Ben Martin

Exempt status

• PGA TOUR: 126-150 in 2017-18 FedExCup standings (thru 2020-21)

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR: 2011
• Korn Ferry Tour: 2012

PGA TOUR Victories (1)

• 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Korn Ferry Tour Victories (2)

• 2013 United Leasing Championship Presented by PTI, Mylan Classic

PLAYOFF RECORD

KORN FERRY TOUR (1-0)

• 2013 Defeated Joe Affrunti, Billy Hurley III, Ashley Hall, United Leasing Championship Presented by PTI

Personal

• Favorite professional team is the Atlanta Braves. Favorite entertainer is Dave Chappelle. Favorite food is steak.
• Superstitions include only marking his ball with quarters dated before 1987.
• Both of his parents attended Clemson, but his dad graduated from Alabama.

Special Interests

• Clemson athletics, Xbox

Career Highlights

2020 Season

• TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks: After an opening 71, carded three consecutive 69s to rise to a T9 finish at 10-under 278 at the TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks.
• The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village: Carded four rounds of 68 or better to finish T6 at 21-under 267 at The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village.

2019 Season

Due to a back injury, made just one start on the PGA TOUR (MC/Sony Open in Hawaii). Entered the 2019-20 season on a Major Medical Extension with six starts available to earn 111 points to equal No. 125 on the 2017-18 FedExCup points list (Seamus Power/377 points).

• BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation: Playing in his hometown tournament, held a share of the first-round lead at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation with an 8-under 63 before going on to finish T43.

2018 Season

Concluded the season with one top-10 and 12 made cuts in 20 starts and failed to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in five years, finishing No. 150 in the standings. After a back injury kept him out following the Travelers Championship, entered the 2018-19 season playing out of the Minor Medical Extension category with seven available starts to earn 111 FedExCup points. Earned 266 points during the 2017-18 season (No. 125 Seamus Power collected 377).

• Sony Open in Hawaii: Posted four rounds in the 60s, including a final-round 65 that concluded with three straight birdies, to finish T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Made the cut in all six starts at Waialae Country Club, with his T7 finish his first top-10 at the event. Represented his first top-10 since a T6 at the 2017 Barbasol Championship.

2017 Season

Advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season on the strength of five top-25 finishes, two of which were top-10 showings.

• THE NORTHERN TRUST: A missed cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first of four FedExCup Playoffs events, resulted in an end to his season at No. 123.
• Barbasol Championship: Three weeks after finishing T5 at the Quicken Loans National, posted a 7-under 64 in round three of the Barbasol Championship to help propel him to a T6 finish with three others at 18-under 266. Reeled off five straight birdies on Nos. 13-17 in round three to post the 64.
• Quicken Loans National: Closed the Quicken Loans National with a 5-under 65, moving to T5 at 4-under 276, three strokes shy of the Kyle Stanley-Charles Howell III playoff. First top-10 of the season came in his 20th start. Marked his first venture into the top 10 since the 2016 John Deere Classic (2nd).

2016 Season

Advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for a third consecutive time, thanks to six top-25 finishes in 25 starts through the Wyndham Championship. Of those, two were top-10 showings. Kept himself alive through the first three of four Playoffs events, before ending his season after the BMW Championship at No. 70 in the FedExCup standings.

• John Deere Classic: En route to his solo second-place finish at the John Deere Classic in August, led the field in total birdies with 25 and had the fewest putts of any player in the field (103). His third-round, 62 tied his career-low round on TOUR and bested his lowest score of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season by three strokes. In round three, opened with five consecutive birdies and closed with birdies on four of his last five holes.
• Barracuda Championship: Recorded his first top-10 of the season, a T7, after making eagle at the 72nd hole at the Barracuda Championship. In the modified stableford scoring system, played in the final group on the final day after a field-best total of 16 points.

2015 Season

Claimed five top-10 finishes in 24 starts, highlighted by his first career PGA TOUR win, easily earning him entry into the FedExCup Playoffs. Made his way through the first three Playoffs events, before a T68 at the BMW Championship ended his season at No. 35 in the FedExCup standings.

• Wyndham Championship: Finished T10 at the Wyndham Championship in his first start in Greensboro since 2011.
• The Open Championship: Prior to The Open Championship, wife, Kelly, told her sister, Emily, that their calendar said "Open" for the date Emily wanted to get married. It turned out the day was set aside for The Open Championship. Had to miss his sister-in-law's wedding but did T74 at St. Andrews.
• Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial: Fourth top-10 of the season came at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, where bookend 4-under 66s led to a T10 finish, three shots behind champion Chris Kirk. Had finished T21 the year before in his only other start at Colonial.
• THE PLAYERS Championship: Improved on that in his next Florida start, at THE PLAYERS Championship. Posted four sub-par scores at TPC Sawgrass in May, including 4-under 68s in the first and third rounds to claim a T4 with fellow South Carolinian Bill Haas.
• Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard: After missed cuts in his two previous starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (2011 and 2014), posted four, sub-par scores at Bay Hill to claim fifth-place honors.
• Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Entered the final day of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with a two-stroke lead over Russell Knox, carded a final-round 3-under 68 (including a 46-foot eagle on the par-5 16th hole and a 19-foot birdie on the 72nd hole) for a two-stroke victory over Kevin Streelman (65). Recorded his first career PGA TOUR victory in his 56th start at age 27 years, 1 month, 23 days. Had never held a lead on TOUR entering the final round before carrying the lead to victory at the Shriners. His previous-best position entering a final round was at the 2014 RBC Heritage, where he was T3 (finished T3). Played the final five holes at TPC Summerlin at 15-under. Third-round 62 matched his career-best round on TOUR (T15 at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans). Missed the cut a week earlier at the Frys.com Open, finishing second from last with rounds of 78-79. Missed the cut in two previous Shriners Hospitals for Children Open starts.

