Alex Franklin Notches Another Top-10 Finish
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Alex Franklin notched his second consecutive top-10 finish, this time at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate on Sunday, to lead the Oregon State men’s golf team in their final tournament before the Pac-12 Championship.
Franklin, a senior from San Rafael, Calif., finished the two-day, 54-hole tournament with a 3-over 72-70-74--216 at the par-71, 7,455-yard Scarlet Course at The Ohio State University Golf Club to finish in a tie for 10th place. He finished in a tie for eighth place at the Beavers’ last tournament, the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., last week.
It’s the fourth top-10 finish of the season for Franklin and the sixth in his two-year Oregon State career.
“It was another very good tournament for Alex,” Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. “This week is an impressive showing for him because of the length of the course and the wet conditions.
“Leading up to the event it rained for about a week straight in Columbus, which made a 7,300-yard course play even longer. Alex isn’t the longest hitter on our team, but he always seems to find a way. The way he manages his game and just sticks to doing what he does best is fun to watch.”
As a team, the Beavers finished 12th in the 14-team field with a 42-over 296-299-299--894. Georgia Tech finished with a 4-under 848 to win by 16 strokes over SMU (12-over 864). Host Ohio State finished third with a 16-over 868.
Junior Brian Jung also had a very good tournament, finishing in a tie for 20th place with a 7-over 72-75-73--220. It’s the fourth time this season, and eighth time in his career, Jung has recorded a top-20 finish.
“Brian Jung had a very good tournament,” Reehoorn said. “He has made some good progress in the last few weeks and is looking good going into the Pac-12 Championship.”
Senior Scott Kim finished in a tie for 54th place with a 15-over 77-75-76--228, sophomore Kevin Murphy finished in a tie for 67th with a 19-over 75-81-76--232 and junior Chris Tedesco finished in a tie for 72nd with a 23-over 79-79-78--236.
“Unfortunately, the story of our season will end up being not able to get Kevin and Alex playing well at the same time and, for whatever reason, we just haven’t been able to get it done this year,” Reehoorn said.
The Beavers have two weeks to prepare for the Pac-12 Championship, which will be held in Pullman, Wash., from Monday, April 27 to Wednesday, April 29.
