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BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

July 2, 2016

Ben Martin

Reno, Nevada

Q. Congratulations on a great round today. The guys have just been talking about the Open Championship. And you're right there in contention to get another spot. You were saying you played it the last two years. What would it mean to you to be back in that field again?
BEN MARTIN: That would be awesome. I put myself in position to get there tomorrow. And this tournament will get me in the Open, the PGA, Maui. So there's a ton of upsides to play well tomorrow.

Q. You played really confidently this afternoon. Does that give you a boost for tomorrow, knowing that you can score well in the afternoons here?
BEN MARTIN: I think so. The course dries out in the afternoon. The wind picks up. It plays a little tougher. I was really happy. I was bogey-free. Eight birdies today. I've been trending in the right direction. So seven points, ten points, 16 today. If I can keep that trend going tomorrow I feel pretty good.

Q. Talking about confidence, you're already a winner on the PGA TOUR. What can you learn from that experience of already winning and taking that into tomorrow to go ahead and get a two-time win on TOUR?
BEN MARTIN: My win came in Vegas, in the state of Nevada this week. So I have good vibes out here. I'm sure I'll be drawing on some of that tomorrow, playing in one of the last groups. I feel if I can just keep doing what I've been doing all week then I'll be there coming down the stretch.

Q. No bogeys today. Clean card. Tell us about the round.
BEN MARTIN: Made eight birdies. Pretty sure I birdied all the par 5s. Birdied 14, which is the one you, when you feel like -- really solid round. Hit it well. Got up-and-down whenever I missed the green.

I rolled one in from the fairway on 17. So I took advantage of a couple of opportunities. But overall, if you could draw up this is how I want to play this course, I kind of did it today.

Q. 18th hole has been a little bit of a challenge today, especially with the wait a lot of guys are having to make, yourself included. That obviously didn't distract you too much with the birdie there at 18?
BEN MARTIN: The fairway's wide there at 18. If you miss the fairway you can get in trouble. Tight tee shot. Just took a break, kind of let my mind go. And then felt like I did a good job of getting back into the groove because I've been playing well all day and didn't really let it faze me and hit two quality shots and an easy tap-in birdie there to finish it off nicely.

Q. As you've mentioned, you've been trending in the right direction all week long points-wise. How much is the spot for the Open on your mind? And as you mentioned an opportunity for Maui, PGA, so forth. Do you have to just block that out, or do you have to kind of admit that the thought's there?
BEN MARTIN: I think so. I think when I won in Vegas a couple of years ago I did a great job of just staying in the moment, playing the best fourth round that I could play and adding them up at the end.

So I'll try to take that mindset out there tomorrow. But obviously a lot on the line this week. And I haven't had the season I would like to have had. So if I go out, play a good round tomorrow, could turn everything around tomorrow.

Q. Is there a number that you have in mind you have to reach tomorrow?
BEN MARTIN: I haven't thought about a number yet. My theory coming into the week was you had to make an eagle to win. I still haven't made an eagle. Five points is huge. So I feel like if I get that eagle tomorrow, I play a solid round of golf, then we'll add them up and see what happens.

Q. How critical on the par 5s is to birdie, pretty much throughout the course of the tournament?
BEN MARTIN: All the par 5s are reachable, even though the length on the card isn't exactly what it plays since we're a little bit of elevation.

I think on TOUR, anytime you have a reachable par 5 you feel like if you don't walk away with a 4, you're kind of losing shots to the field. So taking advantage of those par 5s of having to tee up on 14. And that way it makes the other holes that maybe are a little more challenging, play for par and not feel like you're losing ground.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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