Ben Crane facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ben Crane
Crane in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin McCully Crane
Born	(1976-03-06) March 6, 1976 (age 49) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Nashville, Tennessee
Spouse	Heather Crane
Children	3
Career
College	Baylor University University of Oregon
Turned professional	1999
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	5
Asian Tour	1
Web.com Tour	2
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament	T17: 2012
U.S. Open	T53: 2008
The Open Championship	T11: 2006
PGA Championship	T9: 2004

Ben Crane (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional golfer. He plays on the PGA Tour, which is a big league for golf players.

Getting Started in Golf

Ben Crane was born in Portland, Oregon. He started playing golf when he was just five years old. His grandfather taught him how to play. Ben grew up practicing at the Portland Golf Club. This is a famous golf course where the legendary golfer Ben Hogan once won a tournament.

High School and College Golf

Ben went to Beaverton High School and finished in 1994. After high school, he went to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He later moved to the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. There, he played golf for the university team, known as the Oregon Ducks. He graduated in 1999 and then became a professional golfer that same year.

Ben Crane's Professional Golf Career

Ben Crane playing golf in 2014

Ben Crane started his professional career by winning two events on the Buy.com Tour. This tour is a step below the main PGA Tour. He won his first event in 2000 and another in 2001.

In December 2001, Ben earned his PGA Tour card. This meant he could play in the biggest golf tournaments. He won his first PGA Tour event in 2003 at the BellSouth Classic. His second win came in 2005 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. That year, he also had several other great finishes. He ended up 19th in earnings for the season, making over $2.4 million. In 2006, before he turned 30, he was the highest-ranked American golfer under that age.

Playing Style and Challenges

Ben Crane has a unique approach to golf. He has said that he prefers not to know who he will be playing with before a tournament. This is because he looked up to many of the golfers he now competes against.

He is also known for playing golf at a slower pace than some other players. Sometimes, this has even been talked about in the news. For example, in one tournament, another golfer, Rory Sabbatini, played his shot out of turn because of the slow pace.

In 2007, Ben had to miss most of the season because of back problems. He returned to the PGA Tour in 2008. He played well enough to keep his spot on the tour for 2009.

More Wins and Achievements

In January 2010, Ben won the Farmers Insurance Open by just one shot. Later that year, he also won the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia. This event was part of both the PGA Tour and the Asian Tour. He had a great year in 2010, finishing 23rd on the money list with over $2.8 million.

Ben got his fourth PGA Tour win in 2011 at the McGladrey Classic. He won in a playoff against Webb Simpson. Ben played an amazing final round, shooting a score of 63. He was eight shots behind the leader at one point but made a comeback with many birdies. His fifth PGA Tour victory came in 2014 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He led the whole tournament and won by just one shot.

Ben Crane's Life Outside Golf

Ben Crane is married to Heather Crane, and they have four children. He is a Christian.

Ben is also part of a fun group called "Golf Boys." It's like a boy band made up of four PGA Tour golfers: Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Hunter Mahan. They made a popular video on YouTube for their song "Oh Oh Oh." For every 100,000 views of the video, Farmers Insurance donates $1,000 to charities.

In 2009, a magazine reported that Ben Crane had said some negative things about another famous golfer. However, Ben quickly denied making these comments. He stated that he was not even where the magazine claimed he was interviewed. He said that he and his wife prayed for the other golfer and his family. In January 2010, the magazine took back its story. They said that evidence showed someone had pretended to be Ben Crane to make those comments.

Amateur Wins

• 1997 Pacific Northwest Amateur
• 1998 Pacific Coast Amateur

Professional Wins (8)

PGA Tour Wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 6, 2003	BellSouth Classic	73-72-64-63=272	−16	4 strokes	Bob Tway
2	Jul 24, 2005	U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee	62-65-64-69=260	−20	4 strokes	Scott Verplank
3	Jan 31, 2010	Farmers Insurance Open	65-71-69-70=275	−13	1 stroke	Marc Leishman, Michael Sim, Brandt Snedeker
4	Oct 16, 2011	McGladrey Classic	65-70-67-63=265	−15	Playoff	Webb Simpson
5	Jun 8, 2014	FedEx St. Jude Classic	63-65-69-73=270	−10	1 stroke	Troy Merritt

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2011	McGladrey Classic	Webb Simpson	Won with par on second extra hole

Asian Tour Wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Oct 31, 2010	CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia1	67-64-66-69=266	−18	1 stroke	Brian Davis

¹Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but unofficial event on that tour.

Buy.com Tour Wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Jul 23, 2000	Buy.com Wichita Open	67-63-66-67=263	−25	3 strokes	Kelly Grunewald, Vance Veazey
2	Oct 14, 2001	Buy.com Gila River Classic	63-66-64-68=261	−23	Playoff	Jason Caron, Bo Van Pelt

Buy.com Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2001	Buy.com Gila River Classic	Jason Caron, Bo Van Pelt	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole Caron eliminated by par on second hole

Major Championships

Major championships are the most important tournaments in golf. Here's how Ben Crane has done in them:

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut (didn't make it to the final rounds)
WD = withdrew (left the tournament early)
"T" = tied (finished with the same score as other players)

Major Championship Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (four times)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1

The Players Championship Results

The Players Championship is another very important golf tournament. Here's how Ben Crane has performed there:

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships Results

The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a series of important global golf tournaments.

     Top 10      Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play (a type of tournament where players compete head-to-head)
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

See Also

• 2001 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins