A golfer who has received glowing praise from Rory McIlroy has taken up a very different career path after stepping away from the PGA Tour. Philip Francis was touted as the next big thing in golf after matching an impressive junior record set by Tiger Woods.
The man from Arizona won four straight Junior World Golf Championships to equal Woods' record and looked to have a bright future ahead of him. He also regularly got the better of McIlroy, who described him as 'unbeatable' while recalling his junior days.
"I finished second and third to him all of my teenage years," McIlroy told Normal Sport. "Like, you just could not beat this guy. He went to UCLA and he won the US Junior, I think. He won the US Junior Am and I thought this kid was unbeatable."
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Despite showing plenty of promise, things did not work out for Francis when he made it to the PGA Tour in 2007. His professional career got off to a nightmare start when he missed the cut at all three of his starts during his rookie season on the circuit.
Francis appeared at the St Jude Championship, John Deere Classic and US Bank Championship but failed to progress at each event. He was later hampered by injuries, which were reportedly caused by swing alterations and stopped him from reaching his full potential.
He made his first cut at the John Deere Classic in 2008 but it was the only weekend he ever reached in just six PGA Tour events. After failing to make it through Q-School in 2015, Francis stepped away from the professional game and now works in finance.
In an interview with A Life In Golf, Francis explained that his love for golf began to fade before he had even made his PGA Tour debut.
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"I started losing some passion for the game in college," he said. "I started to become very technical with my golf swing and that led me down a dark path of not enjoying the same game I grew up loving.
"My old coach taught me there is a lot more to life than chasing a white ball being hit around a golf course. I think because of that I was able to transition into something completely foreign very efficiently and easily."
Francis is enjoying his new career away from the golf course but is not ruling out a return to the sport at some point in the future.
"I would love to potentially play some higher level of amateur golf again," he added. "I miss the competitive nature of being in the heat of the moment."
