Piller Blog: First PGA TOUR event was truly memorable

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Martin Piller is a rookie on the Nationwide Tour and is seventh in "THE 25."

Martin Piller will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM periodically during the 2009 season. In his most recent post, he updates us on the Valero Texas Open, his first PGA TOUR start. For more information on Piller, visit martinpiller.com.

May 20, 2009 - "Hello Friends"

San Antonio

When I woke up on Saturday, May 9, I was preparing for a five-week, non-stop Nationwide Tour schedule that would begin at the end of the month. Since the Mexico Open was postponed, I thought this was an interval of practice and sleeping, before heading to Raleigh, N.C., on May 23. My former teammate at Texas A&M University, Trey Todd, was getting married in a week in Abilene, and I was going to be a groomsman in his wedding. I planned to head for west Texas on Thursday. Never did I suspect that one phone call would change everything.

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Martin Piller lines up a putt at the Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR.

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2009 results
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Rookie success

The phone call

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, I got a phone call from a man named Tony Piazza, President and CEO of Golf San Antonio. "Would you like to play in our tournament in San Antonio?" Mr. Piazza asked. "The Valero Texas Open." I was in shock. Was this really happening? I said "yes" after a moment of being literally speechless. Of course playing on the PGA TOUR was a dream of mine, but I didn't realize that it would come so soon. So I then did what anyone else would do -- go practice!

Two days later, I left Dallas and picked up my caddie, Russell Helson, in his hometown of Georgetown, Texas. On Tuesday, we played a 7:30 a.m. practice round in a foursome made up of my former teammate Texas A&M, Robert "Bobby" Gates, who shot a 64 the day before to Monday Qualify, Texan Chad Campbell and Heath Slocum. Chad and Heath were class acts the whole way as they put up with me being a little star struck. We finished the round and were greeted on the range by my favorite BBQ in the world -- Rudy's! I thought it would be real easy to get used to this whole PGA TOUR thing. Then, on Wednesday, Russell and I went over to the Palmer course at La Cantera Golf Course to play in the off-site pro-am. Despite the wind blowing about 50 mph, we had a blast with our amateurs as usual. I'm still waiting to win a pro-am. I'm beginning to think a Wednesday pro-am is tougher to win than an actual tournament.

My first round on the PGA TOUR

I started the first round the next day at 2:05 p.m. off of the 10th with Aron Price and Matt Bettencourt. Brian Winnett, my high school golf coach from Duncanville, Texas, made the trip to watch me play. His familiar face relaxed me a bit, which is what I needed. I struggled to control some nervousness on the first tee, an uphill par 4 with a stiff wind coming towards us. I needed Coach Norman Dale of the Hickory Huskers from the movie "Hoosiers" to come measure the cups out there just to calm me down or something. And I thought to myself, this is the same golf that I've been playing my whole life. There's really no difference. I calmed the nerves and was able to hit a decent tee shot, second shot and par the first hole. I shot 1-under 69 the first round and was in a good position.

Making the cut

While some people would not expect a player to make the cut in his first PGA TOUR tournament, I expected nothing less. In the second round, I was even par for the tournament standing on the 17th tee, a par 3, 1 over for the second round. I knew I had to get to at least 1 under to make the cut. The hole was about 190 yards into a light breeze. I smoked a high 5-iron into the back pin about 7 feet away and made the putt for birdie to go 1 under. I needed to par 18 to make the cut. On No. 18, a par 4, l pulled out my driver and hit my tee shot left into a fairway bunker. From the bunker, I decided on a 6-iron. The ball shot up high and into the hospitality tents left of the green. The crowd heard the ball hit the roof. It was embarrassing how bad the shot was. Luckily, the PGA TOUR gives generous drops around grandstands. I was given a free drop about 40 yards short and left of the green. I pulled out my 64-degree wedge and sent it straight into the air. It landed about 8 feet away from the hole. I knew I had to make the putt to make the cut. I lined it up and pulled the putter straight back. The ball dove into the center of the hole. I gave the biggest fist pump of my life!

Playing Saturday

Saturday was nearly perfect. I was paired with Matt Bettencourt again. I enjoy playing with him for one reason: He plays fast. I've developed a reputation on the Nationwide tour as a fast player. Matt makes me look slow. On top of that, he is a super nice guy. We teed off at 8:11 a.m .and somewhere around 5:30 p.m., after seven birdies and a five-hour rain delay, I had a 64 by my name on the leaderboard. Just to play is thrilling. To put together a great round is extra special. For the first time, I was on a CBS golf broadcast putting out on 18. I later saw the tape and thought "so that's what I look like in HD."

