Martin Piller Putting Career on Hold to Support Wife

While many keep their eyes strictly on the PGA TOUR, there has been some great golf being played on this year’s Web.com Tour. One of the best stories coming out of the minor league tour comes from Martin Piller.

Piller is a professional that has had two separate stints on the PGA TOUR. Most recently, Piller had a tour card for the 2016 season. Unfortunately, Piller hasn’t sustained much success in the top ranks, as he only finished 162nd in FedExCup points in 2016 and wasn’t able to do much in the Web.com Tour finals to stay in the big leagues.

Piller hasn’t given up on the PGA TOUR, however, as he continues to fight for enough strong finishes to earn his card back for the 2018 year. So far, Piller has missed 11 of 15 cuts but did win the Ellie Mae Classic a few weeks ago, vaulting him to 26th on the Web.com Tour money list. Only the top 25 money earners get a PGA TOUR card and Piller could get there with a strong showing at the News Sentinel Open this week. But Piller won’t be there.

Martin Piller poses with the trophy following his victory during the…

Martin Piller poses with the trophy following his victory during the final round of the Web.com Tour Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae on August 6, 2017 in Hayward, California. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

While this is a crucial point in the season for Piller, he is putting his own aspirations on hold to support his wife, LPGA pro, Gerina Piller. Gerina has not won any events on the LPGA TOUR but has been impressive in 2017, with four top-ten finishes. This has earned her a spot on the U.S. team for the Solheim Cup. So instead of participating in the Web.com Tour event this week, Martin will be supporting Gerina.

“We approach it well, but just because we have a faith and feel like golf isn’t the end of the world, there are still difficult times,” Martin said about him and his wife’s relationship in an interview a few years ago. “When you’re playing great golf, you try to relish those moments.” While Martin wants to relish his great golf game, he also wants to relish a time when his wife is at the top of her game. That made his decision to support her easier.

There are more events on the Web.com Tour this season so there is still hope that Martin can crack the top 25 money list. Regardless, I’m sure he’ll always be happy with his decision to support his wife when she needs it the most.

Cover Photo via Instagram