubishi Funk, food and fun

Funk didn't play again after the U.S. Senior Open in July. He underwent surgery in early August to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. He suffered the injury at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn while making practice swings to warm up. Soon after that surgery, Funk returned to Jacksonville to have surgery on his right knee to clean out scar tissue.

Funk didn't win on the Champions Tour for the first time since his 2006.

Funk was off to a decent start with four top 10 finishes, the best a second-place finish behind Bernhard Langer at The ACE Group Classic in Naples. Funk whittled a 4-stroke deficit in half before his charge was stopped.

It was at Rock Barn that Funk posted his best round of the year, a 10-under 62. It left him one stroke short of getting into a playoff with James Mason and Mark Wiebe, the eventual winner. Funk's good play continued at the Senior British Open where a final-round 66 -- including a stretch of five straight birdies -- shot him into a tie for seventh place. He also tied for seventh at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on the strength of a pair of 68s on the weekend.

Funk was never in contention at the U.S. Senior Open at Inverness and that's when he shut it down to deal with his physical issues and prepare for the 2012 season.

Category Average Rank on Champions Tour Scoring Average 70.33 20th Driving Distance 267.9 53rd Driving Accuracy Pct. 80.41 4th Greens in Regulation 70.11 31st Putting Average 1.736 12th All-Around Ranking 220 18th Money list $494,758 33rd