Shriners Open Recap: Martin Wins with Big Mo

Momentum is a word often bandied about in sports. They've got Big Mo on their side. ... He's hot. ... He's not.

In golf, more so than in most sports, we see wild swings, not only from week to week, but even from round -- or even from hole to hole -- in large part because it's just one golfer, not a team. A guy can shoot 63 one day, 77 the next to miss the cut. He finds a hole ill-suited for his game, then the next one suits his eye perfectly.

And momentum, perceived or real, is also big in Vegas. Oh, is it ever. I can't stop now, honey. On a roll!

Which brings us to Ben Martin, who for a couple of years now has been lurking just beneath the surface of the PGA Tour. Martin stunk up the joint last week in the season-opening Frys.com Open with a 78-79 trunk slam. What happened next was a 68-66-62-68, winner of the Shriners Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for his first PGA title.

(Last week's winner, Sang-Moon Bae? Missed cut.)

This is one reason why it's so hard, and so maddening, for us gamers not only to draft smartly but to watch our guys from week to week. There are no sure things in sports, including golf. A baseball player fails 70 percent of the time and he's an all-star. If a golfer succeeds 30 percent of the time, he's Tiger Woods in his prime.

Martin, the 2010 U.S. amateur runner-up, showed he can win on the Web.com Tour, capturing two titles among eight top 10s in 2013. He then compiled three third-place showings in his return to the PGA Tour last season. It was a feast-or-famine campaign for the 27-year-old Clemson grad; he had seven top 25s in his 26 starts, but also missed 13 cuts. That left him 76th in the point standings, good for two playoff starts.

Even though Martin entered Sunday with a two-shot lead, and doubled it after 10 holes, he fell behind late-charging birdie machine Kevin Streelman. Closing 3-3-3-3 is a pretty good litmus test of a golfer turning the corner into champion's status, and that's just what Martin did. The highlight was a 45-foot chip-in for eagle on No. 16 to regain the lead. A birdie on 18 upped the victory margin to two.

"I didn't feel like I had much going all day," Martin told reporters. "Four under on my last four to cap my first win was just awesome."

Nothing like a little Big Mo at just the right time.

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Russell Knox

A bogey on No. 8 followed by a double on No. 9 torpedoed Knox's chances, but he bears watching following his second-best showing on tour, solo third. The 29-year-old Scot elevated his game last season, finishing 40th in the points race, with a playoff loss at the Honda. After making the turn Sunday, Knox played the back in 4-under, surely a positive sign.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka is on a lot of experts' short lists to be the breakout star this season. So far, so good. Only two golfers have two top-10s two events into the season, and Koepka is one of them with a T4 at the Shriners (Hideki Matsuyama is the other). With a European Tour card last season, Koepka played well enough to gain special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, making the cut in all three majors he played, including T4 at the U.S. Open. Of course, the experts have been wrong before, but Koepka is doing his best to prove them right.

Jimmy Walker

Walker followed up a poor defense of his Frys.com Open title with a strong Shriners, spinning a third-round 62 alongside a trio of 69s. It seemed odd that a Ryder Cupper would tee it up in the first two events of the wrap-around season, but at least Walker is not entered in the upcoming McGladrey Classic. After that, the Tour moves to Asia for two weeks (with an opposite-field event in Mississippi). And while Walker has qualified for WGC-HSBC Champions in China, there's no word whether he will be part of the anticipated stellar field. It comes one week after the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and, while many top names have already committed to the field, Walker is not among them.

Adam Hadwin and Carlos Ortiz

Two of the top Web.com Tour graduates had fine Sundays, Hadwin with a 63 to tie for eighth, Ortiz with a 65 to tie for 18th. Hadwin moved up 43 spots, eight more than Ortiz. These guys have already shown an ability to win on the secondary tour. It's a far cry to win on the PGA Tour, but a lights-out Sunday is at least a very good step in the right direction.

Whee Kim

Honestly, the only reason Whee Kim is mentioned here is because I like writing "Whee Kim." Whee! But while we're here, it's worth noting that the South Korean is only 22 and could be the next Asian to make a name for himself here in the U.S. He graduated from the Web.com Tour at 22nd in the reshuffle, so he'll get plenty of starts in the early going. Kim missed the cut at the Frys, but bounced back to T49 at the Shriners.

Patrick Rodgers

The top collegiate golfer of a year ago is finding the going tough as a professional. He jumped on board in the middle of last season, but couldn't parlay a bunch of sponsor exemptions into his Tour card. Then he fell short in the Web.com Tour Finals. Still, Rodgers gained entry to the first two events of this season, but the Stanford product sports only two MCs. Unless he turns things around in a hurry, his opportunities will begin to dry up.

Billy Horschel

We'll give the FedEx Cup champion a pass for his missed cut in Vegas. But it bears noting that Horschel was amid a dreadful 2013-14 season before coming alive in the playoffs. Just the confidence boost alone should carry him to loftier heights than he reached during most of last season, but also be mindful that a very quick burst saved Horschel's season, to say the least. Horschel will skip the McGladrey before taking part in the two-pronged Asian swing.

Retief Goosen

Apparently fully healthy, Goosen turned in a T3 last week. At the Shriners, an opening 76 led to a missed cut. Such may be life for a soon-to-be 46-year-old on Tour, even a multiple major champion. Goosen next tees it up in Malaysia.