Ben Crane | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Benjamin McCully Crane |
Born | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | March 6, 1976
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
Sporting nationality | United States |
Residence | Nashville, Tennessee |
Spouse | Heather Crane |
Children | 3 |
Career | |
College | Baylor University University of Oregon |
Turned professional | 1999 |
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 8 |
Highest ranking | 30 (November 27, 2005) [1] |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 5 |
Asian Tour | 1 |
Korn Ferry Tour | 2 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T17: 2012 |
PGA Championship | T9: 2004 |
U.S. Open | T53: 2008 |
The Open Championship | T11: 2006 |
Benjamin McCully Crane (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Crane was born in Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to golf at age five by his grandfather. He grew up playing at the nearby Portland Golf Club, where Ben Hogan won the Portland Open in 1945. [2] Crane graduated from Beaverton High School in 1994 and attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, but did not play golf for the Bears. [2] He transferred to the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon and played golf for the Ducks. He graduated in 1999 and turned professional that year.
Crane won two events on the second tier Buy.com Tour, the first in 2000 and the second in 2001. In December 2001, Crane earned his PGA Tour card for 2002, and won for the first time on the PGA Tour at the BellSouth Classic the following year. His second win came in 2005 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. Also in 2005 he finished second at the Booz Allen Classic and Bell Canadian Open, third at the 84 Lumber Classic, sixth at the B.C. Open and seventh at The Tour Championship, which placed him 19th in the season earnings with over $2.4 million. In February 2006, just before he turned thirty, he was the highest-ranked American golfer under that age in the Official World Golf Ranking.[ citation needed ]
Crane has said that he does not like to know with whom he will be paired, saying, "I looked up to a lot of these guys who I'm now playing with. So, I didn't want to have to go to sleep thinking about it." He is also considered one of the slowest players on the tour. On at least two occasions his extremely slow progress through a course has become a media issue, including one in which a fellow tour player Rory Sabbatini played out of turn. [3]
Crane missed the majority of the 2007 season due to back problems, and played on the PGA Tour in 2008 on a major medical extension. He finished 64th on the money list to retain his card for 2009. In January 2010, Crane carded a final-round 70 to win the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines by a single stroke. [4] In May he finished third at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, fourth at The Players Championship and seventh at the Byron Nelson Championship. In October, he won the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, an event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour (but unofficial money) and Asian Tour. [5] With 12 top-25s in 24 events, he ended 23rd on the money list with over $2.8 million.
He picked up his fourth win on the PGA Tour in 2011 at the McGladrey Classic, defeating Webb Simpson in a playoff. [6] Crane shot a final round 63 to make the playoff, having at one stage been eight strokes back of the leader. The round included eight birdies and one bogey in ten holes from the 8th to the 17th. Crane picked up his fifth victory on the PGA Tour in 2014 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He would pick up the victory in wire to wire fashion, winning by a single stroke over Troy Merritt despite three bogeys and no birdies for his final round.
Crane is married to Heather Crane; the couple has four children. Crane is a Christian. [7] Crane currently is one of four golfers in the PGA Tour exclusive boy band, "Golf Boys" - with Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Hunter Mahan. The Golf Boys currently have a popular YouTube video for the song "Oh Oh Oh." Farmers Insurance will donate $1,000 for every 100,000 views of the video. The charitable proceeds will support both Farmers and Ben Crane charitable initiatives. [8]
In early December 2009 Life & Style magazine reported that Crane had called Tiger Woods a "fake and a phony" due to Woods' recently publicized marital infidelity. Crane denied making the remarks, stating that he was not even at Q-school, where the magazine claimed he was interviewed. [9] "My wife and I have prayed for Tiger and Elin, and we want nothing but the best for them", Crane said. [10] In January 2010 the magazine retracted its story, stating that the evidence indicated that the comments were made by someone impersonating Crane. [11]
this list may be incomplete
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Apr 6, 2003 | BellSouth Classic | 73-72-64-63=272 | −16 | 4 strokes | Bob Tway |
2 | Jul 24, 2005 | U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee | 62-65-64-69=260 | −20 | 4 strokes | Scott Verplank |
3 | Jan 31, 2010 | Farmers Insurance Open | 65-71-69-70=275 | −13 | 1 stroke | Marc Leishman, Michael Sim, Brandt Snedeker |
4 | Oct 16, 2011 | McGladrey Classic | 65-70-67-63=265 | −15 | Playoff | Webb Simpson |
5 | Jun 8, 2014 | FedEx St. Jude Classic | 63-65-69-73=270 | −10 | 1 stroke | Troy Merritt |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2011 | McGladrey Classic | Webb Simpson | Won with par on second extra hole |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oct 31, 2010 | CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia 1 | 67-64-66-69=266 | −18 | 1 stroke | Brian Davis |
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but unofficial event on that tour.
