Brad Faxon

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Stepping back from baseball for a moment...Before baseball became my all-consuming passion, I also followed the PGA Tour. I was really into it in the 80s for several reasons: I had huge fan-girl crushes on Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman. They played several tournaments in this area, so I could go out and actually see some of the big names play. And I had a hometown favorite, Brad Faxon. Brad grew up in my hometown of Barrington, Rhode Island - and was actually a casual friend of my brother's. When I went to tourneys, he'd always greet me like a long-lost friend, which is a great feeling. He even won a tournament here, the Provident Classic (which they have since quit playing!). Our whole family adopted him as our favorite player, and my dad in particular loved to watch him play. As a matter of fact, when my parents sold their house and moved into assisted living, we found a photo of Brad and my brother Mike in among the family photo display!

He's been battling injuries for the past two years, and hasn't been playing much. He's only a few years away from the Champions Tour, so I think he'll try to play in a few tournaments until then, keep his Tour card current through exemptions.

Meantime, there's a really nice article about him on the PGATOUR.Com site, talking about his charity work and how he won the Payne Stewart Award last year for all he's done. I think all of Barrington is pretty proud of him!