2014 Season

In second season on TOUR and first since 2011, made 13 of 26 cuts, with a career-best three top-10 finishes. All three top-10s were third-place finishes. Advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in his career. Season ended by missing the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Was one of six players to start the Deutsche Bank Championship inside the top 70 (63rd) in the FedExCup standings only to drop out of the FedExCup Playoffs.

• Quicken Loans National: Finished T3 at the Quicken Loans National, with rounds of 72-68-70-71. Missed the Justin Rose-Shawn Stefani playoff at Congressional CC by one shot.
• RBC Heritage: Claimed a T3 at the RBC Heritage after holding a share of the second-round lead with Jim Furyk and K.J. Choi. A third-round 70 dropped him down the leaderboard before a final-round 66 moved him two shots off Matt Kuchar's winning score.
• Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com: Notched his best career finish on TOUR, at the Puerto Rico Open (third). Shot rounds of 68-67-70-66 to climb the leaderboard in the final round in Puerto Rico.

2013 Season

Earned his first career win with a playoff victory at the rain-delayed United Leasing Championship in late June. Fired a 5-under 67 in the final round to get to 11-under 277. Was tied at the end of regulation with Ashley Hall, Joe Affrunti and Billy Hurley, but a nearly four-hour rain delay prevented the start of the playoff. Was first off the tee Monday morning in the playoff and hit 3-wood into the fairway and then watched as Affrunti hit into the high rough and both Hall and Hurley hit tee shots into the water on the right. Hit 6-iron to 22 feet and two-putted for par and the title. First-place check of $108,000 moved him from No. 21 to No. 4 on the money list after 14 events. Finished 2013 in the top-5 in five statisical categories: 1st in All-Around Ranking, 2nd in Scoring Average (69.00), 3rd in Birdie Average (4.42) and Greens in Regulation Percentage (74.27), and T4 in Total Driving. Also recorded the most birdies on Tour, 358.

• Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship: Closed with a 4-under 67 in the final round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship to jump into a T4. Moved to No. 9 in the Finals' priority ranking, with just one event left on the schedule, eventually finishing 10th on the chart.
• Chiquita Classic: Finished T3 at the Chiquita Classic, the second event in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals series. Bounced back after a T32 finish a week earlier at the Hotel Fitness Championship. Posted four rounds below par at River Run CC near Charlotte and was boosted in the last round by four consecutive birdies, starting at No. 9.
• Mylan Classic: Continued his torrid summer with his second win of the season a week later at the Mylan Classic near Pittsburgh, giving him two wins in six weeks. Never far from the lead the first two days at Southpointe GC, his third-round 67 gave him a four-shot lead heading into the final day. Bogeyed the last two holes Saturday to see his lead drop from six. Started quickly with three birdies in his first five holes Sunday and quickly opened an eight-stroke advantage. Consecutive bogeys at Nos. 6 and 7, followed by a string of pars, saw his lead drop to two as former U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft was making a charge. Final round turned when he chipped in for an eagle-2 at the 311-yard 15th hole about the same time Kraft was bogeying the 16th, returning his lead to five shots. Closed bogey-birdie-birdie to wind up 17-under and five better than Kraft, who collected 10 birdies en route to a 7-under 64. First-place check of $121,500 moved him to No. 2 on the money list at the time, the position he would finish the Regular Season in, allowing him to secure his 2013-14 PGA TOUR card.
• Albertsons Boise Open Presented by Kraft: Added a T6 at the Albertsons Boise Open in July when he fired a final-round 63 to move up the leaderboard. Finished three shots out of a playoff.
• Utah Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission: Two weeks after his victory, and in his next start, he was back in contention, this time at the Utah Championship outside Salt Lake City. Shot rounds of 67-63-67-66 to finish at 21-under, a stroke out of the Steven Alker-Hall playoff. Had a putt on the 18th hole to force a tie, but his effort came up short.
• Rex Hospital Open: Was T4 at The Rex Hospital Open in June.
• Stadion Classic at UGA: Earned his first top-10 finish of the year with a T8 at the rain-shortened Stadion Classic at UGA in early May.

2012 Season

Made the cut in 10 of 24 starts and had a pair of top-10 finishes and seven top-25s.

• Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch: Closed the year with four more sub-par scores and a T13 at the Web.com Tour Championship, which moved him up six spots, to No. 54 on the final money list.
• Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters: Finshed solo third at the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open, which jumped him from 94 to 60 on the money list. Earned a place in the Web.com Tour Championship field. Carded all four rounds under par at TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley Course, making him the second player in tournament history to do that.
• Midwest Classic Presented by Cadillac: Was T6 at the Midwest Classic in Kansas City, where he carded all four rounds in the 60s.

2011 Season

In his rookie year on the PGA TOUR, claimed three top-25 finishes in 25 starts on TOUR. Missed the cut in his only two Korn Ferry Tour starts.

• Reno-Tahoe Open: Earned first top-10 of his PGA TOUR career in his 20th start of the season, with a T6 at the Reno-Tahoe Open.
• Northern Trust Open: Held a share of the first-round lead for the first time in his career when he was one of a TOUR-record nine players tied for the lead after 18 holes at the Northern Trust Open. Missed the cut after a second-round 80.

Amateur Highlights

• Earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2010. Three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, including becoming one of just four golfers at Clemson to earn the honor as a freshman. Was the individual medalist at at 2010 Furman Invitational. T
• Was also a two-time all-state selection while competing for Greenwood High School.
• Finalist at the 2009 U.S. Amateur, losing, 7 and 5, to Byeon-Hun An of South Korea.