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SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPENOctober 19, 2014Ben MartinLAS VEGAS, NEVADA MARK STEVENS: We'd like to welcome our 2014 champion at the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open, Ben Martin. That was an exciting finish. You made some big putts at the end there. Kind of take us through the finish and then we'll have some questions. BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I birdied 2 and then I don't think I made another birdie until 15, so to drive the green there and two‑putt birdie was nice to get it back to even par on the day. And then coming down the stretch, I played 15 and 16 well all week, so I had 6‑iron in, 200 yards, probably juiced up a little bit, and it flew 210, but Russell's putt was on the same line as mine, and I got a good read off his putt and rolled in the eagle putt. And then to finish it off on 18, a wedge in there about 15, 20 feet, it's nice not to have that three‑footer to win the tournament, so I was glad that first putt went in. Q. The way the course was playing, did you find yourself altering your mindset and being a little bit more defensive rather than trying to be aggressive? Or were you trying to play the same way as you did yesterday, just not getting the results you wanted? BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I tried to take the same mindset into today as I've had all week, and I've been playing well all week. You know, playing with a little bit of a lead and a little bit of a cushion, I think I was more conservative just because I didn't want to make any mistakes early, and I never really hit it close and got much going. You know, it was a tough course to have the lead at because you know that just hitting the middle of the green and making pars wasn't going to get it done, so to finish it off and finally get a couple putts to go in there at the end was obviously huge. Q. How were you feeling on the back nine there when it got down to one shot and tied, and then did something change? Did maybe your caddie say something to you before 15 and 16? BEN MARTIN: You know, I never really asked him before I stood. I never looked to see where I stood. I saw I was leading after No.8 and I had just made a bogey. But you know that guys are going to be making birdies on 13, 14, 15, 16, so actually I like to play a fade, and starting off from the first hole today, I was hitting a draw, and never really could find kind of that go‑to shot. I didn't feel like I was 100 percent in command of where the ball was going, but I just said, hey, let's play what I've got today. I was actually scared because I hooked my last two drives coming into 15, so I was scared of hooking it over there on the rocks, but it was nice to see that end up on the green. Streels, I don't know what his scorecard looked like, but he obviously had a good round today. Fending off some of the field here of good players coming down the stretch was pretty cool. Q. How did you feel the lead went from 3 at the turn to being tied? Did it get more nervous as it got smaller? BEN MARTIN: You know, I wasn't looking at the lead. I just looked on No.8. Yeah, I was nervous enough as it was, so I figured looking at the scoreboard would just have added to that, so I tried to keep my head down and hit the best shots that I could hit. Q. You said you got a teach of Russell's putt on 16. Was there something that changed the way you were going to play that putt, or did it kind of make you say, I've got the line now? BEN MARTIN: Yeah, it's always nice, we can kind of read putts and think what it's going to do, but to get a little bit more confirmation just is kind of‑‑ I guess gives you a little more confidence going into the putt saying, all right, I know what this putt is doing. I tried to stand behind him a little bit, not in his way, but I kind of ran over there after he hit it to get a line on it. I made an eagle putt there I think round 1, so I was kind of thinking about that. I was like, all right, I've made one here before, and hit a good putt. But any time you make a long one like that, you certainly don't expect it. Q. You're going back to Augusta for the first time in five years. Just thoughts on that and what you're looking forward to most about that. BEN MARTIN: Yeah, actually I was thinking about that a little bit last night, trying not to, but growing up about an hour from Augusta in Greenwood, been going to the tournament since I was six or seven years old. I think the first time I went was when Ben Crenshaw won in '95, and then pretty much every year on up through high school. It's kind of the same feeling I had in the U.S.Am when I made it to the finals, and I'm like, all right, I'm in the Masters next year, pretty cool. I guess I'll get to play a few practice rounds and now I don't have to find a member to go play with. Q. I know you don't like to think about this as players, but does it feel good to know you have your card locked up for the next two years? BEN MARTIN: Yeah, you know, I haven't‑‑ just kind of all the things that come with winning, I've tried not to think about. I've tried to take it one step at a time. But I guess exempt this season and the next two seasons, I guess I locked up my retirement, five years. But obviously I've never been in that position, but it takes a little bit of the stress of, all right, I've got to perform this year and finish Top 125 or I'm losing my job, so I think any time certainly for me that I can be more relaxed going into the tournament, the better I'm going to play. And hopefully it doesn't work the opposite way where you get too comfortable, but I'm going to try to keep moving forward, keep getting better, but having my card locked up for the next three seasons, it takes a load off. MARK STEVENS: Thanks for your time, Ben. Good luck down the road. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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