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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2016

Jim Herman

Augusta, Georgia

Q. Ideal start?
JIM HERMAN: Oh, yeah, how could it not be. I just striped a drive at the Masters, first one off. Hit a really good iron shot, just trickled off. And look at that, just a pitch in on the first hole at the Masters.

Q. 2 set up nicely?
JIM HERMAN: 2 sets up nicely. I hit a good drive, hybrid on the green, and two putts. Here we are, 2‑under through two.
Had a few loose shots on 4, 5 and 6. Really let it go there. And made a bunch of good pars and didn't really like finishing with a bogey on the end after the last. But it is what it is. We'll regroup, go get some work on my driver and my putter, here.
On the greens I was a little tentative on a lot of my birdie putts. It’s easy to be that way. The greens are so fast. Just didn't have the speeds down yet.

Q. Obviously you had a couple of practice rounds. What was the feel on No.1?
JIM HERMAN: Yeah, it really didn't set in until I was walking from the practice putting green to the first tee, just getting the crowd, and everything was starting to amp up. The nerves really started kicking in. I was definitely more nervous today than I was on Sunday.

Q. Did you sleep last night?
JIM HERMAN: I slept really well. I felt really good. Woke up, had a nice morning, a nice breakfast. Didn't really sink in until‑‑ until I was on the tee.

Q. Did you have an expectation, did you have a number in mind today at all where you want to be?
JIM HERMAN: Obviously it's a really, really challenging golf course. The wind was up. And the greens are something else. I mean I didn't feel comfortable at all on any putt. I had some really good looks coming in on 15 and 16 and just was playing defense on those and just touching them.
Anything around par was going to be great. I was right around there, I ended up bogeying the last for 3‑over.
I'm not out of it. I feel really good going into tomorrow.

Q. What happened on 18?
JIM HERMAN: Just tried to flight one down and hit it over the back. And that's not the place you want to be.

Q. What time was the wake up call?
JIM HERMAN: 5:00. Up at five and out of the house by six. A little traffic getting over here.

Q. Did you learn anything about this place that you didn't know already?
JIM HERMAN: I don't know yet. I'm going to go back to the house and think about it. But I guess I learned that it's a really hard golf course. You can't get out of position. And the hardest part about it is you know how hard the greens are and you don't feel comfortable hitting an approach shot.
Like on 14 I had a perfect number, but still wasn't comfortable. Thinking about where to go instead of executing the shot. And just hit a pretty mediocre 9‑iron in the middle of the green. And the middle of the green on that hole is not exactly where you want to be. I have to commit to every shot.

Q. How about 13?
JIM HERMAN: I pulled it. And a great 5‑iron to ten feet or so. Again, it was straight downhill. Looked like if I got it one inch above the hole, it would go about 20 feet by. It was defensive act more than a putt.

Q. Spent a lot of time on the third shot on 15. Is that because of the wind?
A.Yes, the wind was picking up. And watching the tournament in years past on TV, anything back towards the lake, we just needed to get the wind right and pick the right club. And we were able to do that.

Q. Is that where some of your knowledge came from, watching on television?
JIM HERMAN: That's it. I had no experience. I played one practice round here this week. And I played back in November, and the golf course was totally different. It was kind of wet and slow. It was great to be here but I didn't get much experience.

Q. (Inaudible, about Donald Trump)
JIM HERMAN: No, he sent me an email and some sweets and things like that, but I haven't spoken to him yet.

Q. Have you heard about all of the publicity with your relationship with him?
JIM HERMAN: It's fine. He's doing what he's doing with politics now. But I know him as the owner of his golf courses. He's a good friend of mine. And that's‑‑ he's doing what he's doing. I don't get involved in politics. And I like playing golf with him.

Q. What are your impressions of the 18th hole in general and also as the finishing hole on this particular golf course, how does it fit a golfer's eye?
JIM HERMAN: Just tremendously. Challenging tee shot. You have to hit something out there past the dog‑leg in the trees, and that's challenging today with the wind. And I was able to do that, pulled that off nicely. And the wind was really causing us some problems. And we chose a club and we didn't allow for some wind and I actually hit it too low. I have to make sure we pick the right club.

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