Ben Martin Class: RS Senior Hometown: Greenwood, SC High School: Greenwood Height / Weight: 5-11 / 155 Experience: 3VL Major: Financial Management

Overall: First-team All-ACC selection in 2010, his third selection to the team in his career...14th player in Clemson history to make first-team All-ACC at least three times...also a three-time selection to Academic All-ACC team...Clemson's Male Student-Athlete of the Year as selected by AgSouth...graduated with 3.45 career GPA...honorable mention All-American in 2009-10...Clemson's top golfer in the NCAA Tournament, the regional and the national tournament...Clemson's top golfer at NCAA Southeast Regional with a third place finish, he shot a one under par 209 for the 54 holes at the Crabapple Course in Alpharetta, GA...shot a 69 in each of the last two rounds...then finished ninth at the NCAA National Tournament at The Honors Course with a 212 score, four under par...shot 72 or better in all six of his NCAA Tournament rounds...one of just six players nationally who had a top 10 finish at the NCAA Regional and the national tournament (others were Scott Langley, Peter Uihlen, Drew Kittleson, John Hahn and Chris Williams).. Clemson's top golfer in seven of the 11 tournaments he played as a senior...led team in stroke average with 72.16 figure, that includes team best 71.46 average in the spring...fine match play performer, he was runner up at 2009 US Amater and was runnerup in the 2005 South Carolina Match Play Championship....third Clemson golfer to play in the Masters while still a Clemson student, joining Chris Patton (1990) and D.J. Trahan (2001)...he had rounds of 75-80 at the 2010 Masters...played his two rounds with former champion Ben Crenshaw...finalist for the 2009 United States Amateur at Southern Hills...reached the finals after 141 qualifying score that was second best in the field...lost in finals to Byeon-Hun An of Korea...Martin became just the fourth Clemson golfer to reach finals of US Amateur, the first since Danny Ellis in 1993...will play in 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach...it will be his second straight US Open, as he played in 2009 event at Bethpage Black...he will be second Clemson golfer in history to play in two US Opens as an amateur and the first to play in three Majors as an amateur...has 73.00 career stroke average that ranks 12th in Clemson history and 12th in history in rounds in the 60s with 17 ... made the US Open at Bethpage Black in 2009, one of four Tigers in the field...shot 150, but had the lead after 11 holes at two-under-par... ranked among the top 100 golfers in the Sagarin rankings each of his four seasons, he was 64th as a freshman, 91st as a sophomore, 57th as a junior and 36th as a senior...improved from 53rd to 36th with his play in the two NCAA tournaments.....14th in the June 9, 2010 US Amateur rankings by Golfweek...ranked 25th in the world...has overcome heart ailment to have a strong career...a model of consistency in many ways, he had a 73.48 stroke average as a freshman and a 73.57 average as a sophomore, then 73.0 as junior and 72.16 as a senior...second on the team in stroke average as a freshman and third as a sophomore to go with second place ranking as junior behind Kyle Stanley...ranked first on the 2009-10 Tigers...made first-team All-ACC as a freshman, but not selected as a sophomore...had there been a re-vote after the NCAA Tournament he might have been selected... joined Kyle Stanley as first team all-ACC selection as a freshman, still one of just four freshmen in Clemson history to be selected... also named first-team All-District III by the Golf Coaches Association for 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2009-10... named to ACC Academic Honor roll for 2006-07 academic year, he was a Dean's List student...first golfer in Clemson history to make All-ACC and Academic All-ACC as a freshman... also made academic All-ACC as a sophomore and junior...had a 64 in the second round of his career as a freshman in the fall of 2006 at the Carpet Classic and that was his career best round...had a 67 in the first round as a sophomore at the Topy Cup in Japan....won Palmetto Amateur in summer of 2006 by eight shots....consistent player who had his score count 23 of 24 rounds in 2008-09 and 30 of 32 in 2009-10... so that is 53 of last 56...won Brandon Streeter Award, a department wide award, for his ability to come back from injury in spring of 2007...made academic honor roll for fourth consecutive years, he graduated from Clemson on Dec. 17, 2009, he is now taking postgraduate classes.... received an honorary Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship from the ACC in late April...will remain an amateur through the 2010 US Open.

