Martin's week of highlights leads to trip to Oakland Hills
The top 20 finishers at the PGA Professional National Championship earned an exemption into the 90th PGA Championship, the season's final major, at Oakland Hills Country Club later this summer. It is the pinnacle of golf to compete in such a tournament, and the opportunity to do so is the completion of a lifelong dream for many.
For some qualifiers, a visit to Oakland Hills in August will mark a return trip. For others like Brad Martin, this will be their first trip to the PGA Championship.
Coming into this week, Martin, the PGA Assistant Professional at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Ore., had lofty expectations.
"My expectations were high. I had been playing well although the weather at home was a little rough this spring," Martin said. "I hadn't been practicing a lot, but when I did play, I played well. My goal was to make the cut and finish top 20."
Martin opened his tournament by shooting a 73, and followed that up with rounds of 69, 69 and 72 to finish at 5 under par and tied for eighth. He now gets to prepare for his time on the biggest stage in golf.
But Martin has already experienced the media spotlight. In the second round, Martin aced the 17th hole, just before coverage from the Golf Channel concluded, and instantly made him one of the highlights of the week. His shot was deemed No. 2 on ESPN's "Top Ten" highlights and also No. 3 in the "best of the week."
Even more, Martin takes away a brand-new 2008 Buick Enclave for his memorable shot, an experience he called "incredible."
Additionally, he gave the crowds and television audience an added thrill with a long eagle putt that dropped on the final hole on Saturday.
But eagles and cars, as great as they are, won't be Martin's biggest prize of the week. The trip to the PGA Championship was the goal all along.
The PGA Championship traditionally boasts the world's best field according to the world golf rankings. Millions of fans from around the globe will be watching on live television.
Without a doubt, this will be the biggest chance for Martin to showcase his skills to everyone. Now with less than two months to go before the championship, he must begin to prepare for possibly the most important golf week of his life.
"I am going to just keep trying to work on the same things I've been working on all week," Martin said. "Ball striking was great and putting was not so good, so when I get home I'm going to work with my putter. I'm going to get back to my normal life and get ready for the championship."
And as tough a challenge as it was to overcome so many great players to qualify for Oakland Hills, Martin knows that competing on such a demanding layout against the best players in the world presents a different type of test. For the 20 PGA Professionals who qualified for the PGA Championship, that's exactly the assignment they will get to tackle.
"I feel like every year as I've gotten older and grown in the game, that I could compete with the guys on Tour," he said. "I've got a lot of buddies on Tour, so I have expectations of making the cut."
Even though this is Martin's first PGA Championship appearance, it doesn't mean that he isn't ready to put on a good show. Like every other player in the field, he is determined to make it to the weekend and prove that he deserves to be there.
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