Brad Faxon

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Brad Faxon
— Golfer —
File:BradFaxonATTNational3.jpg
Personal information
Full name Bradford John Faxon, Jr.
Born (1961-08-01) August 1, 1961 (age 62)
Oceanport, New Jersey
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Barrington, Rhode Island
Career
College Furman University
Turned professional 1983
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 21
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 8
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Champions Tour 2
Other 11
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T9: 1993
U.S. Open T33: 1989, 1994
The Open Championship 7th: 1994
PGA Championship 5th: 1995
Achievements and awards
Payne Stewart Award 2005

Bradford John Faxon, Jr. (born August 1, 1961) is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour.

Early years and amateur career

Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey[1] and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island.[2] He attended Furman University, and earned a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1983.[1]

At Furman, Faxon was a two-time All-American (1982, 1983) as a member of the golf team. He played on the 1983 Walker Cup team. Faxon won the Haskins Award for the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States in 1983. He also received that same year's Golf Magazine and NCAA Coaches Awards as the nation's outstanding amateur golfer.[3] He turned professional in 1983.[1]

Professional career

PGA Tour

Faxon has won eight times on the PGA Tour and played on two Ryder Cup teams.[3] While admittedly not a great driver of the golf ball or a great ball-striker, Faxon has built a reputation as one of the best pure putters in golf history. He led the PGA Tour in Putting Average in 1996, 1999, and 2000 (when he set the single-season record with only 1.704 putts/greens in regulation), and finished 13th in 2005 at the age of 44. Faxon explains his success on the greens thus: "My only secret is confidence... I just try to hit every putt as if I've just made a million in a row."

Faxon had been one of the most successful players on the PGA Tour throughout the 1990s, a mainstay in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, but a knee injury began to hamper his effectiveness in 2003, causing him to suffer through his worst season in 14 years in 2004. Faxon bounced back in 2005, though, winning his first tournament in four years and finishing 45th on the PGA Tour Money List. On September 19, 2005, he underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right knee. Faxon returned to competition for the 2006 season, in which he earned over $500,000.[3]

Champions Tour

Faxon made his Champions Tour debut at the 2011 3M Championship, where he finished T-31. He won his first event in October at the Insperity Championship.

Other projects

Charitable work

In addition to being one of the PGA Tour's top players over the past 25 years, Faxon is one of the game's most generous figures. In 1991, Faxon along with fellow Tour pro Billy Andrade, formed Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children, Inc., a non-profit organization that (as of 2005) has donated over $3 million to needy children in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. For their charity work, Faxon and Andrade were awarded the 1999 Golf Writers Association of America's Charlie Bartlett Award, given to professional golfers for unselfish contributions to society. Since 1999, Andrade and Faxon have also served as hosts of the CVS Charity Classic, a golf tournament held at the Rhode Island Country Club each June, whose proceeds benefit the two players' charity. He also co-chair's Button Hole with Andrade, a short course that serves as a teaching and learning center for children. Faxon also runs his own junior golf foundation.[2][3]

Broadcasting

In 2010, Faxon worked for NBC as an analyst on golf broadcasts during the season.[3] It was announced in July 2014 that Faxon would be joining Fox in 2015 as an on-air commentator along with David Fay.[4]

Fight for Furman golf

In 2014, Furman University announced the school was going to discontinue the golf program. Faxon helped lead an alumni drive to save the program.[5]

Personal

Faxon resides in Barrington, Rhode Island with his wife, Dory, and their four daughters.[2]

Amateur wins (5)

  • 1979 Rhode Island Amateur
  • 1980 New England Amateur, Rhode Island Amateur
  • 1981 New England Amateur
  • 1982 Sunnehanna Amateur

Professional wins (21)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 4, 1991 Buick Open −17 (66-68-71-66=271) Playoff United States Chip Beck
2 Jul 26, 1992 New England Classic −16 (66-67-67-68=268) 2 strokes United States Phil Mickelson
3 Aug 23, 1992 The International 14 points (4-7-7-14) 2 points United States Lee Janzen
4 Apr 6, 1997 Freeport-McDermott Classic −16 (68-69-66-69=272) 3 strokes United States Bill Glasson, Sweden Jesper Parnevik
5 Sep 20, 1999 B.C. Open −15 (69-67-70-67=273) Playoff United States Fred Funk
6 Jul 23, 2000 B.C. Open −18 (68-66-68-68=270) 1 stroke Mexico Esteban Toledo
7 Jan 21, 2001 Sony Open in Hawaii −20 (64-64-67-65=260) 4 strokes United States Tom Lehman
8 Aug 28, 2005 Buick Championship −14 (69-71-65-61=266) Playoff South Africa Tjaart van der Walt

PGA Tour playoff record (3–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1991 Buick Open United States Chip Beck Won with par on first extra hole
2 1992 Infiniti Tournament of Champions Australia Steve Elkington Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1992 Buick Open Australia Steve Elkington, United States Dan Forsman Forsman won with par on second extra hole
Faxon eliminated with par on first hole
4 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open United States Jim Furyk Lost to birdie on third extra hole
5 1996 Sprint International United States Clarence Rose Lost to eagle on third extra hole
6 1997 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic New Zealand Frank Nobilo Lost to par on first extra hole
7 1999 B.C. Open United States Fred Funk Won with par on second extra hole
8 2003 Bell Canadian Open United States Bob Tway Lost to bogey on third extra hole
9 2005 Buick Championship South Africa Tjaart van der Walt Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (11)

Champions Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 9, 2011 Insperity Championship −10 (69-65=134)^ 1 stroke United States Tommy Armour III
2 Apr 28, 2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf
(with Jeff Sluman)
−23 (62-66-65=193) 1 stroke United States Fred Funk & United States Mike Goodes,
United States Kenny Perry & United States Gene Sauers

^Shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Results in major championships

Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT CUT T50 LA DNP 57 DNP DNP CUT T33
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP T11 T73
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP T31 T9 T15 T17 T25 CUT T26 T24
U.S. Open 66 CUT CUT T68 T33 T56 T82 T65 T49 DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP CUT 7 T15 T33 T20 T11 DNP
PGA Championship CUT T48 T15 T14 T30 5 T17 CUT T13 T61
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament DNP T10 T12 T23 T31 DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT CUT T66 CUT CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP T47 CUT T46 T60 T23 DNP
PGA Championship T27 T59 T29 CUT T13 CUT CUT

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 2 8 12 11
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 11
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 6 14 11
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 6 22 12
Totals 0 0 0 1 4 20 66 45
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1993 PGA – 1996 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

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  5. Furman reinstates men's golf program

External links