Insider: Herman excited to play for hometown crowd

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Jim Herman was born and raised in Cincinnati and played college golf for the University of Cincinnati.

It's not just the Cincinnati Reds that have fans excited around central Ohio. There's also some buzz surrounding the inaugural Chiquita Classic, a new stop on the Nationwide Tour.

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Anthony Munoz, an NFL hall of famer who starred for the Bengals, has lived in Cincinnati for the last 30 years. He'll be the tournament host this week and says getting to see the Nationwide Tour players up close will be exciting.

"It's just wonderful that the Nationwide guys are here and there's some excitement that's been building up," said Munoz, who plays to a 17 handicap. "I'm just thrilled that we've got something like this in our area."

Munoz is the third hall of famer to play host to a Nationwide Tour event this season. Jerry Rice did it earlier near San Francisco and Wayne Gretzky, who is in the NHL Hall of Fame, was the host last week in Ontario, Canada.

Munoz says he will play in a pro-am this week, but says with a laugh: "Yeah, they are forcing me to play."

Munoz says it's been awhile since a major tour was in the Cincinnati area, but says that it will be a boost. He admits that most people probably don't know what a great area it is for golf.

"This really is a big deal and the more I've gotten educated about what the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR do for charity in giving back to the community is a nice bonus," said Munoz, who since his retirement from football 18 years ago has run his own athletic apparel business. "And the fans that come out also get to see great golf."

One of those players who fans will recognize is Jim Herman, a home-grown player who is having his best season on the Nationwide Tour. Herman, who was born and raised in Cincinnati and played on the golf team at the University of Cincinnati, is 10th on the money list. He was also on a state-championship team at St. Xavier High School.

Herman won earlier this season and while he's focused on the rest of the season this week's tournament means a little more.

He has so many fond memories of his golfing career in Ohio and the Cincinnati area it's hard to pick just one. But one that does stick out is winning the Cincinnati Amateur Metropolitan Open in 2000 before he turned pro.

While he's tried -- and failed -- at PGA TOUR qualifying school seven times he's in position to get to the PGA TOUR next season. All he has to do is stay within the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour for the rest of the season.

"Just being in Cincinnati to play is going to be great," Herman said. "I was born and raised there and all these guys on Tour have their hometowns but not a lot of us get to play in our hometowns so that's gong to be pretty nice."

He can remember in high school caddying at Kings Island in a pro-am for a Champions Tour tournament several years ago. The Champions Tour tournament has been gone since 2004, leaving a void of big-time golf.

"I remember caddying and watching those guys and I also remember going to the majors when Valhalla (Golf Club) was a host we'd make the drive there to Louisville," Herman said.

Instead of watching, Herman, 32, will be inside the ropes and is one of the stars on the Tour.

"It's nice," he said. "It's not a bad thing to kind of have the spotlight on me. I guess that means I've been playing pretty well and that's what we are all trying to do out here."

It hasn't been all gravy for Herman, who like most players, has had his ups and down. He won for the first time on Tour in the second week of the season at the Moonah Classic in Australia in February, but then missed four straight cuts. He's been more consistent of late with three straight finishes inside the top 25.

Munoz says that a lot of people have been keeping up with Herman's progress.

"The week will be special for him, there's no doubt about that," Munoz said.

As for the added pressure, Herman says there shouldn't be any.

"There's no added pressure," he said. "We do this for a living and with more family and friends there I just think it will be more motivation for me. We are entering a crucial stretch here in the season so it's important to play well no matter what city we are playing in."

Herman said that bringing a Nationwide Tour tournament to the Cincinnati area is a big deal.

There's a reason Munoz, who played his college football at Southern Cal, hasn't left since he retired from football.

"It really is a sports-crazy town and having this tournament just adds to the excitement level," Munoz said. "I'm looking forward to the week."

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 16 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.