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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJune 18, 2015Ben MartinUNIVERSITY PLACE, WASHINGTON Q. Well done, Ben, congratulations. Talk about the way you played today. BEN MARTIN: The round in general? I think this U.S. Open setup, it tests every part of your game. You have to drive it well, hit your irons well, your short game has to be on. And I just came out and felt like everything was kind of firing on all cylinders, so I got off to a great start, 3-under through 3. Made a bogey and bounced back with another birdie, and rolled in a long one on 16 to get it to 4-under. Kind of just was keeping it simple, hitting it in the fairway, hitting it on the green and making a few putts and playing golf like you want to play it. Q. You've played in a couple of these before, but it's been a few years, best U.S. Open round ever for yourself. But you played well this year, you had a win and bunch of top 5s, big tournaments and players. Talk about your mindset coming into this tournament. BEN MARTIN: This is my first U.S. Open as a pro. The two others I played as an amateur. And I've had some good finishes in big time events. And theoretically I like to approach this as any other tournament. It's a little bit different. I've never showed up to a tournament on Friday, the week before. But I think so far that's paid off, getting to learn the course a little bit more. But my game -- I had a couple of good weeks in a row and didn't play so good at the Memorial, my last event out. I like this golf course. I like when it gets firm and fast. And usually the more you can enjoy the type of course you're playing, the better you can play. Q. You dominated that back nine. What were your thoughts on playing that side, why did you do so well? BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I rolled in a nice birdie on 11 and kind of got some confidence with the putter and had a 12-footer for eagle on 12 and rolled that in. I think I hit the shots where you're supposed to hit it. And out here you're not going to be able to hit it close on every hole. And I made a few long putts. Just kind of a combination of keeping it in the fairway, hitting some good shots and rolling the putts in. Q. Did it play pretty similar to the practice rounds? BEN MARTIN: It hadn't changed a whole lot. And I played on Saturday. Over the course of the last five, six days, it's pretty much been the same. Q. What are your initial impressions when you got here, and did it remind you of any place you played before? BEN MARTIN: My initial impressions were that I liked the course a lot. It was more so the conditions, like the firm and fast conditions. I think if this place was soft, I don't think -- it's playing like it's designed to be played. And I enjoy being able to use the ground and use the slopes and have a little imagination. And I think it's perfect right now the way it is. I'm sure over the weekend they could get -- probably are going to get a little firmer and a little faster, but hopefully I'll be able to adjust to this. Q. There were some guys that had a much tougher round. For you what did it mean to have such a good start? BEN MARTIN: I just got off to the start that I wanted to. Anytime you shoot under par the first round of a U.S. Open, it's going to be a good day. But we've got three more days to do it. Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully get a good night's rest, be up early and be back out tomorrow and do it again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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