Brad Faxon: Difference between revisions

Brad Faxon
Brad Faxon
Personal information
Full name	Bradford John Faxon, Jr.
Born	August 1, 1961 (age 63); Oceanport, New Jersey
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Barrington, Rhode Island
Career
College	Furman University
Turned professional	1983
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour; Champions Tour
Professional wins	21
Highest ranking	11 (May 25, 1997)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	8
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
PGA Tour Champions	2
Other	10
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T9: 1993
PGA Championship	5th: 1995
U.S. Open	T33: 1989, 1994
The Open Championship	7th: 1994
Achievements and awards
Payne Stewart Award
Payne Stewart Award	2005

Browse history interactively

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Revision as of 18:26, 2 April 2020

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^[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

PGA Tour

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

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

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.^[3]^[4]

Broadcasting

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

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]

Entrepreneurship

EAST PROVIDENCE — The last thing Brad Faxon wanted to see was the demise of one of Rhode Island’s classic golf courses, so he’s decided to help.

Faxon is one of several investors in an agreement to purchase the Metacomet Golf Club in East Providence. Faced with substantial debt and sinking membership numbers, the club was put up for sale last fall and is under agreement to be sold this week.

Faxon spent Tuesday afternoon walking the course with members of Gil Hanse’s course-design team and a local arborist. He said the new ownership group is hoping to address years of deferred course maintenance issues and add improvements that would bring the 117-year old Donald Ross design up to date.

“A lot of opportunities pop up, and I couldn’t pass on this one,” said Faxon. “I’ve been playing here since the 1970s with my Dad (Brad Sr.). I played in the club championships and the father-son events here and won the club championship once. This can be a great golf course once again.”

Faxon remarked how the course “is the closest green space to Providence,” and was once a meeting place for the city’s leading industrialists. Those days are long gone, but Metacomet’s bones remain intact and the course always held one of the best collections of greens in the area. ^[8]

Faxon and Napoli were joined by three other investors: Brendan VanDeventer, Tim Fay and Karl Augenstein. By March, members were informed via email of the impending sale; later that month, Faxon walked Metacomet with Gil Hanse's design team, examining possible improvements to the course.

The investors, now known as the Metacomet Property Company, acquired the club on April 8, 2019. According to the Providence Journal, tax records show Metacomet Property Company paid $750,000 for the course, with both sides telling the Journal the deal included more than $2 million in debt and back taxes. Following the sale, MPC issued its mission statement to the club: “To preserve and maintain the Metacomet Country Club (“MET”) as an original Donald Ross designed championship golf course for the benefit of its membership (both existing and new) and for the game of golf for generations to come.”

"We viewed it as, wow, you couldn't possibly have a better group, right?" Porter says.

Porter then goes quiet, and the silence that follows is suffocating.

• • •

The Met would not go unchanged.

While the MPC promised the integrity and soul of Metracomet would remain intact, it was likewise unequivocal that flexibility from members was essential. The clubhouse was in need of repair, and to boost dwindling membership numbers, a limited amount of tee times would be made available to the public (thus changing the Met from country club to golf club). Though it's a common practice around the globe, semi-privatization remains taboo for American clubs. Over a dozen members said there was pushback on the "member for a day" initiative, but reason eventually won out. The biggest proposal: Turning the 11th hole, and possibly 12th, into condominiums.

Drastic as that sounds, there was little resistance from the members. They bought in.

“We were on the verge of going out of business, and here comes Brad to save the day,” Trainor says. “Whatever reservations we had died pretty quickly. Hanse was going to come in and re-route the course. Hey, we were happy just to be breathing, and he and his group are promising us the world."

"It was logical," adds Porter. "It was, hey, we're not going to do it right away, but we're probably going to build some condos on 11, because that would be overlooking the river. And we could re-route the 11th hole and maybe change 12 a little bit, because 12 is an absurdly long par-3. There's a ton of dead space [in those areas]. Quite frankly, they could have dropped a pool over there and made it a family club."

Members said the transition was relatively smooth at the start. However, prolonged spring weather correlated to a sporadic summer, a situation members say the club was not prepared for. With rounds played down, ownership informed members it was increasing public play, the first signal to members that something was not right.

"On the Fourth of July, members could barely get a tee time," Porter says. "There was supposed to be restricted windows, but everyone felt like those windows were being ignored."

The club addressed the growing concern in an email dated Aug. 16. “As we have had less than 4,400 member rounds played YTD, we have been increasing the level of non-member play to help support the operation,” reads the email, obtained by Golf Digest. “We will continue to monitor the amount of play on the golf course and modify the time restrictions as needed.”

