Canadian Golf Hall Of Fame Inductees for 2010

The 44-year-old Franklin will join Quebec golf course designer and 11-time national amateur finalist Graham Cooke in the Hall's playing category while the late Ben Kern of Ontario, a catalyst for the development of junior golf in Canada, will be inducted posthumously in the builders category.

This brings to 67 the number of individuals now enshrined in the Canadian Hall, which is located in Oakville, Ont., on the grounds of the Glen Abbey Golf Course. Inductees are nominated by the public and then voted on by a panel of 10 from the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA).

No one was more surprised with his selection to the Hall than Franklin himself.

"It never occurred to me it was something that was possible," he said, "I don't know if I'm deserving, but I truly feel honoured,"

After moving with his parents from Ontario to British Columbia at the start of the 80s, Franklin, a gangly six-footer, made an instant impact on golf in this province in 1983. He won his first tournament, the Vancouver City Match Play Open, against a mixed field of top amateurs and club professionals. Next came the B.C. Junior championship at the Richmond Country Club, before traveling cross-town to capture the Canadian Junior title at the Vancouver Club in Coquitlam.

The following year at age 18, an inch taller, 20 pounds heavier and hitting his drives with authority 30 yards further, Franklin began to catch the attention of college scouts and coaches by setting a Canadian record that has lasted to this day by becoming the first player to win both his provincial junior title and Canadian junior championship two years in a row.

Sadly for Vancouver golf fans, Brent moved with his family to Alberta in 1985, won the Alberta Amateur and then went on to win the Canadian Amateur for three consecutive years (1985-86-87), joining George S. Lyons (1905-06-07) as the only players to ever accomplish that feat.

Meantime, in 1985 Franklin accepted a golf scholarship to attend Brigham Young University in Utah where he earned three All-American selections. In 1986 he was the Western Athletic Conference Medalist and Player of the Year and later that season, in Caracas, Venezuela, with teammates Mark Brewer, Jack Kay Jr., and Warren Sye, Franklin was a member of the only Canadian team to win the World Amateur Team Championship and the Eisenhower Trophy.

In the Fall of 1987 Franklin turned professional and set a record the following season that may last for years to come. At the Emerald Hills Golf Club in Stouffville, Ont., he defeated PGA Tour veteran Dave Barr of B.C. by one shot to claim the 1988 Canadian PGA Championship for his first pro victory and record his sixth consecutive Canadian golf title in six years.

From 1990 through 1995 Franklin enjoyed financial success on the Japan, Asian and Australian pro circuits and continued to represent Canada internationally on World Cup and Dunhill Cup Teams. However, in 1995 he was hit by a car while jogging and suffered a severely broken leg. After a number of surgeries and diligent rehabilitation he eventually returned to competition, although the Franklin magic just wasn't the same. By 1998 he decided he'd had enough of the traveling and more or less retired, playing a limited schedule in the years that followed.

In 2003, while working as a teaching pro in Denver, Franklin became a volunteer coach for the Colorado University girls team and in 2005 was hired as the assistant women's coach.

Married and the father of two sons, Franklin will officially be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in mid-June or July at Vancouver's Shaughnessy Golf Club, where he was a former member and shared a close association with the late Jack McLaughlin, the former Director of Golf and renowned teacher.

"My wife, Kristine, and I have a number of friends in the Vancouver area so I'm pretty sure we'll have the ceremony there. If not, it will be in Calgary around the time of the Canadian Open," says Franklin.

RCGA Release

GRAHAM COOKE, 63, enters the Hall of Fame as both a prominent amateur player and a renowned golf course architect. A standout amateur golfer, Cooke has amassed seven Canadian Mid-Amateur titles and four Canadian Men's Senior titles throughout his illustrious playing career. His 11 national amateur championship titles is a record for most national events won by a Canadian male amateur. Cooke also won the 1965 Ontario Junior Championship; the 1981, 1984, 1993 and 1996 Quebec Amateur Championships; as well as the 2006 and 2008 Quebec Senior Amateur Championships. In addition, he is a five-time Duke of Kent Champion, a four-time Alexander of Tunis Champion and has made 27 Willingdon Cup appearances at the Canadian Men's Amateur Championship as a member of Quebec's provincial team.

He also served as an RCGA Governor in 1990 and played an important role in implementing Golf Quebec's slope and handicapping system for courses.

Cooke attended Michigan State University where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture. He later apprenticed with Canadian golf course architect Howard Watson before forming his own firm. As a celebrated golf course architect, Cooke and his team at Graham Cooke & Associates have worked on more than 100 courses, earning 10 awards for their efforts.

Cooke's induction ceremony will take in Montreal at a date yet to be determined.

BEN KERN (August 11, 1946-October 14, 2002) who was born in Rolandia, Brazil, but moved to Canada with his family at an early age, will long be remembered for his dedication to Canadian junior golf. He organized the first International Teaching and Coaching Symposium, bringing world-renowned instructors to Canada in 1990. He also served on the board of the Canadian PGA and coordinated completion of its teaching manual.

A former touring professional, Kern played on the PGA Tour for six years and was one of Canada's leading golf instructors. He gave his time and energy at every level of the game in Canada with a goal of helping to foster the development of Canada's elite golfers, both amateurs and professionals. He also wanted to introduce more children to the sport of golf.

In the mid 1990's, Kern partnered with the RCGA to design the curriculum for what is now the CN Future Links junior development program. Until that time, there were no formally organized junior programs to teach golf to children in Canada. The CN Future Links program was launched in 1996 and continues to serve as a junior golfer program run by Canadian PGA professionals across the country in partnership with Canada's provincial golf associations and the RCGA. More than 845,000 have taken part in CN Future Links programming since 1996.

With help from Devils Pulpit Superintendent Ken Wright, Kern also invented the Accuform bunker rake which has became the industry standard at most golf courses and PGA TOUR stops across North America. Kern also played an instrumental role in starting the Golf Management program at Humber College in Toronto.

His posthumous induction will take place at the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in early June.

"The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame seeks to recognize excellence as golfers, contributors and supporters of the game," said David Shaw, Chair of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. "Graham Cooke, Brent Franklin and Ben Kern have each amassed their own unique golf-related legacies and are fine examples of what makes golf such a great sport. Each of our 2010 inductees made tremendous contributions to the game and it is only fitting that as such, they are recognized for their accomplishments."

ABOUT THE CANADIAN GOLF HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM
The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding individuals of Canadian golf from players, both amateur and professional, to the builders, architects and others who have been fundamental to the evolution of the game in this country. Operated by the Royal Canadian Golf Association, the Hall of Fame, museum and library are open to visitors to discover more about the game and the inductees.
For more information visit www.cghf.org.

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing more than 350,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA's mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.
For further information visit www.rcga.org.