Anonymous molecular markers were traditionally used to establish genetic linkage with a phenotype. However, even for tightly linked markers, the effectiveness of marker-aided selection is greatly diminished by the occasional uncoupling of the marker from the trait during the many cycles of meiosis in breeding programs. This can result in errors in selection of traits of interest (Perumalsamy et al. 2010). Hence, the use of functional markers (FMs) derived from polymorphic sites within gene sequences affecting phenotypic variation is more efficient for gene identification and selection (Andersen and Lübberstedt 2003). The development of FMs will become increasingly common in future, as information on cloned resistance genes becomes available. In this study, we developed a simple, codominant functional marker targeting Bph14. The marker was capable of being resolved on simple agarose gels and hence amenable for routine marker-assisted selection (MAS) involving large breeding populations.