Wells Fargo Notebook: Ex-Clemson star Ben Martin feels right at home at Quail Hollow

Ben Martin feels like he’s on home turf this week at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club.

“It’s pretty much my home game on the PGA Tour,” said Martin, a former Clemson golfer who was born in Greenwood, S.C. “This is the closest event to Greenville. It’s one of my favorites.”

Martin comes to Charlotte after a strong performance at last week’s Players Championship. He tied for fourth at TPC Sawgrass, further enhancing a season in which he won for a first time (at last fall’s Shriners Hospital for Children Open). He’s ranked 51st in the world.

But rather than relax Martin, his victory in Las Vegas might have made things tougher.

“I think after I won I did kind of start expecting to be there a little more often,” Martin said. “I did become a little bit more focused on the outcome and what place I was coming in. I think that added pressure to my game.

“Instead of freeing me up, it locked me down to kind of try to validate it, maybe, if that makes sense.”

Martin is playing for a third time at the Wells Fargo. He tied for 50th in 2014 after missing the cut in 2011. He has plenty of experience at Quail Hollow from working with the club’s former director of instruction Charles Frost.

“I have a better relationship with the people at the club,” Martin said. “It’s an event I look forward to throughout the year.”

Reed likes recent changes

Patrick Reed didn’t play at Quail Hollow in 2014, so he’s seeing for the first time some changes made to the course after the 2013 tournament.

“I saw (No.) 16 looked a lot different and seems like it’s going to be a good hole,” said Reed of the hole altered so the green is closer to the lake that dominates four of the final five holes. “I saw some pin placements on that green that would be a really good challenge.”

Reed won a playoff this season at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions but has been inconsistent since.

“One day I’ll be hitting the driver well and I’ll be hitting irons well,” Reed said. “But I won’t be putting as well as I want to. The other days I’ll be putting really well but not hitting the ball very well. I need everything to kind of click at the same time.”

Quoting

“When I get out there, get into playing a little bit, the feelings will come back.” – 2014 Wells Fargo champion J.B. Holmes on returning to Quail Hollow.

By the numbers

4.396: Stroke average on 18th hole at Quail Hollow (.396 over par), toughest on course over tournament’s 12 years.

4.653: Stroke average on No. 15 (.347 under par), easiest on course in tournament history.

30: Finish (tied) by Derek Ernst in 2014, best by a defending champion in tournament history.

1.055: Aggregate relative to par score of Quail Hollow’s “Green Mile” in 2014, highest of any of PGA Tour’s finishing holes.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Wells Fargo Notebook: Ex-Clemson star Ben Martin feels right at home at Quail Hollow."