Canada’s Silverman on ‘improbable’ PGA path
Ben Silverman has put in the work to climb nearly 1,000 spots in the world golf ranking since the end of 2016. He’s needs a break.
Silverman, from Thornhill, Ont., went through a whirlwind year both on the course and off in 2017. He and wife Morgan welcomed a son — Jack Palmer Silverman — in July, and he won the first tournament he played in after becoming a father.
The 30-year-old’s win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship propelled him into the top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list, earning him PGA Tour status for 2017-18.
In the five events of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series, he made the cut in four of them and notched two top-10 finishes, including last week at The RSM Classic in Georgia.
Silverman admitted he couldn’t even remember where the PGA Tour played last week because of how much mental energy he had used up this past year.
“I was basically forcing myself each day to put every ounce of mental strength into it because after Sunday I knew I could just crash and let go. I was feeling completely exhausted,” he said.
Thanks to recent results, he has moved up to sixth on the ranking of graduates from the Web.com Tour this year (from 49th), meaning there’s a chance for him to get into more tournaments next year.
He’ll play the first six events of the 2018 portion of the PGA Tour schedule with hopes of winning early and have the opportunity to take time off.
“A lot of hard work is starting to pay off,” he said.
Silverman’s path to the PGA Tour was non-traditional; he didn’t play golf seriously until he was 16. He was a high-level hockey player before, and he didn’t play on Golf Canada’s National Team like PGA Tour winners Mac Hughes and Adam Hadwin.
But he knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I didn’t have a Plan B.” Although Silverman called his ride to the PGA Tour “improbable,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said watching his progress has been inspiring.
“His journey to the PGA Tour exemplifies resilience and dedication and he should be extremely proud to have earned his place alongside the world’s best golfers,” said Applebaum.