01이색 장비로 그린 사로잡은 실버맨, 버뮤다에서 상위권 도약
캐나다 출신 골프 선수 벤 실버맨이 버뮤다에서 열린 대회에서 독특한 장비로 팬들의 시선을 사로잡으며 리더보드 상단에 이름을 올렸다. 실버맨은 기존의 전형적인 골프 클럽과 다른 하키 스틱 모양의 이색 퍼터를 들고 나와 뛰어난 퍼팅 감각을 과시했다.
하키 스타일 퍼터를 장착한 실버맨은 그린 위에서 빙판 위를 달리는 듯한 안정적인 스트로크를 선보였다. 정교한 거리 감각과 흔들림 없는 퍼팅으로 타수를 줄여나간 그는 단숨에 대회 우승 후보군으로 급부상했다.
독특한 장비 선택과 안정적인 경기력으로 버뮤다에서 우승 경쟁에 불을 지핀 벤 실버맨이 남은 라운드에서도 이러한 상승세를 이어가며 선두권을 지켜낼 수 있을지 관심이 집중되고 있다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
The jokes are too easy to write. The clichés are too obvious.
Ben Silverman, a Canadian golfer struggling with his game, suddenly found form when he returned to his hockey roots, the sport that dominates the discourse of our neighbors in the North.
It sounds like the plot of a children’s novel, yet sometimes clichés are clichés for a reason. And nobody will land a joke at Silverman’s expense if he keeps playing as he has in Southampton, Bermuda, so far.
Silverman is tied for third and 12 under through two rounds of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a start partially sparked by a change in putter grips.
Silverman is using a hockey-style grip that extends down almost to the putter head. He didn’t know it existed until a few weeks ago at the Bank of Utah Championship, where Tony Finau was using one. Silverman struck a few putts with Finau’s flat stick on the practice green.
He was sold.
“I was like, 'Let me see that, one second. What is that?'” Silverman said. “It's hockey, right up my alley, I'm a big hockey guy, love it. … It's fun for me playing with a hockey stick as my grip.”
Silverman contacted the grip maker, Caliber Golf, and within a week, he had one of his own. The benefit isn’t only aesthetic, though that’s a bonus for the hockey crazed.
Its primary advantage is in the structure. The grip is flat on both the front and back, letting Silverman get more of his palms on the surface.
“It fits perfectly in my palms,” Silverman said. “I do a double interlock left-hand low grip, but you can literally hold it anywhere as long as your palms are on it and you're going to be square to the face, so that's what I like about it.”
Silverman made five birdies on Friday, though truthfully his iron play did much of the work. While he converted the putts, he didn’t need to drain many lengthy ones. His longest made putt came on the par-3 13th, a par from nearly 15 feet. After opening in 8-under 63, Silverman shot 67 on Friday. He ranks fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach at the midway point.
Yet the benefit of finding confidence with a putter goes beyond the feet of putts made and often trickles down throughout the game. Silverman needs a mental boost. He began the week at No. 143 on the FedExCup Fall Points List. He had missed seven of his last nine cuts. He needs a win, or multiple top finishes, to secure full status for 2027.
Born and raised in Ontario, Silverman grew up in an environment that has produced other top athletes. Former No. 1 pick and NBA champion Andrew Wiggins went to the same high school as Silverman. So did Nickeil Alexander-Walker, current star of the Atlanta Hawks, and the Nembhard twins (both active in the NBA). Fellow golfer Adam Hadwin also went to the school. Yet, surprisingly, the school has no prominent hockey alums.
Would Silverman winning a PGA Tour event with a hockey grip suffice? Here’s the start of our official petition.