Greenwood native, Clemson grad prepares for his first British Open

The best players in golf are preparing to contest the game’s oldest championship — the British Open — at iconic St. Andrews’ Old Course beginning this morning.

Among the players is former Clemson University golf star Ben Martin, who is in the midst of his first trip to Scotland and to what enthusiasts call the “Home of Golf.”

The 27-year-old from Greenwood enjoys the variety that Scottish links golf affords, and he came over last week and played in the Scottish Open in Gullane to get some extra “feel” for links and his second British Open.

Martin is intrigued by what St. Andrews offers.

“Coming to the home of golf, the whole place is just so cool with the town,” Martin said. “Basically the town just rolls right into the course. And it’s fun to play over here just because it’s so much different than what we have at home.”

Martin has felt in awe of places near home like Augusta National, but St. Andrews, as beautiful as it is, fits in a separate realm in his mind.

“Growing up an hour from Augusta, The Masters is, I think, kind of set apart from everything else, so it makes the other three majors — they’re so big, and it doesn’t take anything away from them — but Augusta for me is at another level,” Martin said. “(At) the other three majors, it’s easy to come out and prepare and not get too nervous.”

And that is exactly what Martin has done. The 17th-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings spent Tuesday and Wednesday getting acclimated to the course’s layout and challenge. For Martin, the difficulty of this tournament lies in the unknown.

“The challenge will probably be that we didn’t play in much wind during our practice rounds,” Martin said. “Once it starts blowing in the tournament, the course will be playing differently.”

How differently is yet to be determined, but 40 mile-per-hour winds and rain are expected for Friday’s second round. The weather literally comes with the territory this week at the Old Course, and Martin has an open mind about whatever comes his way. Ah, to be young and among the world’s best.

“The weather can come into play. We’ve been getting some rain, so it’s not quite so firm and fast,” Martin said. “But it’s fun to be able to play different shots and do something that you’re not really accustomed to.

“It’s a special place. It can be challenging. You never know what kind of weather you’re going to get, but you’ve just got to embrace those challenges, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Maybe this isn’t Augusta, but Martin does enjoy the classic Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole, one of golf’s memorable pillars.

“That’s what I think of when I think of St. Andrews,” Martin said about the bridge. “You watched Arnold Palmer playing his last Open here. Tom Watson will be doing that this week, so taking that walk over the bridge — my mom came over this week, so I snapped a photo with her yesterday in the practice round when I played it for the first time — this is just an awesome course.”

Martin will tee off at 7:17 a.m. (EDT) on Thursday and knows he will face greens much slower than what he’s used to in the Southeast. Regardless, Martin looks forward to the nuances of St. Andrews.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 8:00 PM.