ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — After making his first cut on the PGA Tour as a professional last week in Houston, Cole Hammer is taking advantage of a sponsor’s exemption into the RSM Classic, grabbing the first-round lead by carding nine birdies for a career-low 8-under 64 at the Plantation Course at Sea Island Resort.
“I almost blacked out there for a little bit,” Hammer said. “It went by in a heartbeat, but at the same time was a long day.”
And an unseasonably cold one at that. The temperature at the Seaside Course barely broke 50 degrees on Thursday. Having previously played in the Jones Cup, an amateur tournament held at nearby Ocean Forest, Hammer had experienced the wind whipping off the water in these parts and bundled up in four layers and a beanie.
“When I played the Jones Cup, it was 35 degrees, blowing 30 and raining so I told myself I’ll never play in weather like that again,” he said. “I was ready for it.”
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What Hammer wasn’t ready for was six consecutive missed cuts to start his pro career, an unexpectedly sharp learning curve after a decorated amateur career topped off by leading University of Texas to a national championship in June.
“It was a really dark period and I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “I just was putting so much pressure on myself early in the tournament that I’d get behind the 8-Ball.”
After missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship in August, he did a deep dive on his swing with instructor Bruce Davidson and is starting to see the fruits of their labor. Ten days ago, he narrowly missed securing guaranteed starts at the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School and then opened with a 74 at the Cadence Houston Open.
“I just had about zero patience. As soon as I made a bogey, I felt like the world was ending,” he explained. “In Houston I just relaxed, took a deep breath and I made some bogeys. I basically just told myself that I can come back and nobody plays perfect golf and that’s what I was trying to do.”
Hammer shot 65 in the second round to make the cut and finished T-27. It gave him a jolt of confidence, especially when he found out after his final round that he had secured a sponsor invite into the RSM Classic.
“I was batting zero on the PGA Tour. I needed to get that monkey off my back,” he said. “To do that in my hometown event in Houston was huge for me.”
Hammer noted that he didn’t sleep well…
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