Brad Faxon


Bradford John Faxon Jr. is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended Furman University, and earned a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1983.
At Furman, Faxon was a two-time All-American 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. He turned professional in 1983.

Professional career

PGA Tour

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

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 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.

Broadcasting

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

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.

Personal life

Faxon resides in Palm Beach Gardens with his wife, Dory, and their four daughters.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (21)

PGA Tour wins (8)

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11991Buick Open

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Nov 28, 1993Heineken Australian Open−13 2 strokes

Other wins (9)

Other playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
11995Fred Meyer Challenge
(with

Results in major championships

Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters TournamentT31T9T15T17T25CUTT26T24
U.S. Open66CUTCUTT68T33T56T82T65T49
The Open ChampionshipCUT7T15T33T20T11
PGA ChampionshipCUTT48T15T14T305T17CUTT13T61

Tournament2000200120022003200420052006
Masters TournamentT10T12T23T31
U.S. OpenCUTCUTT66CUTCUT
The Open ChampionshipT47CUTT46T60T23
PGA ChampionshipT27T59T29CUTT13CUTCUT

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

Summary

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 13
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
Professional