Rahm resists Fleetwood surge, wins Race to Dubai

SAN ANTONIO — Ben Martin played in the first pairing Friday at the Valero Texas Open. He shot even-par 72 as his wife and mother walked along. RELATED: Leaderboard It was sunny, cool, bright and quiet at TPC San Antonio. Martin finished two rounds at 3 under, which allows him to play the weekend, making his third cut in five starts since September. It was the kind of morning he reminded himself to appreciate. He knows his family, including his two young daughters, are with him this week. They were with him last week, too. They watched him lead the Corales Puntacana Championship after the first, second and third rounds. They hoped he could win for the first time since his one and only victory at the Shriners Children Open seven years ago. They despaired when he missed a short putt on the 72nd hole to finish in second. What happened next surprised even them, the people who know him best. Asked after his round to comment on the loss, Martin could find no words. He tried for more than a minute to gather himself. He then described how badly he had wanted to win that afternoon. He thought it was going to be his week. The runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Amateur, a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, had last been in the mix at the 2016 John Deere Classic, where he finished second. He admitted that contending sure seemed a lot harder now than it used to. “I guess I wanted this one a lot more,” he managed. Video of the emotional interview inspired messages of compassion, empathy and solidarity. Viewers saw a man broken by his own hopes — a humanity and vulnerability that elite athletes rarely allow. Martin’s wife, Kelly, saw a side of her husband that surprised her, and also relieved her. “I’m not used to seeing those emotions from him,” she said. “I think it’s been a good thing to tap into.” Martin said he still hadn’t watched the video, but “she told me that.” He added, “It could be.” Like most professional golfers, Martin said he tries to limit the emotional extremes. What happened last week in the Dominican Republic simply overwhelmed his defenses. “One of the reasons we’re good at golf is that we keep it pretty even keel,” Martin said. Now, one of the reasons more people know and care about him is because he didn’t. “I think in a cool way me finishing second had a bigger impact on people that it would have if I’d won the tournament,” Martin said. A couple of years ago, when he was struggling to make cuts, Martin wondered if he should consider something else. What came easily once — playing in the Masters Tournament as an amateur, earning his TOUR card and winning early in his career — began to seem insurmountable. But he recommitted, which is exactly what got him to that 72nd hole last week with a chance to force a playoff. He failed to win. But he nearly did. His Top 10 finish got him into the Valero Texas Open, where he shot 69-72 on a difficult golf course in the wind. “I’m 100 percent,” he said. “I think this is where I need to be.”

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Cole Hammer turned pro this year after compiling a resume that’d be the envy of any college golfer. He first made headlines when he qualified for the U.S. Open as a 15-year-old. Then he developed into the No. 1 amateur in the world, winning prestigious events like the Western Amateur and Big 12 Championship. He capped his career at the University of Texas by helping the Longhorns win their fourth national championship. The transition to pro golf is often a tough one, though, even for the best amateurs. Hammer saw that firsthand, missing the cut in his first six PGA TOUR starts as a pro. He was a combined 29 over par in those 12 rounds. “This summer was tough on the PGA TOUR,” Hammer said. “I just had about zero patience. As soon as I made a bogey, I felt like the world was ending.” The beauty of professional golf is that a player’s career can change drastically in a single week. Hammer has also experienced that firsthand after a T5 finish at The RSM Classic, the final official PGA TOUR event of 2022. Hammer, who was in the field on a sponsor exemption, also earned a start in the first full-field event of next year, the Sony Open in Hawaii, and valuable non-member FedExCup points. He was atop the leaderboard after each of The RSM’s first two rounds after shooting 64-66 but had two bogeys and a double on his first five holes Saturday to tumble down the leaderboard. He made two birdies and was bogey-free for the remainder of the round, then shot 65 on Sunday. “What a rollercoaster, so many ups and downs,” he said. “I’m just so proud of the way that I fought and battled out there. It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward and leaves a great taste in my mouth going to the offseason.” Only four players bettered Hammer’s Sunday score, and they all shot 64. He finished the week ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining more than three strokes on the greens Sunday. He holed a 30-footer on the 13th hole and half of his six attempts between 10-20 feet. His Strokes Gained: Putting doesn’t include a 77-foot hole-out from the fringe on the third hole Sunday, either. “It’s big for … me moving forward in terms of confidence,” Hammer said. “It had taken a while to get there, to get comfortable enough to be able to trust myself on the biggest stage, but I think I do now. Actually, I know I do because I proved it to myself today under a lot of pressure.” Hammer, who finished fifth in this year’s class of PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global graduates, also has conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for 2023 after finishing T59 at the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School two weeks ago. It was his position in the top five of the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking that earned Hammer his spot in Q-School’s final stage. Hammer is uncertain how many starts he’ll get on the Korn Ferry Tour next year, but his amateur success could make him a popular candidate for sponsor exemptions. As should his recent success. Hammer made three of four cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, including one top-10. He also made his first PGA TOUR cut at last week’s Cadence Bank Houston Open in his hometown. A second-round 65 earned him his first weekend tee time and he shot a 68 on Sunday to finish T27. He heard last Friday that he was a candidate to get an invitation to The RSM but his spot wasn’t confirmed until Sunday evening. This was his fourth sponsor exemption of the season, leaving him three more until he hits the non-member limit of seven. He is uncertain what his schedule will be in 2023, but he knows one thing. He can compete on the PGA TOUR.

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