Carlos Daniel Franco (born 24 May 1965) is a Paraguayan professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

Early life In 1965, Franco was born in Asunción, the Paraguayan capital. He comes from a poor background and grew up in a one-room, dirt-floor home. His father was a greenkeeper and caddie, and he has five brothers, all of whom became golf professionals. One of his brothers is Ángel Franco.

Professional career In 1986, Franco turned professional. He has played in many parts of the world. He has won more than twenty tournaments in Latin America, and from 1994 to 1999 he won five times on the Japan Golf Tour. He also won the 1994 Philippine Open title on the Asia Golf Circuit and claimed the Order of Merit title that season.

Franco first played on the U.S.-based PGA Tour in 1999 and was fully exempt until 2006. He was the first rookie to surpass $1 million in earnings in a season and won the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year title. He won four times on the PGA Tour. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, going as high as 16th in 2000. He is also one of the few non-Americans to win a Presidents Cup as a member of the 1998 team. After struggling to stay on the PGA Tour, Franco also played on the Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica.

Franco joined the Champions Tour after turning 50. He has won twice at the Shaw Charity Classic and the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf, a pairs tournament with Vijay Singh. At the 2019 Pan American Games, Franco teamed with Fabrizio Zanotti, Julieta Granada, and Sofia García, to win the silver medal in the mixed team event.

Professional wins (25) PGA Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up19 May 1999Compaq Classic of New Orleans−19 (66-69-68-66=269)2 strokes Steve Flesch, Harrison Frazar211 Jul 1999Greater Milwaukee Open−16 (65-66-67-66=264)2 strokes Tom Lehman37 May 2000Compaq Classic of New Orleans (2)−18 (67-67-68-68=270)Playoff Blaine McCallister425 Jul 2004U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee (2)−13 (68-63-69-67=267)2 strokes Fred Funk, Brett Quigley

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12000Compaq Classic of New Orleans Blaine McCallisterWon with par on second extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up125 Sep 1994Gene Sarazen Jun Classic−16 (65-67-68-72=272)2 strokes Tsuneyuki Nakajima211 Jun 1995Sapporo Tokyu Open−10 (68-69-69-72=278)1 stroke Shinji Ikeuchi, Kazuhiro Takami315 Sep 1996ANA Open−6 (67-73-74-68=282)1 stroke Masahiro Kuramoto429 Mar 1998Just System KSB Open−17 (70-65-67-65=267)4 strokes Frankie Miñoza510 May 1998Fujisankei Classic−9 (69-70-67-69=275)1 stroke Chen Tze-chung

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11996Dydo Drinco Shizuoka Open Yoshikazu Sakamoto, Nobuo SerizawaSakamoto won with par on first extra hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up120 Feb 1994Manila Southwoods Philippine Open−8 (72-69-68-71=280)Playoff Choi Sang-ho

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11994Manila Southwoods Philippine Open Choi Sang-hoWon with par on first extra hole

Tour de las Américas wins (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up11992Paraguay Open 21993Uruguay Open 310 Dec 2000Paraguay Open (2) 42 Dec 2001Chevrolet Brazil Open−11 (69-67-67-70=273)4 strokes Miguel Guzmán530 Nov 2003American Express Trump Brazil Open (2)−3 (70-71-69-71=281)Playoff Eduardo Argiró

Other wins (8) 1985 Chile Open 1986 Chaco Open (Argentina) 1987 Asunción Open (Paraguay) 1990 Norpatagonico Open (Argentina) 1991 Daytron Cup (Paraguay) 1993 Los Leones Open (Chile), Asunción Open (Paraguay) 2004 Center Open (Argentina)

PGA Tour Champions wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up14 Sep 2016Shaw Charity Classic−18 (66-63-63=192)2 strokes Michael Allen, Bernhard Langer223 Apr 2017 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf(with Vijay Singh)−15 (51-42=93)1 stroke Fred Funk and Jeff Sluman, Paul Goydos and Kevin Sutherland, Corey Pavin and Duffy Waldorf

Results in major championships Tournament199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005Masters TournamentT6T746CUTU.S. OpenT34T61CUTWDCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTT64CUTCUTT54PGA Championship70T40T26T58T29T18T31T59

WD = Withdrew CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 3U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 8Totals 0 0 0 0 2 3 22 15 Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1998 Open Championship – 1999 U.S. Open) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship Tournament19992000200120022003200420052006The Players ChampionshipCUTT27CUTT22T48T58CUTT45 CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships Tournament199920002001200220032004Match PlayR32R64ChampionshipT48T45NT1T28InvitationalT7T2720T42T58 1Cancelled due to 9/11

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament

Results in senior major championships Results are not in chronological order before 2022. Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2018 20192020202120222023The TraditionT48T34T3468NTT74Senior PGA ChampionshipCUTT38T49T28NTCUTU.S. Senior OpenCUTT28NTCUTSenior Players ChampionshipT20T54T4367T56T72T61T70Senior British Open ChampionshipCUTT18T43NTT29CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Paraguay): 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 World Cup (representing Paraguay): 1992, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 Presidents Cup (International Team): 1998 (winners), 2000

See also 1998 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2007 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References

External links