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 A visit to Augusta National for the year's first major is a trip
to a golfing dreamland for fans and players alike and one Herman,
ranked 191st in the world, was not anticipating when he arrived at
the Houston Open for his 106th PGA Tour start.
"You want to dream, you want to believe that you're going to make it
(to a Masters)," a smiling but clearly fatigued Herman told a
pre-Masters news conference a day after his Houston Open triumph.
"But you just don't know until it's upon you.
"There were a lot of opportunities yesterday that in years past, I
wouldn't have been able to get through and hold on and win the
tournament, and I wouldn't be here obviously today.
"I feel like maybe I'm going to wake up and I'm going to be still on
maybe Saturday night going into the final round again and I haven't
done it yet. But I don't think that's happening. I think we're
here."
If it hasn't already, reality will soon hit home for the 38-year-old
has he takes aim at a coveted Green Jacket.
 The working class golfer is sure to have plenty of support from the
galleries at Augusta National and even the backing of U.S.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
"He's been a big supporter of mine," praised Herman. "He helped me
early on in my years financially and maybe just a little shot in the
arm of confidence.
"He's doing great in what he's doing now and we'll see how far that
goes."
Trump, whose campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again," could
use Herman as an example of his faith after giving the down-and-out
golfer a job as an assistant professional at the Trump National
course in New Jersey.
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It was there, in 2006, that the celebrity entrepreneur spurred
Herman to try again at a professional career.
In his second year at Trump, Herman finally qualified for the
second-tier Web.com Tour, with the Trump logo featuring on his shirt
and golf bag, and he went on to play his rookie season on the PGA
Tour in 2011.
Every year, expect last season, ended with a trip back to qualifying
school.
"It wasn't like I wanted to quit. I wasn't playing well enough to
keep my job out here," said Herman. "I was struggling with my short
game tremendously about two years ago.
"For anyone that's struggled with that area, you'll really consider
doing a lot of things. Maybe this isn't the job for you if you can't
handle yourself around the greens and the pressure you're going to
be under.
"I was good enough to get here but I wasn't good enough to stay."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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