It was not a welcomed announcement. "No person in their right mind would say, 'Oh, I'm going to pay to join a semi-private club,' when they could just do the 'member for a day' program, which was a member for a day all year if you wanted and pay $70 to play when you want," Porter says.

Other problems emerged. New kitchen help caused issues with the restaurant, according to Nani. Strangely, there were rumors of new membership snafus, members said.

"What I can tell you that was alarming throughout the year is some people would call with interest in joining, and they wouldn't hear back," Porter says. "That had people starting to ask questions." This could have been fueled by an out-of-date website, which members acknowledged needed revamping.

Still, trust remained high in the "Faxon Five." "Guys weren't happy about things, but they were accepting it because it was needed to keep the course going, and they believed in the mission that these guys had," Porter says. Especially after a Nov. 18 meeting in which the partners—Faxon over the phone, the other four in the room—presented what they had in store for Metacomet. Members said the presentation was a success, infusing positivity and hope for the upcoming season.

The club emailed a summary of the meeting on Nov. 27. Those who attended say the bullet points are consistent with what was pitched. Included in the synopsis was the club staying open during winter months, an introduction of a non-resident membership, a promise to relaunch the club’s website, and a reduction of 3,000 public, reciprocal and non-member rounds. At the top of the list was this item:

Real Estate Development - We have not made any real estate plans to date, nor have we set any timeline to do so. Our initial task is to stabilize the club, retain existing members and grow the membership.

Nothing much was thought of it. As multiple members relayed, the club was transparent in wanting, eventually, condos on the property; this was a non-update update. Besides, with the club's future secured, the focus of the Metacomet men was elsewhere.

"After a rough spring and summer, we had an easy winter, so we were going to get at it early," Trainor says.

Those ambitions were torched on Feb. 20 when the club made a surprise announcement: The owners were discussing a sale of the property. A week later, MPC entered a purchase and sale agreement with a real-estate developer. Metacomet Golf Club was no more.

Following Metacomet's announcement, Marshall Properties released its own statement on the acquisition.

“Marshall plans to redevelop the site into an exciting first-class mixed-use property that will bolster both commerce and community in the upper bay. In the coming months, a vision for the property will be unveiled—a vision that will further strengthen East Providence and Rhode Island’s economy through investment, job creation and the development of a vibrant center of activity in one of the state’s top communities." The day Metacomet members felt they had avoided came to pass. Brought by the very person who saved them.

"I could live with it if we lost it because of the economy or bad decisions through the years, but everyone around here knows Brad. That’s why everyone signed aboard. We feel we got the bait-n-switch," Trainor says. ^[9]

Personal

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

Amateur wins (6)

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)

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	Chip Beck
2	Jul 26, 1992	New England Classic	−16 (66-67-67-68=268)	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson
3	Aug 23, 1992	The International	14 points (4-7-7-14)	2 points	Lee Janzen
4	Apr 6, 1997	Freeport-McDermott Classic	−16 (68-69-66-69=272)	3 strokes	Bill Glasson, Jesper Parnevik
5	Sep 20, 1999	B.C. Open	−15 (69-67-70-67=273)	Playoff	Fred Funk
6	Jul 23, 2000	B.C. Open (2)	−18 (68-66-68-68=270)	1 stroke	Esteban Toledo
7	Jan 21, 2001	Sony Open in Hawaii	−20 (64-64-67-65=260)	4 strokes	Tom Lehman
8	Aug 28, 2005	Buick Championship	−14 (69-71-65-61=266)	Playoff	Tjaart van der Walt

PGA Tour playoff record (3–6)

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

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Legend
Australian Opens (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	Michael Clayton, Jeff Woodland

Other wins (10)

1985 Rhode Island Open
1986 Provident Classic (unofficial PGA Tour)
1994 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout (with Fred Couples)
1995 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Greg Norman)
1996 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Greg Norman)
1997 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Greg Norman)
1999 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Billy Andrade)
2001 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Billy Andrade), Franklin Templeton Shootout (with Scott McCarron)
2002 Franklin Templeton Shootout (with Scott McCarron)

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	Tommy Armour III
2	Apr 28, 2013	Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf (with Jeff Sluman)	−23 (62-66-65=193)	1 stroke	Fred Funk & Mike Goodes, Kenny Perry & Gene Sauers

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

Results in major championships

Tournament	1981	1982	1983	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T50 LA	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

Tournament	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	2	8	12	11
U.S. Open	0	0	0	18	11
The Open Championship	0	1	6	14	11
PGA Championship	1	1	6	22	12
Totals	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

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