THE CANADIAN PRESS
OAKVILLE, Ont. — Brent Franklin and Graham Cooke couldn’t be more proud to be going into the Canadian Hall of Fame with the late Ben Kern.
The Royal Canadian Golf Association announced 2010’s inductions via conference call Thursday. And both Franklin and Cooke made it very clear that being inducted with Kern, who died in 2002, made the honour extra special.
"He took me under his wing and even though it cost me $1 every time I played with him I learned an awful lot," Cooke said. "We were very, very fast friends and I got into that family circle of his brothers and it was so nice.
"So to go in with Brent and Ben is truly an honour."
Franklin echoed those sentiments.
"I don’t know whether I’m deserving but I’m truly honoured to be a part of this," he said. "To go in with Ben and Graham is something that’s very special and something that my family and myself we can enjoy."
Cooke and Franklin are being inducted in the player category, while Kern will be enshrined as a builder. The trio will bring the total number of individuals in the Hall to 67.
Kern was 56 when he died on Oct. 4, 2002 and will be remembered for his dedication to Canadian junior golf.
Kern spent six years on the PGA Tour but organized the first International Teaching and Coaching Symposium that brought world-renowned instructors to Canada in 1990. He also served on the board of the Canadian PGA and co-ordinated completion of its teaching manual.
In 1990, he partnered with the RCGA to design the curriculum for what is now the CN Future Links junior development program, which was launched in 1996.
Kern, with the help of Devil’s Pulpit superintendent Ken Wright, also invented the Accuform bunker rake — which has became an industry standard — and also was instrumental in starting the Golf Management program at Toronto’s Humber College.
"Ben had a passion for the game of golf and he lived to inspire this in others through magazine articles, clinics, golf schools, exhibitions, lessons," said Kern’s wife, Janet. "He shared his love of the game.
"Ben was particularly proud of his full immersion program for junior golfers that he started at the National Golf Club and ran for 16 consecutive years."
But Kern’s brother, Fred, said golf was a family affair.
"It brought five brothers together for a game every year from 1983 to 2002," he said. "We had some great times, it was some great bonding time with all the brothers.
"The last nine years the four of us have played on the National Ben Kern Pro-Am and we take Ben’s clubs along with us as memory to him."
Kern will be posthumously inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in early June.
Cooke, 63, of Hudson, Que., won seven Canadian Mid-Amateur titles and four Canadian Men’s senior crowns over his illustrious playing career.
His 11 national amateur championships 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, Cooke served as a Royal Canadian Golf Association director 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. After serving as an apprentice with Canadian golf course architect Howard Watson, Cooke formed his own firm. Graham Cooke & Associates has worked on more than 100 courses, earning 10 awards.
Cooke’s induction ceremony will take place in Montreal at a date yet to be determined.
Franklin, 44, of Barrie, Ont., captured the 1983-84 Canadian junior titles before receiving a scholarship to Brigham Young University. There, he earned three All-American selections.
He became just the second player two win three straight Canadian Men’s Amateur Championships (1985-1987) and also was part of the Canadian team that won the ’86 world amateur title.
Franklin turned pro in 1988 and won the Canadian PGA Championship that year. He was the Canadian Professional Golf Tour’s top rookie after claiming six top-10 finishes in just eight starts. He competed on the Japan Golf Tour from 1989 to ’95, posting four runner-up finishes in 112 starts.
A cycling accident in 1995 eventually curtailed Franklin’s golf career. He works now as a teaching pro in Colorado and has been an assistant coach with the University of Colorado women’s team since 2003.
Franklin will be inducted this summer at a ceremony in Vancouver.