# Carlos Franco

Carlos Daniel Franco (born 24 May 1965) is a Paraguayan professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is the brother of golfer Ángel Franco.
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. Carlos turned professional in 1986 and 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. He 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.
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. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 9 May 1999 | Compaq Classic of New Orleans | −19 (66-69-68-66=269) | 2 strokes | Steve Flesch, Harrison Frazar |
| 2 | 11 Jul 1999 | Greater Milwaukee Open | −16 (65-66-67-66=264) | 2 strokes | Tom Lehman |
| 3 | 7 May 2000 | Compaq Classic of New Orleans (2) | −18 (67-67-68-68=270) | Playoff | Blaine McCallister |
| 4 | 25 Jul 2004 | U.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. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 2000 | Compaq Classic of New Orleans | Blaine McCallister | Won with par on second extra hole |

### PGA of Japan Tour wins (5)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 25 Sep 1994 | Gene Sarazen Jun Classic | −16 (65-67-68-72=272) | 2 strokes | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
| 2 | 11 Jun 1995 | Sapporo Tokyu Open | −10 (68-69-69-72=278) | 1 stroke | Shinji Ikeuchi, Kazuhiro Takami |
| 3 | 15 Sep 1996 | ANA Open | −6 (67-73-74-68=282) | 1 stroke | Masahiro Kuramoto |
| 4 | 29 Mar 1998 | Just System KSB Open | −17 (70-65-67-65=267) | 4 strokes | Frankie Miñoza |
| 5 | 10 May 1998 | Fujisankei Classic | −9 (69-70-67-69=275) | 1 stroke | Chen Tze-chung |
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 1996 | Dydo Drinco Shizuoka Open | Yoshikazu Sakamoto, Nobuo Serizawa | Sakamoto won with par on first extra hole |

### Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 20 Feb 1994 | Manila Southwoods Philippine Open | −8 (72-69-68-71=280) | Playoff | Choi Sang-ho |
Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1994 | Manila Southwoods Philippine Open | Choi Sang-ho | Won with par on first extra hole |

### Tour de las Américas wins (5)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 1992 | Paraguay Open | | | |
| 2 | 1993 | Uruguay Open | | | |
| 3 | 10 Dec 2000 | Paraguay Open (2) | | | |
| 4 | 2 Dec 2001 | Chevrolet Brazil Open | −11 (69-67-67-70=273) | 4 strokes | Miguel Guzmán |
| 5 | 30 Nov 2003 | American 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. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | 4 Sep 2016 | Shaw Charity Classic | −18 (66-63-63=192) | 2 strokes | Michael Allen, Bernhard Langer |
| 2 | 23 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

| Tournament | 1994 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | T6 | T7 | 46 | | | CUT |
| U.S. Open | | | | T34 | T61 | CUT | | WD | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT | | T64 | CUT | CUT | T54 | | | |
| PGA Championship | | 70 | T40 | T26 | T58 | T29 | T18 | T31 | T59 |
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 made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Totals | 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

| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T27 | CUT | T22 | T48 | T58 | CUT | T45 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 |
| Match Play | R32 | R64 | | | |
| Championship | T48 | T45 | NT$^1$ | | T28 |
| Invitational | T7 | T27 | 20 | T42 | T58 |
$^1$Cancelled 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 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| The Tradition | | T48 | T34 | T34 | 68 | NT | T74 | | |
| Senior PGA Championship | | CUT | T38 | T49 | T28 | NT | CUT | | |
| U.S. Senior Open | | | CUT | T28 | | NT | CUT | | |
| Senior Players Championship | | T20 | T54 | T43 | 67 | T56 | T72 | T61 | T70 |
| Senior British Open Championship | CUT | T18 | T43 | | | NT | | T29 | CUT |
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