Final round

The final round was fun but frustrating. I wanted to try to get into the top 10, so I could play in the HP Byron Nelson Championship the next week. I shot 71 to tie for 40th, far short of my goal. But the walk up the 18th fairway was one of the coolest moments I've had in golf. The galley applauded as our threesome approached the green. Charlie Wi made a tap in for birdie. Willis Garrett also made a birdie putt. And I made par to finish my first PGA TOUR tournament 69-70-64-71-274 (6 under).

Hello friends

After my second round, I was interviewed on Sirius Satellite Radio's PGA TOUR Channel, and I was asked what my goals were for the week. I responded: "I want to play well. And I want to meet Jim Nantz of CBS Sports." I heard Mr. Nantz speak at Texas A&M when I was a freshman in 2004. Ever since then, I've always been a big fan of him. Well, someone else took note of that from my radio interview. After my final round, I was stopped outside the scoring tent by a young lady who worked for CBS Sports. She asked me, "do you still want to meet Jim Nantz?" I said, "Heck yeah!" So she walked me up to the tower behind the 18th green and into the booth where Mr. Nantz and Ian Baker-Finch were announcing the play-by-play.

I saw Mr. Nantz in the back of the booth. He motioned for me to come over. We waited until a commercial break. Then Mr. Nantz took off his headset and said "hello Martin." He was as smooth off the air as he is on. He showed me around the booth and helped me get a little comfortable with how things work. I didn't realize how complicated broadcasting a golf tournament was. That's got to be way tougher than actually playing golf! Mr. Nantz gave me a headset to listen to the broadcast, which was one of the coolest moments all week. If you listen to the actual broadcast, Mr. Nantz gives me a special "hello friend" while scrolling through the scores -- his signature greeting during the Masters coverage. I stayed in the booth for about 30 minutes. After that, Mr. Nantz signed a copy of his book. The inscription read: "I hope to put a Green Jacket on you in Butler's Cabin someday." Sunday was Mr. Nantz's 50th Birthday.

Special thanks

Special thanks to Tony Piazza and his entire staff for giving me the opportunity to play in the Valero Texas Open. I will never forget their support during my rookie year. That turned out to be a good thing. Thanks to Cliff Dugosh, Chris Curiel, and Brandon Leone for hosting me all week in San Antonio. And I appreciate Coach Winnett of Duncanville, who is retiring this month and my swing coach, Neil Wilkins of Sugarland for making the trip and all my friends who walked the steep cart paths of La Cantera. Congratulations to Trey and Casey Todd, who lost not one but two groomsmen to the PGA TOUR last week -- Bobby Gates and me. And finally, congratulations to Coach Higgins and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Golf team for advancing to the NCAA National Championship in Toledo, Ohio. Whoop! Thanks for all the people who came out there and supported me for the week; my old roommate Will Harrell, especially my old friends from high school, Jeff Walston, Michael Miles, Daniel Gossett, and TJ Drake. Y'all are the best.

Five-state swing

Russ and I are headed to Raleigh on May 23 for the Nationwide Tour's Rex Hospital Open and then to Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia. I love the Nationwide Tour because it gives us opportunities, which can lead to one phone call that turns a routine Saturday into an unexpected and life-changing opportunity. Come see us play this summer and say hello.

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." -- Galatians 5:22

• For more about Martin Piller and for earlier blog entries, visit martinpiller.com

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April 28, 2009 - "Georgia on my mind"

Well, I'm back in my home base of Dallas, Texas, after a two-step in Georgia for the Athens Regional Foundation Classic and the South Georgia Classic Presented by First State Bank & Trust Company in Valdosta. As always, it's a real treat and privilege to be a part of the Nationwide Tour. So every time I get the opportunity to tee it up, it's exciting.

Before I write about the golf tournaments I played, I have to mention that I had the opportunity to be a "patron" of the final round of the Masters. As a member of the Nationwide Tour, I am allowed a free, daily pass at Augusta National. I scheduled my trip to begin early to take advantage of this Tour benefit. I kept thinking "why didn't they mention this after q-school at the orientation?" It's a PGA TOUR benefit almost as good as health and dental insurance.

