Amazing what one good week can do for a professional golfer – even one who, like Greenwood native Ben Martin, has been playing professionally for 17 years.
Two weeks ago, the 38-year-old former Clemson star was looking at a potentially grim reality: his future access to the PGA Tour might be, at best, extremely limited.
“I was thinking I was a missed cut from not having a PGA Tour start the rest of 2026,” he said.
So the Zurich Classic, the Tour’s lone two-man team event, couldn’t have come at a better time. In New Orleans, Martin combined with buddy Trace Crowe to shoot 28-under par and tie for fourth, just three shots behind winners Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick.
As important, if not more so, than the $288,563 payday – five times his previous 2026 earnings in eight Korn Ferry Tour events – his top-5 finish meant Martin qualified to play in this week’s ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
“I wouldn’t be in there without our Zurich finish,” he said.
That’s the good news. Now, Martin must soon decide where to focus his attention the remainder of the year.
He can devote himself to the PGA Tour, where purses are up to 10 times those on the Korn Ferry Tour but the competition is fiercer, in hopes of moving into the PGA Tour’s top 100 by year’s end and securing a spot for 2027. His Zurich finish moved him up to No. 132 in the FedExCup points list, giving him a chance (depending on his play) at as many as nine more tournaments before the FedEx playoffs.
Or he can continue playing the Korn Ferry Tour in hopes of earning one of 20 PGA Tour cards at year’s end; Martin is currently 58th on the KFT points list. Either route will require more weeks like New Orleans.
“It puts me in a weird spot,” Martin said as he prepared to bring his family – wife Kelly and their three children – from Greenville to Myrtle Beach.
“Obviously, I’d rather play on the PGA Tour. But if I have good weeks, a Top 20 (Korn Ferry finish) is more probable. I have to decide what to focus on.
“It’s similar to 2022, when I was conditional (status) on both tours. Then I finished second in the Dominican Republic (Corales Puntacana Championship) in early April, which solidified me on the PGA Tour. Similarly, (Zurich) changed the way I’m looking at the next few months.”
Whatever his decision, Martin knows he’ll be playing close to home the next two weeks. After Myrtle Beach, he’ll head to the Korn Ferry Tour’s inaugural Colonial Life Charity Classic at Woodcreek Country Club in Elgin, near Columbia.
“Any week I can drive to a tournament is a bonus,” he said.
He’s also familiar with Woodcreek, having played there during a 2010 Hooters Tour event.
Martin knows The Dunes Club as well, though his experience is limited to 2024, when he was paired for two rounds with fellow Greenville native Bill Haas and shot 73-70 to miss the cut at the inaugural event.
He left disappointed, but impressed with how the course stood up to a PGA Tour field.
“I thought the course was amazing,” said Martin, who often plays another Robert Trent Jones design, Greenville Country Club’s Chanticleer Course.
“You talk to the average Tour player, they all loved The Dunes, and there were a lot of players from South Carolina.
“Sometimes when two events run concurrently, the ‘secondary’ event’s golf course is just okay, but everyone at The Dunes was impressed. The quality of the golf course and the support from the community got guys excited. Myrtle Beach, now in its third year, has some staying power.”
Martin is seeking some of that stability, too.
He tied for sixth earlier this year at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, one of two top-25 finishes, but missed the cut in three of four outings before New Orleans.
“I’ve hit it better than I’ve scored,” he said.
Recently, he began working with instructor Sean Foley, whose past students include Tiger Woods and Justin Rose.
“Sean’s helped me understand my swing better and given me good things to work with.”
Foley has also helped reshape Martin’s outlook as he approaches 40.
“I think what got me most excited about Sean is him saying a lot of guys have their best years in their 40s,” Martin said.
“He says you can keep getting better, even at my age.
“I’ve had some difficult seasons lately; my best seasons, 2014-15, were over a decade ago now, when I had full status on the PGA Tour.”
His lone PGA Tour victory came at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
“But I’m still motivated to get better.”
The goal this week, as always, is to win, but Martin knows a more measured approach is wise.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” he said, “but I felt last week I was very competitive and engaged.
“I just want to take the same mindset that I had last week and replicate that, and see what the results are.”
Only then can Martin begin mapping out the rest of his year – and potentially the next phase of his career.