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jul 23, 2000 | Buy.com Wichita Open | 67-63-66-67=263 | −25 | 3 strokes | Kelly Grunewald, Vance Veazey |
2 | Oct 14, 2001 | Buy.com Gila River Classic | 63-66-64-68=261 | −23 | Playoff | Jason Caron, Bo Van Pelt |
Buy.com Tour playoff record (1–0)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2001 | Buy.com Gila River Classic | Jason Caron, Bo Van Pelt | Won with birdie on fourth extra hole Caron eliminated by par on second hole |
Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | ||||||
U.S. Open | CUT | 62 | T53 | CUT | ||||
The Open Championship | CUT | T11 | CUT | |||||
PGA Championship | T48 | T9 | T40 | CUT | CUT | T43 |
Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T24 | CUT | T17 | CUT | ||
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | ||||
PGA Championship | T39 | T37 | WD |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 |
Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 11 |
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Players Championship | CUT | T66 | T36 | T6 | T5 | T4 | T45 | CUT | T8 | CUT | CUT | T79 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Match Play | R32 | R32 | R16 | R16 | R64 | |||||||
Championship | T37 | WD | T37 | T51 | ||||||||
Invitational | T42 | T58 | 16 | T58 | WD | WD | ||||||
Champions | T30 | T46 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Philip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles, two PGA Championships, and one Open Championship (2013). With his win at the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in history at the age of 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days. He is nicknamed "Lefty", as he plays left-handed.
Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini is a South African-Slovak professional golfer. Sabbatini won six times on the PGA Tour between 2000 and 2011 and was runner-up in the 2007 Masters. He spent 21 weeks in the world top-10 in late-2007 and early-2008, with a high of 8th. Sabbatini won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, representing Slovakia.
The Atlanta Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, a regular stop in suburban Atlanta for over four decades. It was founded in 1967, although previous events dating to 1934 are included in the PGA Tour's past winners list. AT&T was the last title sponsor of the tournament.
Ryan Hunter Palmer is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Yang Yong-eun, also called Y. E. Yang, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he won twice, including most notably the 2009 PGA Championship when he came from behind to defeat Tiger Woods, thus winning the first major championship by a male player born in Asia. He is occasionally known by the nickname The Tiger Killer.
William Harlan Haas is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won the 2011 FedEx Cup. He is the son of former PGA Tour player Jay Haas.
Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson Jr. is an American professional golfer. He has two major championships, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014, and a total of 12 PGA Tour wins. In February 2015, Watson reached a career-high 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Watson has played in the LIV Golf League since 2022.
Kevin Coulter Tway is an American professional golfer who has played on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour. He won numerous junior tournaments, and most notably, the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur. Tway is the son of Bob Tway, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 1986. Following Kevin's maiden PGA Tour win at the Safeway Open in October 2018, they are one of only ten father-son pairs to have won PGA Tour events.
Hunter Myles Mahan is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is a winner of two World Golf Championship events, the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Mahan has spent 19 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He reached a career-high world ranking of No. 4 on April 1, 2012, and in so doing became the highest ranked American golfer at the time.
The 2007 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 136th Open Championship, played from 19–22 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Pádraig Harrington defeated Sergio García in a playoff to take the title and his first major championship.
Rick Yutaka Fowler is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016, he reached a career high fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking following his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. He is one of only 4 golfers to shoot 62 in a major championship, achieving the feat at the 2023 U.S. Open, played at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Martin Charles Campbell Laird is a Scottish professional golfer, playing on the PGA Tour. He has won four PGA Tour events in his career, most recently the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2020. Until Russell Knox earned his card via the 2011 Nationwide Tour, Laird was the only Scottish player on the PGA Tour.
Jason Christopher Dufner is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour where he is a five-time winner. He has won one major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship. He was also runner-up in the 2011 PGA Championship, losing a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Dufner was ranked in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 50 weeks; his career-high ranking is sixth in September 2012.
Kyle Matthew Stanley is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
The 2008 United States Open Championship was the 108th U.S. Open, played June 12–16 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California. Tiger Woods won his third U.S. Open and 14th major title, defeating Rocco Mediate on the first hole of sudden-death, following an 18-hole playoff. With this victory, Woods joined Jack Nicklaus as the only two players to win the career grand slam three times. The U.S. Open was held at Torrey Pines Golf Course for the first time, on its South Course.
The 2009 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 138th Open Championship, held from 16–19 July at the Ailsa Course of the Turnberry Resort, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Stewart Cink won his only major championship after a four-hole playoff with Tom Watson. At age 59, Watson had the chance to win his sixth Open and become the oldest major champion in history during regulation play, but was unable to par the final hole and tied with Cink.
James Frederick Webb Simpson is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour who won the 2012 U.S. Open and the 2018 Players Championship.
Marc A. Leishman is an Australian professional golfer. He has won six times on the PGA Tour. In 2009 he won the Rookie of the Year award on the PGA Tour, the first Australian to win the award.
American professional golfer Tiger Woods has enjoyed one of the most successful golfing careers of all time. After competing in amateur events since he was a toddler and representing Stanford University on a golf scholarship, Woods left college after two years to turn professional at the age of 20.
Collin Morikawa is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to Tiger Woods' 25-cut streak. Morikawa has six PGA Tour wins – including two major championships, the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship, winning both in his debut. In May 2018, Morikawa spent three weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He also became the first American to win the Race to Dubai on the European Tour.