The Masters

At 5 a.m. on Sunday of The Masters, Nationwide Tour player and friend, Josh Teater, and I left Athens and headed down I-20 toward Augusta to stand in line in order to get a good seat. Going to the Masters was unlike any experience I've had as a golf spectator. The course is phenomenal. It's true that television doesn't really show the slopes and elevation changes. The fan atmosphere rivals that of a football game on a Saturday at Texas A&M University's Kyle Field. I waited for two hours on the eighth tee box to see Tiger and Phil come through and smash drivers. Then I spent the rest of the day on No. 15 -- the par 5 -- to watch guys give it a rip in two. My swing coach, Neil Wilkins of Sugarland, Texas, told me that you can only go to the Masters once as a spectator. The next time, he says, I must go as a player. So I guess I may not return to Augusta until I'm invited to play. I know that someday I'll be playing there.

Athens

Back in Athens at the Jennings Mill Country Club, I made my sixth cut on the Tour easily with opening rounds of 70-71. But during both tournaments, I struggled with roller-coaster rounds. I was playing aggressively and making a lot of birdies. But the downside was that I was also making some big mistakes resulting in double bogeys. In Athens, I was T4 in birdies for the week with 20, but I was T2 in double bogeys with 4. I don't care who you are. You aren't going to be able to move up the leaderboard when you are making double bogeys. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. So my goal is to continue to minimize mistakes by better assessing risks and taking trouble out of the picture as much as possible.

I also witnessed something in Athens that I'll probably never see again in my life. I was paired with Brendon Todd and Neal Lancaster the first and second rounds in Athens. Brendon Todd made a hole-in-one the first day on the 17th hole. I was thinking "wow that was a great shot," but I didn't think anything of it after that. The very next morning on our first nine holes (we started on the back), Brendon gets up on 17 and aces it again! Our whole group was stunned to say the least. Here is the link to the video of Brendon's second hole in one.

Valdosta

In Valdosta, at Kinderlou Forest Golf Course, it was the same story. I was T7 in birdies with 17, but T1 in doubles with 3. Kinderlou played almost 7,800 yards, just about the longest course on the PGA or Nationwide Tours. The distance wasn't the problem for me though, as I struggled again on the greens. I feel like I'm playing well enough every week to win, but I need to eliminate my mistakes and minimize penalties to avoid the big numbers. My short game really needs to become more consistent if I want to win out here. I didn't have my best stuff in Valdosta, but I was able to keep the ball in play and shoot some consistent numbers.

Statistics

I finished T24 in Athens (70-71-72-70-283), and T29 in Valdosta (73-69-72-71-285) and remained in the top 10 (No. 7) on the money list. I lead the Tour in overall birdies after eight tournaments -- 30 rounds with 128 birdies. The player closest to my total has 18 fewer birdies at 110. I have three top 10s and four top 25s so far. The statistics tell me to keep working hard on all aspects of my game.

What's Next

I will use the next couple of weeks that I have off to work very hard on my short game, as it was mostly my putting that cost me shots. And I will play in my former golf team's Texas A&M Golf Booster Club event at Traditions Golf Course in College Station. Gig'em Aggies! This is one of my favorite things to do all year.

While my professional career is important, I value relationships and my faith above all else. I am not playing the BMW Charity Pro-Am only because I am a groomsman in the wedding of my former Aggie teammate, Trey Todd in Abilene, Texas. It is the same week as the South Carolina tournament. Meanwhile, I'm watching the swine flu news and am currently in the Mexico Open. I'll definitely tee it up at the North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia tournaments making the trip in my van. The only airline flight is to Pittsburgh and a two-hour drive to the Nationwide Tour Players Cup at the Pete Dye Golf Course in Bridgeport, W. Va. That's five weeks on the road after Mexico. Until then, I'm going to enjoy the break. The next couple of weeks I'll be practicing hard on my game with some stick-and-puck sessions sprinkled in between.

New Friends

If you live near a Nationwide Tour stop, come watch us play, and I will sign a ball for you.

Thanks so much to my Athens host family, Laura and Kevin McHugh for sharing their beautiful home with my caddie, Russell Helson, and me for the week of the tournament. Y'all are the best, and no host family could be more loving and warmer than you both were. Thanks for opening your hearts and refrigerator and letting me play with Halle, the dog, every day.

