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Brad Faxon

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Brad Faxon
Personal information
Full nameBradford John Faxon Jr.
Born (1961-08-01) August 1, 1961 (age 63)
Oceanport, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceBarrington, Rhode Island, U.S.
Career
CollegeFurman University
Turned professional1983
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins21
Highest ranking11 (May 25, 1997)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
PGA Tour of Australasia1
PGA Tour Champions2
Other10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT9: 1993
PGA Championship5th: 1995
U.S. OpenT33: 1989, 1994
The Open Championship7th: 1994
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award1983
Payne Stewart Award2005

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

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Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey[2] and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island.[3] He attended Furman University, and earned a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1983.[2]

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.[4] He turned professional in 1983.[2]

Professional career

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PGA Tour

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Faxon has won eight times on the PGA Tour and played on two Ryder Cup teams.[4] 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.[4]

In addition to his success on the PGA Tour Faxon played quite well on the Australasian Tour. He won the 1993 Australian Open, finished second in the 1993 Air New Zealand Shell Open, and finished in third place at the 1995 Greg Norman Holden International.[5]

Champions Tour

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

Other projects

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Charitable work

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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.[3][4]

Broadcasting

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In 2010, Faxon worked for NBC as an analyst on golf broadcasts during the season.[4] It was announced in July 2014 that Faxon would be joining Fox in 2015 as an on-air commentator along with David Fay.[6]

Fight for Furman golf

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In 2014, Furman University announced the school was going to discontinue the golf program. Faxon helped lead an alumni drive to save the program.[7]

Personal

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Faxon resides in Barrington, Rhode Island with his wife, Dory, and their four daughters.[3]

Amateur wins

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  • 1975 Rhode Island Junior
  • 1979 Rhode Island Amateur
  • 1980 New England Amateur, Rhode Island Amateur
  • 1981 New England Amateur
  • 1982 Sunnehanna Amateur

Professional wins (21)

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PGA Tour wins (8)

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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 pts (4-7-7-14=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 (2) −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 by 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

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

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Legend
Flagship events (1)
Other PGA Tour of Australasia (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Nov 28, 1993 Heineken Australian Open −13 (65-74-66-70=275) 2 strokes Australia Mike Clayton, Australia Jeff Woodland

PGA Tour satellite wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jun 15, 1986 Provident Classic −19 (67-62-69-63=261) 1 stroke United States Scott Hoch

Other wins (9)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 31, 1985 Rhode Island Open −6 (68-72-67=207) 2 strokes United States Jeff Lewis
2 Nov 20, 1994 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout
(with United States Fred Couples)
−26 (68-64-58=190) 2 strokes United States Mark O'Meara and United States Curtis Strange
3 Aug 22, 1995 Fred Meyer Challenge
(with Australia Greg Norman)
−13 (65-64=129) Playoff United States Paul Azinger and United States Payne Stewart
4 Aug 20, 1996 Fred Meyer Challenge (2)
(with Australia Greg Norman)
−18 (63-61=124) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia and United States Billy Mayfair
5 Aug 5, 1997 Fred Meyer Challenge (3)
(with Australia Greg Norman)
−19 (60-63=123) 3 strokes United States Jay Haas and United States Phil Mickelson
6 Aug 24, 1999 Fred Meyer Challenge (4)
(with United States Billy Andrade)
−22 (61-61=122) 2 strokes Australia Steve Elkington and United States Craig Stadler,
United States Jim Furyk and United States John Huston
7 Nov 19, 2000 Franklin Templeton Shootout (2)
(with United States Scott McCarron)
−26 (64-66-60=190) Playoff Paraguay Carlos Franco and United States Scott Hoch
8 Aug 7, 2001 Fred Meyer Challenge (5)
(with United States Billy Andrade)
−24 (60-60=120) 2 strokes France Jean van de Velde and United States Fuzzy Zoeller
9 Nov 11, 2001 Franklin Templeton Shootout (3)
(with United States Scott McCarron)
−33 (64-62-57=183) 2 strokes United States John Daly and United States Frank Lickliter

Other playoff record (2–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1995 Fred Meyer Challenge
(with Australia Greg Norman)
United States Paul Azinger and United States Payne Stewart Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2000 Franklin Templeton Shootout
(with United States Scott McCarron)
Paraguay Carlos Franco and United States Scott Hoch Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2001 CVS Charity Classic
(with South Africa Gary Player)
United States Mark Calcavecchia and Zimbabwe Nick Price Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4 2003 Franklin Templeton Shootout
(with United States Scott McCarron)
United States Chad Campbell and United States Shaun Micheel,
United States Hank Kuehne and United States Jeff Sluman
Kuehne/Sluman won with birdie on second extra hole
5 2006 CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic
(with Canada Mike Weir)
South Africa Tim Clark and Zimbabwe Nick Price Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Champions Tour wins (2)

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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 United States Jeff Sluman)
−23 (62-66-65=193) 1 stroke United States Fred Funk and United States Mike Goodes,
United States Kenny Perry and United States Gene Sauers

*Note: The 2011 Insperity Championship was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT T50LA 57 CUT T33
The Open Championship CUT T11 T73
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T31 T9 T15 T17 T25 CUT T26 T24
U.S. Open 66 CUT CUT T68 T33 T56 T82 T65 T49
The Open Championship CUT 7 T15 T33 T20 T11
PGA Championship CUT T48 T15 T14 T30 5 T17 CUT T13 T61
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament T10 T12 T23 T31
U.S. Open CUT CUT T66 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T47 CUT T46 T60 T23
PGA Championship T27 T59 T29 CUT T13 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low Amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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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)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
The Players Championship T33 CUT CUT CUT CUT T17 T70 CUT T67 DQ T6 T49 4 T35 T46 T77 T26 T36 T11 T42 T46 T16
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Match Play R64 QF 3 R32 R64
Championship NT1 T49 T16 T13
Invitational T63 T9 T32

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 21 1997 Ending 25 May 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "PGA Tour Profile – Brad Faxon". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Brad Faxon bio". Billy Andrade Brad Faxon Charities for Children. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e "PGA Tour Media Guide – Brad Faxon". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "Brad Faxon – 1995". OWGR.
  6. ^ "Fox Sports announces addition of Faxon, Fay to 2015 USGA Championships golf coverage". Fox Sports. July 31, 2014.
  7. ^ Furman reinstates men's golf program
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