So here lies the question in regards to Pablo Martin Benavides, what can we expect to see from this young rising star that we have not yet already seen here in the past few years. Pablo is now at his Junior year in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he is a proud member of the Oklahoma State Men’s Cowboy Golf Team. For the ones whom are still not aware of his talent let me enlighten you real quickly, he was one of the Top Amateurs in Europe if not the top especially for his age. Won the British Boys Amateur Championship in 2001 at the tender age of 15, then in 2002 lost in the Quarterfinals and then in 2003 lost in the Final. Won the Orange Bowl in 2003 with a final round of 64, Won the Carris Trophy in 2004 the list goes on and on these Victories were all achieved before hitting the College Ranks. Some thought that he might slow down is College, but that was not the case by any means he came out and Won his first College event none other than the Ping Golf Week Preview which consists of one of the best fields of the season.
On April 1st of 2007 Pablo etched his name in to the records books by becoming the first Amateur to win a European PGA Tour event. The event that he won was the Estoril Open de Portugal, Pablo carded a final round 3 under par 68 to finish at 277 and one shot ahead of Raphael Jacquelin. With his 7 under score, he became the Amateur Champion in the history of the Tour which up to date includes 1145 events. In pulling of this most impressive victory Martin became the second Cowboy to win a Professional event as an amateur joining Scott Verplank who won the 1985 Western Open. After opening with a 2 over 73 during his first round at the Quinta de Marinha Golf Club, Martin posted a 70 on Friday before catching fire on the weekened. The 2006 collegiate player of the year moved into contention with a 66 on Saturday that included a 5 under 29 on his back nine. This was his second consecutive start on the European Tour for the Malaga, Spain native. He missed the cut the week before at the Madeira Island Open. Earlier this year, Martin finished 63rd at the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Just this past week Martin was named a 2007 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar it was announced by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The magazine established the award, which was inspired by Tennis legend Arthur Ashe, to honor undergraduate students of color who have achieved both athletically and academically as well as in the community. To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 and be active on their campus or in their community. This year OSU had 17 Arthur Ashe recipients which was the seventh highest in the nation adn tops among Big 12 Schools.
A few weeks ago we we all informed that Pablo would forfeit his Senior year at OSU to turn Pro and venture on in life, to say the least anyone that knows the kid was not shocked we all new it was all just a matter of time. I personally was shocked to see him back at OSU for a Junior year especially after being named Freshman of the Year his first year and Player of the year his second year, what else was left for him to prove? For the second year running Pablo has be named between the ten players whom are semifinalists of the 2007 Ben Hogan Award. Last year Pablo was among the Final picks but did not attend the banquet due to it inflicting with his Team Schedule, therefore he did not have the chance to earn such a tremendous accolade. He found it was more important to travel with the Team and play alongside with his fellow Cowboys, I wonder how many other college players would have done the same as Pablo??
Knowing Pablo since he was young and full of talent I won’t hesitate to say that I believe that we are going to vitness something special from him, whether it be on the PGA Tour or on the European Tour to start with, but its a name that will have an impact no matter where he plays or whom he plays.
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