Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Stories like Ryan Brahm are the reason we watch sports.
That's as good a reason to watch this week's Players Championship as the world's top players are in the fray.
Travelman golfer Brahm, 35, won the gold medal in Puerto Rico last week. Four rounds of golf in a week changed his life.
Brahm entered the Puerto Rico Open, playing on a minor medical extension of one tournament, needing to win the tournament or finish alone in the second to retain PGA Tour status. With his wife Chelsea as his caddy, he won the tournament with six stakes, hitting five of the first 11 holes.
The win was a Hail Mary for Brahm, who was ranked number 773 in the world. The tournament was like a one-week edition of PGA Tour qualifying school with only one player alive and moving.
Brahm, who took a three-shot lead in the final round, survived and went on - straight for this week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, where he will compete with the best players in the world in golf's strongest field.
"It's a surreal feeling," Brehm said Wednesday morning, sitting in a chair on the lawn behind the 18th green at Sauvres. "It's hard to put into words."
He was given a one-tournament extension after he pulled out of the Zurich Classic last year due to COVID-19. Some took advantage of the opportunity like he did.
How did he do it, dial up his game so beautifully with so much pressure?
"Well, I'm 35, I've been playing for a really long time and I have enough experience to understand that you have to have the mental discipline to really focus on the job," Brehm said. . "But sometimes that's not enough."
It was on Sunday.
What would he be doing this week if it weren't for that win?
“This week we will pick up our truck in Fort Myers and on Friday leave Fort Myers to drive to Louisiana, Louisiana,” he said.
The Lafayette Corn Ferry is the next stop on the Tour, with Brabham trying to play well enough to regain his PGA Tour status.
When asked how his stress level is this week compared to last week, Brehm said, "Well, the stress level is very low, the excitement level is very high."
He recalled trying not to look at the leaderboard in the final round on Sunday until he reached No. 15.
"At the time I looked at par 5 15 and looked at it, I think it was seven shots," he said. "You still do the math. You still have so much time to think about what could go wrong."
Still, Brehm said he had a sense of calm throughout the week in Puerto Rico.
"It felt like there was no pressure because it was a win or go home," he said. "And we were already resigned to the fact that we're going to play an entire season at Korn Ferry regardless."
How will his nerves be for Thursday's opening round at Sagars?
"That's a good question," he said. "I don't know if I can answer that right now. I'm guessing I'm going to be like a leaf on the first hole. This is the biggest stage. I played the golf course [Tuesday] and the difficulty level is just as high More than I've ever seen.
"So, this week is going to throw a lot of different curveballs at me. And you never know how you're going to handle it."
If that channel what he did in Puerto Rico, Brahm would be fine.
Last week's win changed his life, giving him that precious PGA Tour card until 2024. Now it is up to them to maintain it.
“I know enough to know that 2/ years is going to go quickly and I need to use this to catapult me and not allow myself to become complacent,” he said. "I've got my card. This is the third time I've got a card back. The first two times, I wasn't even really close to keeping it.