2009-10: Led Clemson team in stroke average 2009-10 with 72.16 average...co-medalist at the Furman Invitational, March 19-21 with a six-under-par score of 210...that was his first college win...had final round 69 to win the event...first Clemson golfer to win that event since 1992...helped Tigers to Furman title by 14 shots...Clemson's top golfer at the ACC Tournament with a 214 score, good enough for 12th place...finished strong with a final round 69 in windy conditions...had 15 under-par rounds to lead the team, he had six top 10s overall, including three top threes...finished ninth at Carpet Classic, third at Jacksonville (played at TPC), seventh in Puerto Rico and first at Furman...finished third at NCAA Regional at Alpharetta, GA to lead Clemson team and ninth at NCAA Nationals...led Clemson team in birdies this year with 106, including 12 at NCAA National Tournament...led Clemson to a top 20 season as a senior with #16 finish at NCAA National... helped Clemson to second-place team finish at The Brickyard...member of winning United States team at the Spirit International at Whispering Pines in Texas...played with Jordan Speith, the young man from Texas who played so well at the Byron Nelson Invitational...tournament consisted of 20 teams with four players apiece, two men and two women...has 71.67 stroke average in first rounds, best on the Clemson team...solid in final rounds with team best 72.17...first-team All-ACC and All-Region and honorable mention All-American.

Summer of 2009: Had quite a summer with appearance in US Open and finalist at US Amateur...won US Open sectional in Maryland at Woodmont Country Club to qualify for 2009 US Open with consecutive rounds of 68...one of 13 amateurs in the field and one of 25 players to go through local and sectional qualifying...was eight under par for the 36 holes, one stroke better than Michael Sim, at the time the leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour...shot 72-78 at the US Open to finish 122nd and missed the cut...but he got off to a great start and was in the lead at two under par through his first 11 holes...finished the day with two over par 72 and was above the cutline...just the third Clemson golfer to make the US Open while still a Clemson student, he joined Chris Patton and Kyle Stanley with that distinction...one of four Tigers in the US Open in 2009, joining, D.J. Trahan, Stanley and champion Lucas Glover...finished the summer with runner-up spot in US Amateur...had rounds of 73-68 in qualifying to tie for second, then reached the finals with five straight wins...won his first two matches in extra holes and his next two by 2 & 1 scores...the top collegian at the US Amateur, he lost to 17-year old high school student Byeon Hun An of Korea in the 36-hole championship...finished 14th at the Palmetto Amateur in early June, he was 12th at the Sunnehanna with a 281 score...played in the Western Amateur and shot a 150 for the two rounds, he did not make the 16-person match play.

Martin at 2009 United States Amateur
d. Tyson Alexander, University of Florida, 21 holes
d. Chris Ward, Texas Tech, 19 holes
d. Nico Geyger, New Mexico, 2 & 1
d. David Lingmerth, Arkansas, 2 & 1
d. Charlie Holland, Texas, 5 & 4
l. Byeon-Hun An, Korea, 7 & 5

2008-09: First-team All-ACC selection that featured a team best spring regular season stroke average of 71.40...had second best stroke average on the team for the season at 73.00... had pair of top 10 finishes, including third place at the Puerto Rico Classic in February...also had third place at 2006 Carpet Classic, the first tournament of his Clemson career...had a 206 at Puerto Rico and the 10 under par figure was the best of his Clemson career...named ACC Player of the Month for his win in February, the first golfer to win that award from any school, as it was awarded for the first time this year...had a final round 66 at Puerto Rico to lead Clemson to second place finish at the national event...had four rounds in the 60s, all in the spring and all within seven-round stretch between Feb. 27 to March 30...six-under-par for his last 15 rounds after finishing the fall with a 79 at The Brickyard... actually had the best stroke average on the team for regular season events in the spring of 2009 with a 71.40 figure, even better than Kyle Stanley...finished in top 15 in all five spring regular season tournaments, the only Clemson golfer who could say that...finished 57th in final Sagarin rankings...second on the team in par five scoring average at 4.77...only player on the Clemson team with a pair of 66s, he had one at The Hootie and one at the Puerto Rico Classic...made All-ACC on the course and in the classroom for second time in his Clemson career.

