Greensboro, NC – Miraculously, it took 12 tournaments and 846 holes of golf for the eGolf Tour's first playoff of the 2010 season to occur. On a balmy Saturday afternoon at cherished Forest Oaks Country Club, Ben Martin of Greenwood, SC, competing in just his second professional event, won his first professional title with a birdie on the second playoff hole to defeat 54-hole leader Brett Munson of Evans, GA and collect the $34,900 first-place prize.

Martin, who earned national acclaim when he finished runner-up in the 2009 U.S. Amateur, began the final round of the Forest Oaks Classic trailing Munson by one shot in the $235,000 event. The two players, paired with 36-hole leader Daniel Woltman of Beaver Dam, WI in the day's final pairing, would set out for an exciting back-and-forth battle that would require overtime to settle.

Brett MunsonMunson, the 2010 Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the nation's top Division II golfer at the University of North Alabama, opened his final round with birdies on Nos. 2 and 4 to quickly pull two shots ahead of Martin. A bogey-birdie-double bogey stretch by Munson on Nos. 5-7 would be amplified by back-to-back birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 for Martin to create a complete flip of the leaderboard. In the span of 45 minutes, Martin had gone from two down to two up.

The two players would trade shots for much of the closing nine before coming to the par-4 16th even for the tournament at 17-under par. For the final round, tournament officials had moved the tees up to 305 yards on No. 16 to tempt players into driving the green. A pond lining the entire left side of the hole took it's fair share of victims during Saturday's final round, and Martin was almost one of them.

"I pulled my tee shot and thought it was going in the water, but luckily it carried," said Martin, 22. "I made a good up and down and thought I was going to get one on him, but he chipped in and we stayed tied with two to go."

Munson had indeed chipped in for birdie on 16, matching Martin's aggressive birdie without ever using his putter.

At the long par-3 17th, Martin was left with an 8-foot par putt to stay tied with Munson after he two-putted for a routine par himself. With nerves only a 22-year old could exhibit, Martin knocked his par putt square in the back of the cup.

With one hole to play and tied for the event, both players aggressively went for the green on the lengthy par-5 18th, with Martin going long right and Munson finding the front left of the putting surface. A stout up-and-down by Martin and a brave two putt from 60 feet by Munson would send the two players into a playoff.

On the first playoff hole, the par-4 first, both players hit their approach shots on the green and left themselves somewhat routine two-putts for par. After matching fours, the two headed back to the 18th to continue the playoff for yet another hole. Following their respective tee shots, Martin would be the first to try and go for the green.

"I short sided myself with a 4-iron after turning it too much," said Martin, who watched as Munson's approach settled on the back right of the green. "I had one foot in the bunker and one foot out, but hit a good shot to 5 feet. I thought I needed to get up and down just to keep the playoff alive, let alone try and win."

Martin's bunker shot to 5 feet put plenty of pressure on Munson, who left his first putt 6 feet short of the hole. First up with a chance at birdie, Munson watched in disbelief as his birdie came to a halt just shy of the cup. He had left it short.

Munson's unfortunate miss set the scene for Martin, who looked like a seasoned professional when lining up his winning putt amongst the gallery and tour officials. With little to no break from 5 feet, the former Clemson Tiger standout calmly rolled in the winning putt, thus ending the tour's first playoff since the 2009 Tour Championship.

Ben Martin on 2nd playoff holeThe win was worth $34,900 to Martin, who in turn moved up to No. 15 on the 2010 money list after only two events. Munson earned $18,805 for his runner-up finish. The former Division II college star made the most of his first made cut in five starts on the eGolf Tour, and almost came away with a win.

For Martin, the win was further validation of a stellar amateur career that put him into the living rooms and TVs of countless American households. His runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur came with a few perks, and those perks may have contributed to his level of comfort on that second playoff hole.

"It's great to be off to a good start," said Martin. "My tournament before the Southern Open (last week) was the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, so it definitely helped to have two U.S. Opens (2009 and 2010) and a Masters under my belt before I started my pro career."

The shy and un-assuming kid from sleepy Greenwood, SC is somewhat of a rock star back home. When word got out that he had earned a spot in the Masters Tournament via his U.S. Amateur finish, a billboard went up in town wishing him luck at Augusta National in the spring. In small Southern towns, people tend to gravitate to their own and find a hero in every athletic star, but even Martin couldn't have predicted his sudden success as a pro.

