Alex Franklin Concludes Outstanding Career
BREMERTON, Wash. – Alex Franklin shot a 2-over 74 in the final round of the NCAA Division I Men‘s Golf West Regional Championships on Saturday to finish in a tie for 24th place and narrowly missed out on advancing to the NCAA National Championships.
Franklin concluded the three-day, 54-hole tournament with an even-par 71-71-74--216 at the par-72, 7,115-yard Gold Mountain Golf Club, Olympic Course.
The low five teams and low individual not on those teams advanced to the NCAA National Championships, which will be conducted May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. Franklin
Kyle Mueller of Michigan finished in a tie for second place with a 9-under 207 to claim the automatic individual berth since the Wolverines were seventh in the team standings.
“Alex was playing pretty well today at 1 under through 14 holes and then they were put on the clock for slow play and it threw him out of his rhythm,” Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. “He missed a short putt for par on his sixth hole and it seemed like he lost a little momentum. At that point he probably knew it would be difficult to advance and he unfortunately gave back a couple of shots.
“I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done for Oregon State golf. Coaching him for two years has been one of the easiest things I’ve had to do in 11 years of coaching. I never had to worry about anything. I knew he was going to get his school work done while also being the first one to the golf course and the last one to leave.
“He does everything the right way and was always a great example for what his teammates should be doing.”
Franklin, a senior from San Rafael, Calif., finished his final season at Oregon State with a scoring average of 72.27, the eighth best in Oregon State single-season history. After transferring to the Beavers two years ago he posted a career scoring average of 72.59, the sixth best in school history.
