Jim Herman – Journeyman becomes Master

In the working world, a journeyman is an individual who has completed an apprenticeship and is fully educated in a trade or craft but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman has to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master. But in the sports world, the definition isn’t quite so clear and varies to some degree by sport…

In any sport, a “journeyman” is someone who routinely plays just well enough to remain in whatever league or circuit he/she belongs to. This is not an individual who is ever expected to win a championship or become a star. In baseball, it’s the backup catcher who hits .240 and floats from team to team. In ice hockey, it’s the third line checking winger who is too good for the minor leagues, but will never score more than ten goals in a season. In golf, it’s a player who is annually ranked below the top fifty players in the world, but who is good enough to keep his tour card. Journeyman players are necessary for professional sports. These are the folks who the stars rise above. If there were no journeymen, the elite players wouldn’t look so good comparatively speaking. The term “journeyman” probably gets its name from the notion that these players do a lot of travelling to earn a not-so-lucrative living. They go wherever the jobs are. It’s use in golf is a bit strained because everybody on tour (even the stars) travel extensively. But “journeymen” will not always follow their “own” tour from venue to venue. A journeyman might depart from (say) the PGA Tour for a month to play competitions with the European Tour if the journeyman expects to make more money.

(The above definition is from Leaderboard.com)

So being labeled a journeyman in golf is both a compliment and, well, an acknowledgment that one isn’t quite top notch in their career. Unless you’re Jim Herman…

Jim Herman, PGA pro, was born in 1977 and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Herman attended St Xavier High School, a private prep school, where he played golf. He continued with golf, attending the university of Cincinnati, and then turned pro in 2000.

Turning pro is one thing – making it as a pro is entirely another…

“Becoming a tour player requires a lot more time time and effort than most ambitious golfers are willing to put in. Think about it this way; to consider a life as a tour player ask yourself whether you are willing to devote the next 10 to 20 years of your life pursuing this career choice, with at least 5 hours of practice 6 days out of 7, and playing 54 to 72 holes each week.”

It’s now common knowledge in the media that Jim Herman recorded his first PGA Tour victory, in his 106th start, at the Shell Houston Open on April 3rd, 2016. He shot a final round of 68 for a 15-under-par total to complete a one shot win over Henrik Stenson. After Stenson missed a putt to tie Herman, he successfully two putted the final green for the win and earned an invitation to the following week’s Masters Tournament, an event he played for the first time. He also earned his first invitation to the PGA Championship.

But Herman’s journey to Augusta National for his first Masters Tournament didn’t begin with an early Monday morning flight from Houston. It didn’t begin one day earlier, when he clinched his spot in this week’s field by finally becoming a PGA Tour champion. It didn’t even begin five years ago, when he initially reached the world’s most elite level as a full-time member. Jim Herman’s journey began in 2006, when he took an assistant professional job at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Not long after being hired, Herman was placed in a match alongside Donald Trump, the club’s famous owner. And Jim Herman was on his game that day.

Fortunately, Donald Trump saw an opportunity. It wasn’t long until he offered the club’s new assistant pro a chance to chase his dream, giving him the financial stability necessary to pursue a career as a touring professional, with the caveat that he could always return if it didn’t work out. So Herman took Trump up on the offer. He played the mini-tours for a while and then played the developmental Web.com circuit. He graduated to the big leagues, flunked out, then got promoted again. Herman surpassed the million dollar mark in season earnings last year but never forgot where he got the jump-start. Herman credits Trump for his support and for confidence.

Herman’s week at the Master’s included playing alongside Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III in the Par-3 Contest. He also had many fellow pros congratulating him for his life-changing victory at the Shell Houston Open.“It was a wonderful, wonderful day,’’ he said. “I can’t tell you the ovations that I’ve been getting all week. It’s just unreal. It’s an honor to be playing out here.’’

Jim Herman celebrates winning the Shell Houston Open

“I don’t know if it was true or not, but at the Par-3, Phil got a great ovation and Davis got a great ovation and it seemed like I got one that was louder,’’ Herman said. “That’s impossible. Phil is a three-time champion here and Davis is a major champion and Ryder Cup captain. I just won the Shell Houston Open and I’m getting a bigger applause.’’

But Herman showed the impossible can be turned possible with “sticktoitiveness”, hard work, determination, pure grit, an eye on the goal, and a little hope and luck. And as a result, he crossed the line from journeyman to master…