Jim Herman
Birthplace: Cincinnati.
Age: 38.
Turned pro: 2000.
How qualified: Won last week's Shell Houston Open.
Best Masters finish: First appearance.
Best stat this season: Herman is seventh in total driving (86th in distance of 292 yards and 17th in accuracy of 69.2%).
How “yuuuge” would it be for Jim Herman to follow up his surprising win in Sunday’s Shell Houston Open with an improbable win at this week’s Masters?
Would it be as “yuuuge” as Donald Trump’s lead in the Republican race to become the party’s rep to run for U.S. president?
Definitely and it might not be surprising to know that the obscure golfer and the businessman turned politician who loves to say “yuuuge” are linked.
Herman, 38, worked as a pro at one of Trump’s courses in New Jersey. Trump played golf with him years ago and said he knew he had potential. So, he staked him to seed money to continue his dream of being a tour pro.
The dream was realized when Herman held off Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth to win the Shell Houston Open on Sunday and earn the last exemption into the Masters. It was his first win PGA Tour win in grueling career that saw him keep his playing privileges just once following the 2015 season.
All of the emotions came out as he stood crying on the green on Sunday while being interviewed.
“I think it all just built up and that was I guess nine years of traveling, playing professional golf on the Web.com and PGA Tour just all came out there at the end,” he said.
Trump learned of the victory on Sunday and told a USA Today reporter, "He's what America is all about. He never gave up, never gave up on his dream. I'm proud of him."
Herman hadn’t planned on coming to Augusta this week. He thought he would get home around midnight on Sunday, wake up on Monday and take his daughter to school. He would then watch the Masters on TV, something he said he enjoys doing every year.
Instead, he took a flight into Atlanta on Monday and drove to Augusta. He didn’t play the course. He said he will walk the course on Tuesday and then he and his caddie will put together a game plan on Wednesday. Tuesday’s practice will be his second time playing the course after doing so in November last year as a guest.
“It’s going to be a total 180 from anything I was able to experience on the outside or even in that one round,” he said. “It’s just going to be awesome.”
Herman was frank on Monday in discussing why it has taken him so long to play in the Masters. He said he was good enough to make it onto the PGA Tour, he just wasn’t good enough to stay there because his short game and mental approach weren’t good enough.
Always a self-taught golfer as a youth and as a college player at Cincinnati, Herman sought help.
The work paid off in Sunday’s final round. After dumping his tee shot into a hazard on No. 5, he regrouped and made bogey. In the past, he said a tee shot like that would have sunk him to mid-table finish.
Then came the moment that clinched the win, a fitting encapsulation of the work done between his ears and with his wedges.
His tee shot on par-3 16th missed the green to the left, almost 40 feet to the hole. He was left with a tough lie in thick grass, without a lot of green and Stenson, playing some of the best golf of his career the past few weeks, trying to chase him down.
Herman plopped a wedge onto the green and watched it roll gently into the home. Herman unleashed a few uncharacteristic fist pumps and then parred the next two holes to win $1.22 million, more then he won in all of 2015.
Herman didn’t say on Monday if he planned to repay Trump, but he has carried his logo on his bag and shirts.
“He’s really good for golf,” Herman said. “He loves golf and he’s really good for the game.”
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