Thanks for reading my blog and God bless.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." -- 1 John 3:16

• For more about Martin Piller and for earlier blog entries, visit martinpiller.com

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April 7, 2009

Well it feels so good to be back home in Texas after two weeks on the road. I love my Lone Star State and have become a boastful, native son -- some might say insufferably proud at times. The first week was spent in Lafayette, La., at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. The trip was mostly filled with great Cajun food and four rounds of golf in between meals. Two of those rounds were unexpected! The 36-hole cut line was a little more dramatic than I would have liked. I made the cut on the number at 1 under, but I didn't find out until mid-Saturday morning when a large group of players finished their second rounds a day late due to rainy conditions.

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Martin Piller has missed just one cut in eight starts this season.

In the hotel room, Russell Helson, my caddie, was refreshing the computer every few minutes and giving a dramatic play-by-play of the action via the live scoring on PGATOUR.COM. It came down to one player making a final bogey on his final hole. This was as close as it gets! The player made a bogey, and 14 guys were sticking around for the weekend, when the cut moved from two under to one under. I was one of them. So we jumped in the car and rushed to the course to warm up. On Sunday, I posted a 66, my best score on the Nationwide Tour at that time. I finished in a tie for 36th place at 4 under for the tournament. Thank you Neil Wilkins, my swing coach, from Sugarland, Texas, for making the trip over to Lafayette.

After Louisiana, I headed to Houston to Monday qualify for the Shell Open. I shot 70 (-2) at Cypresswood; 65 was the number. Though I failed to make it in, I played well and gained some confidence from the round on a course I had never seen before and with no yardage book available. The Monday qualifier looked like a PGA TOUR event unto itself. So many foreign players were in the Shell Houston Open because of the upcoming Masters. That left some PGA TOUR players out of the tournament and trying to Monday qualify for the very competitive event. After the Cypresswood round, it was good to reunite with my old teammate from Texas A&M, Canadian Tour player Bobby Gates, and some other close Texas friends that I hadn't seen recently.

From Houston, Russell and I jumped on a Continental flight and headed for the City by the Bay. I was mostly pumped for the week, because of the beautiful views that San Francisco has to offer and also the daily visit to In-N-Out Burger. Seriously, it is one of my West Coast "food groups." Stonebrae Golf Course in Hayward, Calif., appears to be the highest point in the entire Oakland/San Francisco area, as you could see both skylines from the first tee. The first day was incredibly windy. The course is completely unprotected, so scores were especially high on Thursday. I shot 74-67-63-70 -- 274 (-10) to finish in a tie for fourth. The 63 in the third round tied my personal best for lowest round in a tournament.

It felt good to be in the hunt again on a big stage. I felt confident all week, and I was very aggressive. In the final round, I got off to a shaky start with a four-putt on No. 1 and a bogey on No 2. I stayed patient and positive. I know I have the game to compete out here. I just need to minimize my mistakes. Through six tournaments, I have three top-10 finishes (Moonah Classic, Michale Hill New Zealand Open, Stonebrae Classic), and my putting stats are No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour. I am currently No. 1 in birdies on the Nationwide Tour, but I have many things to learn and work on to improve and minimize costly mistakes. Russ and I are working hard on getting the right club in my hands at the right time, too.

It was fun to be interviewed by GOLF CHANNEL at Lafayette and San Francisco. Thank you to all the television folks, especially Jerry Foltz for all the positive comments he wrote on his blog, "Shag Bag." Some people wonder if the television coverage is distracting. It isn't for me. My mom is a producer, and I've been in front of her cameras for years. However, I do plan to take voice lessons and improve my singing for future appearances on GOLF CHANNEL. My loyal audience is demanding an encore!

I have this week off, although I will be headed back to beautiful College Station, Texas, to play in an AJGA Junior-Amateur, a charity event at Traditions Golf Course. It will be kind of surreal to hang around a junior golf tournament. Not since the summer of 2004 have I played in an AJGA event, the world's best tour in junior golf. I look forward to seeing my A&M Coach, J.T. Higgins and many of my former teammates on the Fightin' Texas Aggie Golf Team. Whoop!

Russ and I leave on Saturday for a two-week trip to Georgia, where I'll play in the Athens Regional Foundation Classic and the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta. So can you guess where I will be on Sunday? My PGA membership gets me one, free, day pass through the other set of pearly gates, the ones in Augusta. Until my next post, God bless you and pray for our safe travel on this exciting journey.

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!" -- 2 Corinthians 5:17

• For more about Martin Piller and for earlier blog entries, visit martinpiller.com