By Robert Griffin

Sports Writer

Charlie Martin wanted to win.

As he strolled down the fairway of the final hole at the Marietta Country Club, leading the Marietta Junior Classic by one stroke, he was poised to do just that.

With ice in his veins, Martin sank a par putt to take the 16-19 division and capture his first win on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour.

Martin fired rounds of 71 and 70 to take the division over Freddie Mitchell of Oneonta, Ala., who finished one shot behind Martin.

“I really wanted to win one,” said Martin, who was coming off a third-place finish in an SJGT tournament at Orchard Hills in Newnan. “I had come close at Orchard Hills, but made some bad shots and ended up coming in third, so it was great to be able to get the win.”

Martin continued his hot streak on Monday.

At a qualifying event in Columbus for the Southeastern Amateur, one of the country’s premier amateur tournaments, Martin tied for the top spot with a 67, giving him a place in the main event that starts Wednesday.

The Southeastern Amateur, which has been around since 1922, features players from across the country and boasts past winners like Ben Crenshaw, Paul Azinger Curtis Strange and LaGrange’s Allen Doyle, a five-time winner of the event.

“It was just a good day,” Martin said. “I was playing with a good group. I like playing with guys who like to talk and like to have a good time on the course. I made some pretty good shots out there and didn’t over think my shots and everything turned out well.”

Martin hit 16 greens during the one-round qualifier, sinking five birdies while making just one bogey.

He credited his play on the course to his mantra as of late, which is to only focus on his play on the course, and not on the scoring his fellow competitors are posting.

“It was really just taking advantage of the simpler holes on the course and playing smart,” Martin said. “I wasn’t trying to be really aggressive, I just tried to play my own ball, and focused on my own play and was able to put it all together. Hitting those 16 greens really helped out a lot.”

As for the tournament in Marietta, Martin knew that going into the final round with a slim lead was going to be a pressure-packed situation.

“I was kind of out of my element because I don’t have that much experience with being in the top in contention,” Martin said. “I just started putting everything together and playing well so I was out of my comfort zone, but I just stepped up to the first tee and took a deep breath and hit my first drive.”

It was a close match between Martin and Mitchell, but in the end, Martin was able to breathe a sigh of relief and take the win.

“We were neck-and-neck all day, and he bogeyed the last hole,” Martin said. “That was a huge relief for me because he was the guy that I was competing against for most of the tournament.”

Martin said that he credits his good play on the course as of late to a new way of thinking in approaching every round that he plays.

Before these past two tournaments and Monday’s qualifier, Martin said that he was setting out a certain score that he wanted to shoot for the round, and that was hampering his play.

“I used to be really bad about going into a round with a mindset that I wanted to shoot a certain score that day,” Martin said. “I worked and got over that to now when I’m going into a tournament I think about it hole by hole and try not to look ahead and take it slow.”

Martin said a big area of improvement is not worrying about what his competitors are doing.

“One thing I’m doing well is not thinking about the other guy’s score,” Martin said. “I don’t compete against them. I actually pull for the guys that I play with. I just don’t play against them. I’m more worried about how I play and how I’m hitting the ball and getting to the top spot. You just have to keep hitting and not think about your scores. You have to finish on the green and finish your putt and don’t worry about what the other guys around you are shooting.”