Brent Franklin

Last updated

Brent Franklin
Personal information
Born (1965-12-16) December 16, 1965 (age 59)
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb; 12.4 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Career
College Brigham Young University
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s) Canadian Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Professional wins2
Achievements and awards
Canadian Golf
Hall of Fame
2010

Brent Franklin (born December 16, 1965) is a former Canadian professional golfer.

Contents

Early life

In 1965, Franklin was born in Barrie, Ontario. He was coached in golf by Jack McLaughlin as a youth, and first came to prominence when he won the 1981 Vancouver City Match Play Championship as a 15-year-old amateur, to become the youngest champion ever in that event. The tournament is open to all professionals and top amateurs in the Lower Mainland region.

Franklin won the 1983 and 1984 Canadian Junior Championships. [1]

Amateur career

In 1983, Franklin earned a golf scholarship to Brigham Young University. He won all-American honors three times while at BYU.

During his time at BYU, he also had success at notable Canadian amateur events. He won the 1985 Alberta Amateur Championship. Franklin then won three straight Canadian Amateur Championships, from 1985 to 1987. He was a member of the Canadian team which won the 1986 Eisenhower Trophy, the World Amateur Team Championship, in Venezuela, along with Warren Sye, Jack Kay Jr., and Mark Brewer. [1]

Professional career

In 1988, Franklin turned professional and won the Canadian PGA Championship. [1] That gave him a national championship in Canada at ever-rising levels for seven consecutive seasons. He was selected as Rookie of the Year on the 1988 Canadian Professional Golf Tour, and many thought he would become the next Canadian star on the PGA Tour.

Franklin then moved to the Japan Golf Tour for several years, and posted several strong finishes, including four runner-up results, earning very good prize money. He played 112 Japanese events between 1989 and 1995, and won a total of ¥140,307,935. He did not win a tournament. He lost a playoff to Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki at the 1992 Dunlop Open. [2]

In 1995, Franklin was planning to move to the PGA Tour but, when cycling in Vancouver, he was hit by a transport truck, and was seriously injured. Franklin was able to recover, and for a time played on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, trying to regain his earlier form, but was never able to approach the level he had shown earlier.

Franklin currently works as a club professional in Colorado.

Awards and honors

Amateur wins

Professional wins (2)

Canadian Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Jul 31, 1988 CPGA Championship −5 (71-70-71-71=283)1 stroke Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dave Barr
2Jul 30, 1989 Blue Light Pro-Am −7 (68-69-72-68=277)3 strokes Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Rick Gibson, Flag of the United States.svg Bob McDonnell,
Flag of the United States.svg John Morse

Playoff record

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1992 Dunlop Open Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Masashi Ozaki Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Team appearances

this list may be incomplete

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. 1 2 3 Golf in Canada: A History, by James A. Barclay, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1992.
  2. "1992 Dunlop Open results". Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  3. BYU Men's Golf All-Americans Archived 2008-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Canadian Golf Hall of Fame profile" . Retrieved December 9, 2022.