"I couldn't think of a better way to start off. I knew I could play well out here, but I didn't assume it would happen this fast," Martin said after his round. "I never thought I'd be in the Tour Championship after just two events."

The eGolf Tour Championship on August 4-7 in Gordonsville, VA is limited to the top 50 members on the member earnings money list. It would have been difficult for Martin to crack that top 50 in just two starts, but when your name is featured on billboards, it almost comes with the territory.

When asked if this was the best he had ever played or if something just clicked this week, Martin shrugged his shoulders and gave the "aw shucks" response that best fits a well-raised Southern boy.

"I'm just doing what I've always done – hitting it like I always have, just starting to finally make some putts," he said.

There is "making some putts" and there is making "the" putt. Ben Martin obviously has no problem doing the latter.

Jay McLuen, Scott Parel and Daniel Woltman each finished tied for third, one shot out of the playoff with 72-hole totals of 18-under 270.

McLuen, a three-time eGolf Tour winner and current Nationwide Tour member, bogeyed his first hole of the final round and was forced to settle for an outward nine of even-par 36. The Athens, GA resident would bounce back strong on the closing nine with five birdies against zero bogeys for a 31 en route to a final-round 67. It marked the third top-10 of McLuen's 2010 season and his best finish on tour since a T3 effort at the 2009 Spring Creek Championship.

Parel entered the final round trailing Munson by three shots and made somewhat of a charge with four birdies in his first 14 holes to get to 4-under and 17-under for the event. An untimely bogey at the arduous par-4 15th put him back to 16-under, but to his credit, comeback birdies at 16 and 18 allowed him to tie fellow playing partner McLuen for the early clubhouse lead.

Parel, at age 45, is one of the most experienced players on the eGolf Tour. A native of Augusta, GA, Parel is a two-time U.S. Open participant (2002 and 2005) and was a member of the Nationwide Tour in 2003 and 2005-2009. Through his career, Parel has collected 124 Nationwide Tour starts with a combined eight top-10 finishes, including a T4 effort at the 2007 Xerox Classic and a solo fourth-place finish at the 2008 South Georgia Classic.

Drew WeaverFor Woltman, Saturday will be remembered for a day of what could have been. Trailing Munson by one entering the final round, the former University of Wisconsin "All American" put himself behind the eight ball early with bogeys at Nos. 1 and 6 – the latter being a reachable par-5. He was able to stay in contention with birdies at 11 and 16, but could only watch as Munson and Martin matched his birdie at 18 to eclipse his four-round total by one.

Drew Weaver, Brian Duncan, Edward Loar and Jonathan Fricke all finished tied for sixth at 17-under 271.

For Weaver, the 2007 British Amateur champion, the week was a bit of a homecoming as he was able to stay at home in High Point, NC and compete as a professional for the first time on his home course, Willow Creek Country Club. Willow Creek served as co-host of the event for the first 36 holes.

• With his runner-up finish, Brett Munson earned a spot in the Nationwide Tour's Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper on August 12-15, 2010. The exemption marks the fourth Nationwide Tour spot granted to the eGolf Tour for 2010, with the first coming at the South Georgia Classic in April (Jason Kokrak), the second coming at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May (Clint Jensen) and the third coming at the Price Cutter Charity Championship (Tommy Biershenk). Munson was the low participating player for this week's exemption (Martin did not sign up for the exemption). It will mark the first Nationwide Tour start of his career.

• Special thanks goes to Forest Oaks Head Golf Professional Anthony Miller, Willow Creek Director of Golf Jim Brotherton, and their respective staffs for coordinating this event and hosting the tour and our players for the week. Thank you to Forest Oaks Head Golf Course Superintendents Geoff Dail, Bob Swanson and Matt Ayer, as well as Willow Creek Head Golf Course Superintendent David Johnson for their efforts in presenting two great venues in difficult summertime conditions. Last but not least, thank you to the members of both clubs for allowing the tour access to your facilities for the week.

• The tour will take the next week off before heading to Gordonsville, VA for the eGolf Tour Championship. The event will be limited to the top 50 members on the member earnings money list and will feature $100,000 of added purse money. Following the conclusion of the Tour Championship, eGolf will pay for PGA TOUR Q-School for the top 20 members on the member earnings money list.