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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

August 14, 2016

Ben Martin

Silvis, Illinois

BEN MARTIN: I was happy with the way I bounced back. I was back and forth on the front nine, never got a whole lot going. I think that hitting it tight on 12, and then rolled a good one in on 13, knocked it close again on 14, unfortunately just never gave myself great opportunities on the way in.

But yeah, I was happy to be able to bounce back there on the back nine.

Q. Ryan played awfully well, didn't make any mistakes.
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I just told him, "You couldn't make one bogey out there for me today?"

Hats off to him for just a solid round of golf. I don't think he ever really sniffed a bogey. He did what you're supposed to do when you play with the lead on Sunday.

Q. You come into the lead 121, second-place finish moves you to 59 on the FedExCup points list, securing your spot in the Playoffs?
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, that's a little bit of pressure off next week, which is nice. I talked the other day that I expected to have a better year than I've had so far. I think that helped me out a little bit, having those expectations, saying, hey, I'm not doing what I should be doing.

It's nice to have some momentum coming into this time of year, two weeks from now, points quadruple. So hopefully I'm putting my best golf together.

Q. We talked to a lot of guys who have been trying to make runs into the Playoffs. Looks like you're now building some momentum going in. What's your feeling down the stretch here how your game is shaping up?
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I came into this week 121, so I really needed to have a good week to take pressure off next week.

I felt Thursday out there, man, this is the best I've felt all year, standing over the ball, over putts. I like the course next week. Hopefully take a little momentum into the Wyndham, and then two weeks from now, the points, four times what they normally are. So my best golf, I feel is coming, and this could be the start of a good run.

Q. Talking to Johnson Wagner earlier, he said the pressure of playing for your job sometimes gets in the way of thinking about winning. You've won here on this tour before. How does this result help you potentially think more about trying to get back in the winner's circle?
BEN MARTIN: Fortunately for me, I still have secured status for next year. But you always want to make it to the Playoffs. You don't want to be disappointed. But I had a couple of thirds before I broke through and won there in Vegas last year. This is my second-best finish of my career, so just kind of building blocks and keep moving in the right direction and ride that wave of momentum and see what happens.

Q. Two strokes short, but talk about your round?
BEN MARTIN: I didn't get a whole lot going the front nine. I 3-putted the first, and then coming back with the birdie in there on 5, and then following that with a bogey. So it was kind of back and forth early. But it was nice to at least put a little bit of pressure on Ryan. Of course it didn't faze him at all, no bogeys today, 4-under. He did what you're supposed to do coming into Sunday with the lead.

So making three in a row on the back, I just came up short. I didn't really give myself great opportunities in the last four holes, which is a little bit disappointing. Nothing but positives to take away.

Q. When did you start to feel it on the back nine?
BEN MARTIN: I had a good number into 11 and hit it probably 15 feet. But then I hit it to a foot on 12, and then rolled it on 13 and hit it to a foot on 14, got a little momentum going. But then just didn't -- I mean, I had looks but not great looks coming in.

It would have been at least nice to get one more going into 18. I think with a one-shot cushion there versus two, probably the toughest hole on the course, that may change the dynamics there.

But again, hats off to Ryan for a great day.

Q. You had the putt off the fringe on 17 that veered off right. Did you feel like that was a shot that I had to take?
BEN MARTIN: That was an iffy lie. I kind of debated chipping it. But it seemed like good enough where it was going to come off well with the putter, but yeah, it didn't react the way I thought it was going to. Really I should have hit that shot closer. It wasn't the fourth shot there; it was more the third shot. From 80 yards, I have to hit that to ten feet or so to give myself a good look.

Q. Ryan was just so solid. He just didn't give you a lot of openings.
BEN MARTIN: Not at all. I think I heard somebody say he played the last 46 holes bogey-free. That's what I told him in the scoring trailer. I told him, "Great job. You couldn't give me one bogey out there?"

Like I said, he did what he's supposed do and I got to see the golf the way you're supposed to play it from him all day: Down the fairway, on the green, roll a few putts in and that's how you shoot 67.

Q. Looked like it may not be that close for a little while in the middle of the day, but you put the pressure on him. What's that mean to you and your game?
BEN MARTIN: I think sometimes it's tough in his shoes, when you build a four- or five-shot lead, and you try to coast it in, you can get a little sloppy. But I felt like if I maybe made one more birdie, it could have got a little more interesting. But yeah, it was nice to be able to fight back on the back nine.

Q. With the way he was playing, did that lead to any added pressure for you?
BEN MARTIN: Not really, because at the end of the day, I'm just focused on what I'm doing. You can't play defense in golf. So you know, it was really all up to just my game. I had to get it done and unfortunately didn't today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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