Ben

Martin

Martin signed off the West Coast Swing with a T13 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and stayed hot with a T5 at the Honda. It jumped him to 79th in the FedExCup race so WD could just be a change of schedule after a few goods week, could be travel related, or could be something else entirely. There was no reason given. Martin is currently the 9th alternate at the Arnold Palmer Invitational so it’s unlikely that he’s expected to crack the field at Bay Hill. In his place, Jonathan Kaye snagged a spot at the PR Open.

Martin was sleeping on his third career 54-hole lead or co-lead but this is the first time he’s really faltered in the final round (won the 2014 Shriners, 2nd at the 2022 Corales). Martin found bunker trouble at the first hole which led to a double bogey out of the gate but a cold putter was the cause for most of his other worries today. He lost 2.5 strokes with the flat stick, most notably missing from inside of four feet at the 12th. This will be a round to forget for Martin but with two of his three career 54-hole leads coming in 2022, there is plenty to be positive about heading into the new year.

The former Clemson standout has struggled in recent years, gaining and losing status while looking to rekindle the form that netted him a win at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He came close earlier this year, missing a putt on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff at Punta Cana. He’s now tied for the lead with Patrick Rodgers after a 5-under 65 in the third round lifted him to 14 under for the week, one clear of a trio of contenders. Martin missed a 5-foot par putt on No. 18 that would have given him sole possession of the lead, but he still has a chance Sunday to go from uncertain starts as a Korn Ferry Finals grad to a two-year exemption and Masters invite.

The 34-year-old Martin most recently finished T-63 at the Valero Texas Open, but just one start prior – at the Corales Puntacana Championship – he led for three rounds before coming up one stroke back of eventual winner Chad Ramey. It marks the first podium finish for Martin since a solo second at the 2016 John Deere Classic. On the season, he’s made three cuts in five starts and heads to Hilton Head, S.C., with a 5-for-7 record in cuts made at the Heritage. Martin, whose lone Tour victory is the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, has one top 10 at Harbour Town, where he finished third in 2014.

Martin opened the week with back-to-back 66s but admitted to feeling the nerves on Saturday during his 2-under 70. The Clemson product still maintained the lead heading into Sunday but another 2-under round was not enough to get the job done when the field was averaging 2.14 shots under-par today. Playing on Past Champions status, starts aren’t easy to come by for Martin. That likely played a big role in why he wanted this win so badly, and why he felt the nerves over the weekend. “I’ve won out here before, won on the Korn Ferry, runner-up in the U.S. Am, but I guess maybe I wanted this one a lot more. I don’t think I’ve ever been this emotional about golf, so this is a first, but I guess to me that’s a good thing.” On the bright side, he does pick up 135 FedExCup Points with this T2 finish which puts him just outside of the Top 140 in the standings. Well within Top 125 striking distance if he can pick off one or two more big finishes before the season is over.

Martin roared up the board over the first two days with back-to-back 66s but admitted to having a bit of nerves playing out of the final group today. Those will only intensify tomorrow. “I think it was, like I said earlier, just not being in a final pairing in a while, it was nice to sort of get that, even though it’s not the final round, it’s still like the weekend and I feel like everything’s heightened a little bit. So I was pleased with the way I sort of, I feel like I handled a little bit of the pressure and I think that will benefit me tomorrow.” Perhaps working in his favor, Martin is 1-for-1 in converting 54-hole leads into wins on the PGA TOUR (2014-15 Shriners). He will be playing alongside Chad Ramey in the final group tomorrow.

Martin has back-to-back rounds with 8 birdies and 2 bogeys but got the job done in different ways from tee-to-green. In windier Thursday conditions he split just seven (of 14) fairways and landed 13 greens but today he managed 12 fairways hit and 16 GIR. “The putter’s been nice. I think when you’re confident with the flat stick, it sort of takes pressure off of every other part of your game. I’ve just been in a great mindset. I think more than anything, my swing feels in a good place, I’m rolling it nice.” This will go in the books as his third career 36-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (T3/2014 RBC Heritage; T15/2014 Zurich Classic). Martin arrived with nothing better than T51 in three starts this season, hoping to play his way back into full TOUR status.

Martin opened his day with a par-saving miss from inside of five feet but didn’t let that bring his entire round down. He fought back to even par by the turn then rallied home with six birdies on his final eight holes. “Got on a roll there [at the 11th], I think birdied the next hole, the par 5, and then three or four in a row to finish. Nos. 16, 17, 18 are tough holes coming down the stretch into the wind. Yeah, it was just, it’s the way you want to play golf, right? It felt easy and just kind of hitting it where I’m seeing it and getting some putts to go in.” If this lead holds then it’ll be his third career first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (MC/2011 Northern Trust Open; T15/2014 Zurich Classic). Martin does not have full status this season, but as a Past Champion he can still make it into a handful of events. He posted a T9 at this event last year but arrived with 15 straight finishes across tours without a top-30 finish.

The Clemson product currently sits at 168th in the FedExCup race, with plenty of work to do this summer. Starts are tough to find for him as he plays on conditional status but his recent results have been steady. He has landed top 35s in four of his last six starts including a T9 at the Corales and a T11 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He gained strokes gained off-the-tee and on approach in four of his last five measured events. Martin missed the cut last year in his debut at Detroit Golf Club but his steady striking in the lead-up may deserve some attention for weekly gamers.