	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

AT&T BYRON NELSON

May 20, 2016

Ben Crane

Irving, Texas

Q. We'd like to welcome Ben Crane into the Interview Room after a 7-under par, 63 today. He's our current 36 hole leader at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Ben, thanks for coming by. Tremendous round. If we can get your some comments on your day.

BEN CRANE: Yeah. I've been struggling really for three years now but intermittent bits of encouragement. This has been one of those weeks where I feel like my game is really coming around. Been probably more dedicated than I have ever been. More clear plan than I've ever had and I just did this week what I do when I play well which is scramble and putted really well.

So, obviously a special day and this is a special place for us. We lived here for 12 years. So, many friends and family walking around with us. I just want to walk outside the ropes and hang out with my friends. It's been a cool week.

JOHN BUSH: 128 equals the 36 hole record here at the tournament.

Q. Ben, after making the bogey on your 17th hole, how important was it to finish off the way you did and get that birdie at 18?
BEN CRANE: Certainly it's in the back of your mind. I played great all week and just want to finish off strong. And had a guy's cell phone go off on my last hole, 9th tee right before I was hitting. Kind of reset and got my mind right and hit a beautiful shot and great shot in there and made a nice putt.

That was really just a great way to erase the previous dropped shot on the 8th and just felt like a great way to finish and just kind of good continuation of all the good stuff that was happening throughout the day. Yeah, certainly very important to me.

Q. First of all, who is your special helper there?
BEN CRANE: What's your name?

SAYLOR CRANE: Saylor.

Q. How old are you?
SAYLOR CRANE: 3 1/2.

Q. When exactly did you guys move from here and why did you move from here?
BEN CRANE: We moved from here almost two years ago and we can live anywhere we want and we just wanted to live, kind of start life and do live with some younger families and so we moved -- we looked at Nashville and Charlotte and we settled on Nashville and found it's a great neighborhood. Thought it would be a great place to travel from. Just been a fresh start for us. So, it's been fun.

Q. Ben, you talk about one of these kind of weeks. Did you feel this coming at all?
BEN CRANE: Yes and no. No, in the sense that the results haven't been, you know, I played really well. I had a 4 in a row before not being in The Players. Played really well the first couple weeks. Felt good about it.

Then the only time it ever happened in my career, felt I played well in New Orleans and felt I played pretty well at Charlotte, hit a couple mud balls and didn't make the cut.

I met with my team and just over the phone I said, "Hey, what do we need to do, need to change anything?" They all unanimously said no and that was different for me, not to change anything and Russell Henley I had played with him and he's become a pretty good friend.

He said walking out of the scoring trailer, her he said, "Do the thing that is really hard for us professional golfers to do, don't change anything. Your game looks great."

So I didn't change anything. I put a little extra effort into my scrambling and my preparation this week and I've chipped and putted really well which is -- I feel like that's kind of the glue that holds your game together.

So, it's just been a great week. I've just struck the ball solidly, gotten out of trouble, you know, and capitalized when I had a wedge in my hand or on the greens.

Q. Yesterday you mentioned you struggled on the par-5s and you got the par-5s yesterday. Today you shoot 63 and I don't think you birdied either one of those.
How unusual is that?

BEN CRANE: Yeah. I think it's very unusual, just one of those things where you're getting a little bit of trouble on those par-5s and don't give yourself a quality look at birdie. But yeah, you know, if you drive the ball well here and the greens are so pure, you're going to give yourself some opportunities to make birdies and so I was able to feed some balls towards the hole and then I made a 30-yard bunker shot on No. 3 which is early in my back-9. That was a big lift as well.

Q. Ben, couple months ago you turned 40. I'm just wondering if that gave you a reason or maybe a chance to kind of look at what you wanted to do, what you've done, what you kind of -- maybe a reset on what you want to do going forward?
BEN CRANE: The last 12 months I've worked harder than I ever worked before because I thought I was going to have hip surgery and I ended up being able not to go through with that and so in the gym.

I've worked harder than I ever worked putting in one to three hours of day of different exercises I've done that to help my hip and back. I'm feeling better.

I've been more diligent on my game and talked more to my team about just making sure that I'm practicing with a purpose and so I've just worked really hard. Haven't seen a lot of results from it but we just feel like I'm doing the right thing.

So, you know, this is very -- these last two days it's like is very encouraging.

Q. I wanted to follow-up, since you are 40, does that mean you're officially not a Golf Boy anymore?
BEN CRANE: I don't know. That's a good question. I don't know if the Golf Boys are still together or not but yeah, certainly turning 40 everything is just harder, harder to keep your body in shape and you just going to have to work at it more than the guy who is 25 when you're more elastic.

