Mark McNulty wins Principal Charity Classic with birdie, beating Fred Funk in playoff

McNulty edges Funk in Principal Charity playoff

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Mark McNulty won the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday for his seventh Champions Tour victory, beating Fred Funk with a long birdie putt on the fourth hole of a playoff.

McNulty closed with a 5-under 66 to match Funk (66) and second-round leader Nick Price (68) at 10-under 203 on the Glen Oaks Country Club course. McNulty and Funk birdied the second extra hole to eliminate Price.

McNulty, from Zimbabwe, saved par on the third playoff hole — on the par-4 17th — after hitting to the fringe of the green, and Funk’s birdie putt lipped out.

Funk then couldn’t convert a tough birdie try on the par-4 18th, and McNulty made his putt for his first win since the 2007 JELD-WEN Tradition.

McNulty rallied from two strokes down in regulation with birdies on 16 and 17. Price joined Funk and McNulty in the playoff with a birdie on 18. All three players birdied the 18th to open the playoff, and 18 also was used for the second extra hole.

It was the Champions Tour’s longest playoff since Tom Purtzer beat Loren Roberts on the fourth extra hole in the 2007 AT&T Champions Classic.