Oh there’s some joy in Houston tonight.
Jim Herman who’s toiled on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour since turning pro in 2000 did his best Cinderella Story impersonation today and won the Shell Houston Open.
Herman, who few at the Golf Club of Houston could pick out of a lineup went toe to toe with a pair of heavyweights and was the last man standing.
He started the day tied for the lead with Jamie Lovemark and while Lovemark faded Herman did not. Even when world number six Henrik Stenson and number eight Dustin Johnson came charging Herman stayed the course on his way to an impressive 68 for a one shot victory over Stenson.
This was Herman’s 106th PGA Tour start and definitely his most important. His best finish prior to this was a T4 at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Many will point to Herman’s chip in from the rough at sixteen for birdie as the winning shot and while it did provide his margin of victory he still had two holes left.
He stood on the eighteenth tee for an eternity before he could hit due to a backup of players. That was plenty of time to think about all that water bordering the left side of the hole.
But Herman would have no meltdown and he piped his drive 316 yards right down Broadway. That was the shot that leveled Stenson as he stood waiting for Herman to make a mistake.
Herman stood strong when you know his hands had to be shaking. He withstood the pressure and beat players with much stronger resumes. He came into this ranked 191st in the world and leaves as the 68th ranked player.
It’s a life changing win for Herman. He cashes a $1.2 million dollar check, gets a two year PGA Tour exemption and gets into The PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Championship, The Memorial and a little tournament in Augusta, Georgia next week.
Now, that’s some really good stuff.
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