Q. Ben, are you more encouraged with what you've done over the first two days because of what it means this weekend or because of what it means going forward?
BEN CRANE: Hundred percent what it means going forward. Certainly I'm thrilled to have an opportunity, you know, here at one of my favorite tournaments.

But, more than that, I'm doing the right things and so it's like okay, it's just further encouragement don't change, just keep doing what you're doing, just keep refining your process and so that's a hundred percent why I'm encouraged, yeah.

Q. I think you had more 3s on your card today than Steph Curry had in the entire playoffs.
BEN CRANE: I normally don't really look at my results but I did when I got to No. 7 and I was filling in the scores of my playing partner and, nice, I looked up at my card and I did happen to notice that my card was all 3s and then I realized, well, I made a 2 on 17 and a 3 on 8. Man, I'm playing better than I thought.

That's when a couple guys from CBS driving by after I hit my drive on 7, they're giving me the 3 sign, I need another 3 out of you here for TV. I wish I could just dial them up.

Q. Along those lines on 16, you flashed the 5 sign when you made the par. Were you aware of it and that's why you did it?
BEN CRANE: It's not a 3, it's a 5, a heck of a 5. I felt it could be a big momentum killer to lose the shot there since it's a birdie hole. "Hey, guys, I know we went through a lot on that hole, hey, everybody that's a 5 just so you know. I know where a lot of different places."

Q. I believe yesterday you also told us you celebrated your 14th wedding anniversary over the weekend. Did you do anything special or -- I know you said it was a lot of reflection and sort of counting your blessings.
BEN CRANE: We went to a cool restaurant in Roanoke called City House? Classic Cafe. I was close. It was phenomenal.

So that's what we did. My wife and I -- our friends babysat are for us and so we just got some time together and went on a walk in our old neighborhood and just got some great conversations going.

Just reminiscing about the last 14 years and yeah, we've grown closer over the last 14 years. It's been incredible.

Q. Ben, if I'm remembering correctly, a few years ago when you won you spoke afterwards about not looking at any scoreboards. Is that something that you still don't do and will you not look at scoreboards this weekend?
BEN CRANE: Yeah. I mean I don't look at who I'm playing with. I don't look at scoreboards. I just -- I can't control it. I wish I could. I wish I could just dial it up, dial up a 3 on hole No. 7 to keep the 3s going, but I can't.

I just tend to focus on what I can focus on and so if I happen to see a scoreboard or someone asked me to come in for an interview and say you're leading the tournament, I'm okay with it.

Going forward this weekend, it won't my focus. I'm just going -- I can't afford to let up.

Q. Do you have an idea when you're out there like today, do you know that you're either leading or near the lead?
BEN CRANE: I did not know. I felt like after I, you know, birdied early in the front-9 I felt like, you know, I might be leading but I didn't know and really wasn't my focus.

I mean you got to keep your foot on the gas pedal. Turns out these guys are pretty good. Yeah, they don't care who is up there or what, they're just coming for you. I just tried to keep my foot down and just play the best I could and we'll add them up at the end of four days. They say the low score wins.

Q. You talked about being here and you lived here for a long time and everything. Is that nice to kind of re-live a lot of good memories, you had a lot of good memories here and you played for a long time?
That's been fun to kind of do a little trip down memory lane?

BEN CRANE: No question. It's great being with some of our lifelong friends. We're staying with some. I have a couple pastor friends that have mentored me and walking with me out there and so there's no question it's pretty special to be able to just be with -- you know, your wedding day and maybe your funeral are like the only two days you get most of your friends together (laughter). We come to Dallas, we get a lot of them together.

Q. In those 12 years that you lived here, how many times did you get a chance to play this course outside the tournament and just how comfortable are you on this course?
BEN CRANE: I didn't play here a lot but I would say maybe a half dozen times but not much. But certainly, you know, here for the tournaments and couple outings and stuff here. But, you know, this is a busy golf course. They do a lot of rounds with the hotel and stuff so I generally just stayed home and played.

Very comfortable on this golf course. This golf course -- you know, we're leaving this course in two years and the more I'm around it the more I'm going, "I don't know, this is an awfully good track." It's in perfect shape. Maybe the best shape I've ever seen it this year. The hospitality here that AT&T is able to take advantage of is pretty phenomenal putting guests up in the hotel. It's a great spot. The knew course is supposed to be fantastic. I look forward to that. I've certainly enjoyed it over the years.

JOHN BUSH: All right. Ben Crane.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297