Story by Cameron Jourdan of Golfweek
It’s safe to say Nathan Franks is never going to forget about the Schenkel Invitational.
Sure, he won the tournament for his second victory in three months as a junior on the South Carolina golf team. But the trip home is what’s going to be the most memorable.
The Gamecocks’ team van t-boned a car that ran a red light on a highway in Waynesboro, Georgia, about an hour and a half from Columbia, South Carolina, on its way home from the tournament Sunday. Sitting in the passenger seat, Franks initially thought he was just sore from the collision. Turns out, he has a hairline fracture on his right elbow, and South Carolina’s best player will be out through at least the SEC Championship.
“I knew I was sore, but I didn’t think there was really anything wrong,” Franks told Golfweek. “But when I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t straighten it.”
Franks is ranked No. 111 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.
Outside of whiplash, there were no other major injuries to players or coaches in the van. South Carolina was not at fault, per the police report.
Franks recalls the accident vividly.The team was close to pulling off into a gas station to get some donuts about 100 yards past the intersection where the accident occurred.
“We had a green light,” Franks said. “This lady just kept going through the red light and tried to turn left. She pulled straight into us, and then we crashed into a Georgia Power truck.”
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