By SEAN MARTIN
Assistant EditorSILVIS, Ill. – After seven birdies on a steamy Saturday in small-town America, Philip Francis may have regained his status as a can’t-miss kid.
Francis, a UCLA sophomore, shot a bogey-free 64 in the third round of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic; the 19-year-old was tied for 11th with one round remaining, just four shots out of the lead.
His final-round 75 in windy conditions at TPC Deere Run dropped him to T-34 at 7-under 277, but the tournament was still a step in the right direction for the former AJGA player of the year.
“Coming through this week I was confident. I was putting well, hitting the ball well, worked on some things with my swing,” Francis said. “I knew if I put some things together and managed my game well I could do pretty well and I did.
“Definitely after 67 and 64 out here, that gives me some confidence. A few more years of maturing and getting older and physically stronger and everything else, you know, I should – you know, I love to be out here.”
USC junior Jamie Lovemark, the 2007 NCAA champion, also made the cut, finishing T-77 after a final-round 77; he opened the tournament with rounds of 70 and 66.
Francis watched the movie “Get Smart” during the week, an appropriate title considering he credited increased maturity and improved course management to his good play this week.
“He’s picking and choosing his battles better,” his father, John Francis, said. “When you’re 17, 18, you don’t see any downside. He’s weighing things out a little bit better now.”
Next week will mark the two-year anniversary of his victory at the U.S. Junior Amateur. He holed out a gap wedge early on that final day outside San Diego, and punctuated the victory with a 6-iron that one-hopped off the flagstick.
It was his third major junior victory in a four-month span. Big things were expected out of the skinny kid from Scottsdale.
But then things started to go south. He took his game to the PGA Tour last summer, and fell flat.
Francis was 23 over par in three events, missing the cut in Memphis, Moline and Milwaukee. He finished outside the top 50 in the Northeast Amateur and Western Amateur. Francis, the highest-profile recruit in UCLA history, didn’t make the team’s starting lineup for its first event.
Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler won two prestigious amateur events that summer and made the U.S. Walker Cup team, replacing Francis at the head of their class.
“I had 7, 8, 9 months where I didn’t play nearly as well as I would’ve liked,” he said. “Golf is a game of ups and downs. I’ve had it real good obviously the first 19 years of my life, since being 10 and winning Junior World. It’s just a constant learning process. I wasn’t worried.”
He did admit having some difficulty adjusting to the move from Scottsdale to Los Angeles. He grew up at Desert Mountain Golf Club, where he had six golf courses within a couple miles from his home. Francis also went from being home-schooled to one of the country’s top academic institutions.
“A lot of freshmen, they have the same problem, and others don’t,” Francis said. “It was tough adjusting to the L.A.-type lifestyle with traffic and not having the same facilities. In the end, it’ll be good for me because I have to get just as much done with not as much given to me.”
Things have slowly been turning around.
Francis ended the season No. 82 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. He finished 33rd at the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship to help UCLA win the team title.
It was a good freshman year, but still substandard.
“He needed a little egg on his face,” John Francis said. “He got enough of it. But I’m just really proud of him that he’s never really backed off. Once things weren’t going really well, he stuck right with it and grinded it out and improved on the areas he needed to improve on. He took responsibility.”
In his only competitive start since the NCAA Championship, Francis finished 10th at the prestigious Northeast Amateur.
A victory this week is unlikely. Four shots is a lot to make up on a course that is yielding birdies in bunches. He’d have to leapfrog 10 players, including Kenny Perry, the planet’s hottest golfer.
Francis, who’ll play Sunday in the sixth-to-last group with Woody Austin, could earn a spot in the British Open if he finishes in the top 5 and is the highest finisher not already exempt for the event.
“It’s rewarding ... to see him take one step backward, but two steps forward,” John Francis said. “As long as he keeps really sucking up the bad days and working on them, he’s going to be alright.”
• • •
Sean Martin is a Golfweek assistant editor. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.
Posted: 7/12/2008
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