Frankie Capan, III is having a very different week in Blaine, Minnesota.
North Oaks native, Minnesotan, is a Korn Ferry Tour player and currently sits in 34th place on the season-long point race. Top 30 finishers earn PGA Tour cards by the end of the season. He won’t be playing at the NV5 Invitational next week.
Capan, instead, accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the 3M Open, his hometown event, at TPC Twin City, marking his first PGA Tour appearance as a pro.
Charlynn is his mom.
Frankie explained that initially she was only supposed to fill in as a caddie. But the more successful we were, the more it became apparent that she should stay on the bag. “Of course, when we only lost nine people in Q-School, it was obvious that she should remain on the bag a little bit longer,” Frankie said.
“I had another kid from Minnesota and we finished well a few times, but I found my way to her. We had a good finish at the Korn Ferry in Raleigh, and the next day we punched our tickets to the U.S. Open. After we had done that, I thought, “You know, it’s better to stick with her and see what we can do for now.”
It’s not a new thing to play with mom on a bag, but they have had to learn and grow from each other through trial and error.
Frankie says that once the golfers leave the course they also tend to forget about it. He said that some situations may dictate differently, but there were plenty of opportunities to learn from the two.
Frankie explained that “when you have a good dialogue, and even bickering or fighting at times, you can grow your relationship deeper because you begin to understand each other’s interaction and the words you use.” “Really, she has understood my style of play, the shots I prefer to make at certain times.”
Frankie made his first Tour start at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016. He said that his goal for the week was to make it to the cut, and he had spent too much attention on the cut line rather than where the leaders were.
He missed by just one shot.
This week’s goal is easy.
Frankie stated, “I’d be lying if i said that my goal was not to win this weekend.” “I hold myself to high standards, and my father always says that if you are not winning, then you are learning.” No matter what happens, this is going to be an amazing week.
Frankie also runs the risk of missing the Korn Ferry Tour, since he is unable to gain enough points to get him into the top 30. He told reporters that he had spoken with Kevin Dougherty to discuss the decision of whether or not he should accept the sponsor’s exemption.
Frankie is not concerned, though, as he knows that he will be able to have a strong final round. He hopes the 3M Open in his hometown will help him get on the PGA Tour.
Frankie: “I had always wanted to compete in this tournament. When the chance came up, I knew I couldn’t miss it.”
