Raleigh’s Stephen Franken hears cheers from hometown fans at Rex Hospital Open
Stephen Franken didn’t win the Rex Hospital Open on Sunday.
Mito Pereira did that with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. The Chile native and former Texas Tech golfer topped Stephan Jaeger at the Country Club of Wakefield Plantation. With his second win of the season on the Korn Ferry Tour, he will be on the PGA Tour next season.
“I’m really happy with where my game is and really happy obviously with where I’m headed to,” said Pereira, 26, who had a final-round 67. “Since I was 3 years old I’ve wanted to play on the PGA Tour.”
Franken, a Raleigh native who played college golf at N.C. State, had the kind of finish he’d like to replicate more often on the Korn Ferry Tour. With a final-round 67 and 17-under-par 267 total, he tied for sixth place, his fourth top-10 finish of the season, and kept his name on the leader boards most of the sunny day.
Franken, 24, got a big hometown hand at the 18th from a gallery that was bigger than expected at Wakefield. He tossed his golf ball to a young fan after the round and bounded up a hill to the clubhouse like a young man on a mission, eyes straight ahead.
“It was pretty fun,” Franken said after the round. “I’m a little disappointed right now because I would have liked to finish better at 17 and 18 but, yeah, it was awesome. I’ve come to this event since I was 12, when my Dad and parents would bring me out. So it was really fun.”
Franken bogeyed the par-4 17th hole, then narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th.
For players like Franken, it’s all about trying to finish in the top 25 in Korn Ferry points. Do that and he, too, will earn his playing card for the PGA Tour next season.
Franken, a former ACC player of the year with the Pack, spent much of the past year traveling during the pandemic, which meant his life has pretty much been spent at the golf course or holed up in a hotel room.
“It has definitely been a grind, for sure,” he said. “Last year was really weird with COVID. It took a bit of time for me to kind of figure out the transition from college to pro, because you’re on the road so much more. You’re never home.”
Growing up a Canes fan
Growing up in Raleigh, Franken was a diehard Carolina Hurricanes fan and played in the Junior Hurricanes program for a couple of years. He said he was at some of the Canes’ playoff games in 2006 as the Canes won the Stanley Cup.
In his tour bio, he lists Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, the team’s 2006 captain, as one of his favorite athletes. Another favorite from the 2006 team: Mike Commodore.
Like Commodore, Franken was a defenseman in junior hockey. Like Commodore, he has red hair. Commodore was famous for his red, bushy ‘Fro. And Franken?
“I did have a ‘Fro,” he said, smiling.
Commodore got a lot of attention during the 2006 Cup run for wearing a white bathrobe. Franken had one, too.
Franken, who played golf at Millbrook High, earned a spot on the Wolfpack golf team under former coach Richard Sykes and earned a degree in finance while earning All-ACC honors. He continues to work with golf instructor Chase Duncan of Raleigh, and spent some time with him this week before the Rex at Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
No swing tweaks, though. “Just making sure I’m in sync,” Franken said.
Franken left the Rex 65th in Korn Ferry points, having won $136,185 for the season. His best finish this season has been a tie for fourth in the Huntsville Championship in early May.
The 2019 Rex Hospital Open was Franken’s first pro event and and he shot 77-74 to miss the cut. But he tied for seventh in the Korn Ferry Qualifying Tournament in December 2019. He’s now trying to establish himself, prove he can take the next step and win.
“I’m just staying in the present moment, taking it one shot at a time,” he said.
Staying patient, staying on course with his career, eyes straight ahead.
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 6:21 PM.
