Saturday, August 29, 2009
Martin Moves On
Ben Martin was the first to move onto the final round. He drained a 12-footer to wrap up his match against Charlie Holland, 5 and 4, on the 14th hole.
On the cart ride back to the clubhouse, he was asked how it felt to be in the position he was in.
"I don't know yet. I've got one more match to go," said Martin.
Smart answer. He can't get overly emotional with one more match to play.
It's likely he'll get an invitation to the 2010 Masters and will receive a full exemption into next year's U.S. Open - if he remains an amateur. He grew up 90 minutes away from Augusta National and made the trip there as a kid beginning about 1996. No one may be more excited than his dad, Jim Martin, who is his caddie this week. Martin said he might use him as a caddie there, but he feels dad could be too nervous. He indicated that he “probably” will remain in an amateur so he could fulfill the U.S. Open exemption.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Martin, a fifth-year senior at Clemson.
When Martin won, the first person to greet him off the green was his mom, Suzie. She embraced him tight. Someone asked him to sign a pairing sheet. His mom, though, had quite the ordeal getting from their Greenwood, S.C., home Friday. First, her flight was hampered by thunderstorms causing a delay. Then after she took off, she missed her connecting flight in Houston. She spent the night in Beaumont, Texas, finally making it to Southern Hills midway through Martin’s match.
The key to Martin's success Saturday may have been his dedication to practice. On Friday evening, he put in a two-hour session to work on his driving and short game. It's impressive when you think of all the golf he's played this week.
On the other hand, Holland struggled mightily. By the time the sixth hole was complete, he was trailing Martin by four holes. Soon the deficit fell to five through nine holes when he pushed his 3-foot putt wide.
“I rushed my putt,” said Holland, 23, who will return for his senior year at the University of Texas. “It was just really bad.”
In the end, he credited Martin for his resiliency. It wasn’t often Martin got into trouble, and when he did, he scrambled well.
“When you’re playing Ben – he wasn’t missing a shot – it’s hard,” said Holland.
|
Comments are locked for this post.
|