Ex-trump Pro Jim Herman Featured In S.I. Golf Cover Story

Jim Herman, 38, who spent two years working as an assistant pro at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster (2006-07), was the most unlikely player to earn his way into this year’s Masters when he won the Shell Open in Houston on the Sunday before Masters week.

Herman's Cinderella-like story earned him a last-minute spot into his first Masters. The victory for the journeyman golfer– he knocked around the mini tours for quite a while – got him a 2½-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a first-place prize of $1.224 million.

This week, Herman’s route to success was retold as the cover story on S.I. Golf’s Players Championship Issue

READ S.I. GOLF ARTICLE ON JIM HERMAN

Almost immediately after winning the Shell Open, Herman received a tweet from his old boss, Donald Trump, who was stumping in Wisconsin ahead of the primaries there.

With Trump's financial assistance, Herman finally advanced far enough through Q-School to earn a Web.com Tour spot in 2008. He played 114 events and finally won one. He moved up to the PGA Tour in 2011, but was 0-for-106 tournaments until Sunday. On the 72nd green at the Shell Open, Herman, 38, needed a two-putt from 20-feet for a win, and he got it.