Appleby makes a sentimental journey to Kemper

Stuart Appleby knows the galleries will be pulling for him at the Kemper Open -- the last tournament his wife saw him win before she was killed.

"It's not my choice to be the sentimental favorite," he said Wednesday.

Renay Appleby was crushed by a car last year while unloading luggage at a London train station after the British Open, six weeks after Kemper.

Appleby credits his wife's inspiration for subsequent victories at the Coolum Classic in Australia in December and the Houston Open earlier this month.

"It's nice to think there are people out there supporting me, maybe more than someone else," he said. "That's their choice. I'd rather be someone who they like and they're all happy to see win."

Appleby will not be the only favorite when the field tees off Thursday at the tree-lined TPC at Avenel course. There is also Fred Funk, who was born in nearby Takoma Park and coached at the University of Maryland from 1982-88.

At last year's Kemper, Appleby and Funk walked together down the 18th fairway in the final group.

That was the first time Funk lost a tournament he led going into the final round. He shot a 77 to tie for third, missing by far his best chance to win one of the biggest events on his schedule.

"I replayed for months what happened to me on Sunday," Funk said. ``I wanted this tournament too much. I put a lot of pressure on myself. Two days after that, I didn't sleep for three days. Since then, I have had trouble on weekends."

Funk has been playing better lately, tying for second last week at the Colonial, but he's been bothered this week by a recurring neck injury that would have him withdrawing from other tournaments.

"I'm definitely going to push it," Funk said. ``If I can swing at all, I'm going to play. If it were a normal tournament, I'd have probably pulled out."

Another golfer with a hot game, and local ties, is Olin Browne, a Washington native who won the Colonial for his second career title. He's dealing with his restless nights before the tournament starts.

"Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I haven't had a decent night's sleep yet," said Browne, who is staying with his mother and having his brother caddy. "I'm just going to try to let things flow."

Since it became host of the Kemper 12 years ago, the Avenel has developed into a challenging course that merits respect.

All the winners of last year's majors -- Vijay Singh, Lee Janzen and Mark O'Meara -- are in the field, as are seven of the top 15 on the PGA Tour money list.

AP