Summer 2008: Played in five amateur tournaments over the summer of 2008...had his best finish at the Palmetto Amateur where he finished sixth with a 287 score...had opening round 68 to put him among the leaders...finished 18th at Southeast Amateur and 17th at The Players Amateur...also 28th at The Dogwood and 33rd at South Carolina Amateur....actually started the summer with his best performance in the US Open qualifying, he lost in a playoff to D.J. Trahan for the final spot in his sectional...actually had a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to best Trahan, who went on to finish fourth at the US Open at Torrey Pines.

2007-08: Third on the Clemson team in stroke average at 73.57, he was just short of the 73.42 by Sam Saunders ...played in nine of the 12 events and had 10 rounds at par ...his 67 a the Topy Cup to open the season tied for the best among Clemson golfers ... had a 73.50 stroke average in the fall when he played in all four events... helped the Tigers to a pair of second place finishes in the fall, including the 18-team Isleworth Collegiate...he and Luke Hopkins were the only Tigers to play in all four fall tournaments...had a ninth-place finish at the Topy Cup for his only top 10 of the fall...played well at the Brickyard over the last 36 holes to help Clemson to a second-place team finish...had a second round 69 that was his second lowest round of the fall...Clemson's best golfer at the ACC Tournament where he had rounds of 73-68-70...finished with 71 at the NCAA West Regional to help the Tigers to third place finish in the 27-team event...named to the Clemson Academic Honor Roll for the Spring Semester of 2008...only Clemson golfer to finish in the top three among Tiger golfers at the ACC Tournament, the NCAA Regional and the NCAA National tournaments in 2008...he had a 73.20 stroke average for the 10 rounds at those three events...finished eighth at the ACC Tournament at The Old North State Club and 16th at the NCAA West Regional, then 29th at the NCAA ...first among Tigers at the ACC Tournament, third among Clemson golfers at the regional and second at the NCAA Tournament...had Clemson's best final round at ACC Tournament and tied for best final round at NCAA West Regional... led the team in many statistical categories, including best final round scoring average at 72.67...also led the team in par five scoring (4.75)...tied for the team lead in eagles with five and was third in birdies with 90...second in subpar strokes/ round with 3.57...led the team in fewest bogeys/round at 2.86...third on the team in putting with 30.93 strokes/round...his score counted in 22 of his 28 rounds in 2007-08.

Summer of 2007: Had a solid summer of 2007 that included two top 10s and a top 14 at national amateur events...had ninth place finish at the South Carolina Amateur where he shot a one-under-par 287...finished 10th at the Dogwood in June with a 278 score, six under par...finished 14th at the Players Amateur in July when he had a 281...had strong rounds of 68 and 66 in the second and third rounds, respectively...competed in the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst in early July, he qualified for match play, but lost in the first round...also finished 29th at the Southeast Am in June.

