Spaniard - and OSU Cowboy - Martin First Amateur to Win on Euro Tour

by Mulligan Stu on Apr 1, 2007 2:57 PM EDT Comment 1 comment

Pablo Martin-Benavides on Sunday became the first amateur to win a tournament on the European Tour since that tour's inception in 1972.

pablo martin benavides Martin, a Spaniard who is a sophomore on the Oklahoma State University golf team, won the Estoril Portuguese Open by one stroke over French pro Raphael Jacquelin, shooting a final-round 68 to claim the historic win.

With the win, Martin is eligible to immediately turn pro and claim his Tour Card on the European Tour. Martin says, however, that he plans to finish his season at OSU:

Martin told reporters: "No, I will not turn professional right away. I had already thought about it. I've got to play for the Oklahoma State team.

"They have been so good to me and I am so grateful. It doesn't even cross my mind to turn pro."

Martin has two weeks to change his mind and claim his Tour Card. If he does stick with Oklahoma State, he'll still be able to join the European Tour at the beginning of its 2008 season.

Another golfer from Oklahoma State, Scott Verplank, won on the US PGA as an amateur in 1985, something Martin says his OSU coach often talked about:

When Martin returns to Oklahoma on Monday the first man he will seek out is his university coach Mike McGraw.

"My coach is always reminding me that Scott Verplank (from Oklahoma State) won on the PGA Tour when he was an amateur and that I should think about doing the same," Martin said.

"Now I want to see what he will have to say!"

The last amateur to win on the PGA Tour is Phil Mickelson in 1991; the last amateur to win on the LPGA Tour is JoAnne Carner in 1969 (more from About.com).

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