Funk not tight, even with Allergan group

NEWPORT BEACH — “Loose” seemed like an odd choice of word to describe a round of golf, but it was the first one that came out.

Amateurs Mike Ball, Ray Diradoorian, Julian Gangolli, and Robin Sears were all guffawing after their first round with pro Fred Funk in the first half of the Toshiba Classic pro-am Wednesday.

“Just listen to them,” Funk said amid laughs. “They’re actually the best amateur team I’ve ever been with.”

The foursome work for Irvine-based Allergan, the pharmaceutical company that produces Botox, which doctors inject to achieve an effect that is anything but, well, loose.

“We’re the Botox company,” said Diradoorian, who was playing in his third straight Toshiba pro-am. “That’s our flagship drug. We make lots of other drugs for eye infections, for dry eyes, for obesity, for facial aesthetics.”

It was easy to read the group’s faces as they finished up on the first hole at Newport Beach Country Club, having started with the second at 12:30 p.m. The group finished tied for fifth with a score of 54.

“It was a great day,” Diradoorian said. “We saw [Funk’s] swing and we just patterned our swings after it. We’re in the money right now.”

“If my swing looks like theirs ...” Funk shook his head. “I’m not playing.”

Last year, Diradoorian played with Curtis Strange and Jim Thorpe.

“For us golfers that come out here, these guys are just really nice guys,” Diradoorian said. “I mean, they don’t have any egos. They’re helping you with your swing, they’re helping you line your putts up. Just really fun to be out here with them. And if you’re any kind of a golfer at all, it’s almost a religious experience getting to play with a pro.”

Diradoorian’s best shot was a birdie and he made par on the 17th hole.

“I had a shot for birdie, that’s that hole over the water, which is the money hole, and almost, almost sunk the birdie there,” Diradoorian said. “We did well.”

Pro Wayne Levi and amateurs Stan Lerch, Mike Nizard, Ken Burke, and Bill Willette sat atop the leader board at Wednesday’s end with a score of 51.

Funk, who won the Turtle Bay Championship on the Champions Tour last year, will be making his Toshiba debut when play starts Friday.

The 51-year old joins John Cook, Sandy Lyle, Bernard Langer, and Jeff Sluman as Classic first-timers.

“Really good golf course,” said Funk, who also still plays on the PGA Tour. “It’s obviously one you’ve got to control your golf ball and work it around the golf course. There’s a lot of birdie holes out there, but you’ve got to make the putts and the greens are not easy to make putts on because they’re a little bit bumpy. But it’s in great shape overall.”

Langer, with Chris Massey, Glenn Schafer, Jake Easton, and John Dahlberg also shot 54 to tie for fifth.

Paul Hahn, the professional at Newport Beach Country Club, which is hosting the event, led Mike Kierdorf, Dean Burnett, Mark Edgington, and Ted Nonogaki to a score of 54, leaving the team tied for fifth place after the first day.

Pro Dave Stockton and amateurs Ron Guziak, Chuck Smith, Gary Lastinger, and Bob Taylor also shot 54.

Strange and his team of Masashi Muromachi, T. Behringer, Walt Marcinkiewicz and H.K. Desai were alone in second place with 52.

Pro Vicente Fernandez and amateurs Edgar Gonzalez, Javier Vargas, Luis Ochoa, and Juan Lopez were tied with pro Jerry Pate and P. Mani, Mike Theriault, Bill Thompson, and Scott DeTota for third with 53.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].