2006-07: Made the All-ACC team as a freshman, joining teammate Kyle Stanley, Jonathan Byrd and D.J. Trahan as only freshmen in Clemson history to make All-ACC...ranked 64th in the nation in the final Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, second highest ranked Tiger behind Kyle Stanley...had a 73.48 stroke average for his eight tournaments as a freshman, second on the Clemson team behind Kyle Stanley...second on the Clemson team , but his 73.48 average was sixth best in Clemson history among freshmen...had a 64 in the second round of the season, the top individual round by a Clemson golfer all year ...the 64 took place at The Farm in Dalton, GA, and 8-under par score that is tied for the second best round in Clemson history and tied for the second best score versus par in Clemson history...it is still his career low round...it was the best score by a Clemson golfer since D.J. Trahan had a 64 at the Augusta State Invitational in 2003...Martin's 64 was the second best score in school history by a freshman, only a 63 by Brad Clark at the 1985 ACC Tournament is better...it was just the sixth score of 64 or better in Clemson history...Martin finished the Carpet Classic with a 208 score, eight-under-par, good enough for third place...that was his best finish of the year, but he also had an 18th-place at Las Vegas and 12th-place at Augusta State...had to withdraw from the US Collegiate due to a heart ailment, it also forced him to miss the ACC Tournament...returned for the NCAA East Regional at the Golf Club of Georgia and finished in 72nd place with a 227 score, third among Clemson golfers in the event... finished 23rd at the Ping Preview in Williamsburg, but he opened with consecutive rounds of 69 to rank as Clemson's top golfer after two rounds... Clemson's top golfer at the Carpet Classic, and tied for Clemson honors at Las Vegas and Augusta State... had his best final round of the year at the Augusta State Invitational when he shot a 68...finished the year first on the team in greens in regulation with a .697 figure...also second on the team in par four scoring average with a 4.08 and second in subpar strokes/round with 3.26...second to All-American Kyle Stanley in stroke average, under par rounds and rounds in the 60s... played in three of the four stroke-play events and the Callaway Match Play event in the fall of 2006...his 72.22 average for the fall included three rounds in the 60s... had 0-2 record at the Match Play championship, but both matches went to the 17th hole....his score counted in 18 of his 23 rounds as a freshman...won Brandon Streeter Award, an athletic department wide honor, for his overcoming heart ailment to participate during the 2006-07 academic year.

Summer 2006: Had outstanding summer that included victories at Palmetto Amateur and the Festival of Flowers, he finished ninth at the Rice Planters...won the Palmetto Amateur in Aiken, SC by an incredible eight shots...had rounds of 65-73-68-66 for a 272 total, eight-under par...shot a 283 at the Rice Planters when he had another top 10 (9th)....also had a top 20 finish at the South Carolina Amateur where he shot a 289.

2005-06: Red-shirted the 2005-06 season.

Summer of 2005: Advanced to the championship match of the South Carolina Amateur in summer of 2005...reached the 36-hole final against Kellen Altman of Conway, SC and the College of Charleston...lost in exciting 36-hole final, 2-and-1....also defeated Clemson teammate Martin Catalioto along the way...finished tied for 11th at the 2005 South Carolina Amateur with a 286 score after consistent rounds of 75-69-70-72...tied with former Clemson teammate Brian Duncan....tied for sixth at the Palmetto Amateur...co-medalist of the United States Junior Amateur qualifying at Mid-Carolina Country Club...competed in the USGA's United States Junior States Amateur at Longmeadow Country Club in Massachusetts.

High School: Two-time All-State selection at Greenwood High School in 2004 and 2005...also an all-regional choice in 2004 and 2005...named to the North-South All-Star team matches in 2005....team MVP at Greenwood High under Sparky Hudson in 2004 and 2005...the 2005 Greenwood High School Academic Athlete of the Year...won the Jimmy Self High School Invitational at Palmetto Hall in Hilton Head, SC...won the 2005 Southern Cross at the Palmetto Club in Aiken, SC...finished third at the State 4A championship at Furman in 2005...competed in the 2004 USGA Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco...tied for fourth at the South Carolina Big I...as a junior in high school finished sixth at the State 4A Tournament at Furman.. four-year letterman in golf, 2002-05...has a grandfather, Tommy Cox, who played baseball at Clemson... tutored by Billy Delk, father of former Clemson All-American, Thump Delk...ranked second academically in his high school class at Greenwood High School... from same hometown as Clemson All-America football player Gaines Adams, the fourth selection of the 2007 NFL draft.

Personal: Born August 26, 1987...son of Jim and Suzie Martin of Greenwood, SC...both of his parents attended Clemson, but his dad graduated from Alabama...majoring in financial management, he graduated in December 2009.