Martin finishes strong to win Mylan Classic
CANONSBURG – Chesson Hadley had his chance until a disastrous 17th hole; Kelly Kraft was in contention until a bogey on 16; and Brad Elder saw his hopes dashed after a double-bogey on 13.
While these golfers were making their charge, Ben Martin was doing a methodical job of holding the lead he built through three rounds. Martin punctuated the final round with an eagle on the 310-yard No. 15 that wrapped up this year’s Web.com Mylan Classic Sunday at Southpointe Golf Club.
Martin, from Charleston, S.C., finished at 17-under par, one shot lower than last year’s winner, Robert Streb, who won the 2012 event at 18-under. Kraft finished second at 12-under and Whee Kim, the leader at the midpoint of the tournament, was in a group of six golfers tied for third at 7-under.
It was the second win on tour for Martin, who has made 14 of 17 cuts and boasts 11 top 25 finishes this season. He won a playoff in the United Leasing Championships in Evansville, Ind., a month ago.
The win pushed Martin to second on the tour’s money list, thanks to the $121,500 first-place check, and it assures he will have status on the PGA Tour next season. Martin has shot a combined 96-under par in his last six starts.
He began the day with a four-shot lead.
“I got an e-mail from (former Web.com golfer) Charles Warren Saturday night,” said Martin, who closed with a 4-under 67. “It said, ‘Just shoot the lowest score out there and you’ll be OK.’ I have a good routine going. It’s been working for me all year. I hate to use the ‘one shot at a time’ cliché because it’s overused, and a lot of people don’t do it. I just tried to stay relaxed, because that’s when I play my best.”
Martin clinched the tournament with a beautiful chip-in from 20 feet for eagle on the par-4 15th. Interestingly, Martin also had a chip-in for eagle on the par-4 15th hole at the Boise Open, where he tied for sixth place.
“I was in the rough. It was thick, but the grass was with me,” he said. “I thought it could be a pretty good shot. I hit it the way I envisioned it.
“Sometimes, after you make eagle, you can get up, then crash below where you want to. There were still three holes to go and I thought, ‘Let’s get this thing done.’ “
Martin bogeyed the par-4 16th but birdied the final two holes. Now, he is off on a two-week vacation.
“This is going to make it sweeter,” he said. “I haven’t seen my fiancé in four weeks. She is eager for me to get home.”
Kraft, from Denton, Texas, got to within two shots of the lead on the back nine. But a bogey on the par-4 16th coupled with Martin’s eagle ended hopes of overtaking Martin.
“I was joking with Chesson and my wife, Tia, at breakfast and said you never know what 10 birdies will do,” said Kraft. “Well, what did I have?”
Ten birdies and three bogeys.
“(Martin) played good,” Kraft said. “I played great and just came up a little bit short.”
Hadley of Raleigh, N.C., made a run in the final round, too, reaching third place at 8-under par. But he made triple-bogey on the par-4 17th after sending his drive into the shrubs on the right side of the fairway.
Steve Wheatcroft, a former Washington resident now living in Jacksonville, Fla., limped in at 4-over-par 75 to put him at 3-over for the tournament.
Wheatcroft suffered an inflamed tendon on his left Achilles during the middle of the second round and struggled from there.
“It was awful,” Wheatcroft said of his play. “The injury is starting to heal up, but my golf was terrible. I’d love to blame it on (the injury) but I can’t. Once I got out of contention, it got into my head.”
Notes
Scott Harrington had a double-eagle on the par-5, 553-yard No. 13. It was the second double-eagle on tour this season and second in the tournament’s history. Bhavik Patel, who withdrew after the first round here Thursday, had the other double-eagle on tour in the Mexico Championships. Harrington, who finished 4-over for the tournament, sank a 6-iron from 217 yards. Rahil Gangjee had a double-eagle in the 2011 Mylan Classic. … Kevin Foley, a graduate of Penn State, finished at 4-over.