	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

THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC

July 7, 2017

Ben Martin

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

(In progress.)

BEN MARTIN: Out of the gate on 10 with a birdie; just kind of get things rolling where they left off yesterday. Set myself up for the weekend, the next two days.

I don't think I had quite the control I had yesterday, but still got it in the house at 67.

Q. I was debating, is it better to start on the easier nine with the two par-5s and get something going, or would you have liked to have survived the front and then get to the back?
BEN MARTIN: For me I guess it worked out better Thursday shooting 6-under. Yeah, either way. We're used to it every week. Start one day on 1 and next day on 10.

It is nice o kind of play some par-5s I think maybe later in the day. You know, kind of take advantage of that so you can finish strong and feel good about the round.

Q. You squeezed some birdies out. I would have to say the save at 3 was really the key to keeping that round together. Looked like it could've gotten away from you there after you made the turn.
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, you know, felt like I kind of got out of rhythm there around the turn, and I think that was huge to kind of keep the momentum going and kind of get back in the round.

Had a good look on 4 there and then made one at 5. So that probably was a big par save. Sometimes a par save is bigger than a birdie. Just kind of give you that momentum to finish it out.

Q. What do you take from this first 36 holes that gives you the most confidence going into tomorrow?
BEN MARTIN: I think my game overall has been pretty good the last couple months, so it's just nice to see a continuation of staying in the process and staying confident.

Take a lot away from finishing out last week on Sunday with a 65, first top 10 of the year. So it's just trending in the right direction.

Q. Got to be pretty happy with the second round. Put yourself in fine position going into the weekend. Take us through the day a little bit.
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, I'm in a nice spot, couple shots back. I mean, that's really where you want to be going into the weekend with a chance to win the golf tournament.

I didn't feel like I played quite as well today as I did yesterday. I got off to a nice start birdieing three out of the first four holes. Had a three-putt in there on 11.

I guess any time you're going into Saturday with a chance to win the golf tournament you got nothing but good feelings.

Q. When you go into an afternoon round and you notice Sebastian Munoz has put up the numbers he has over the course of two days, do you feel like you have to press a little bit on a Friday to kind of keep pace or just you play your own game?
BEN MARTIN: Not really. 72 holes, so Friday we're still kind of not even halfway there. Still plenty of golf left to be played. I just try to continue to stay in the same pace and rhythm and do the same thing on every shot.

Sometimes that's easier said than done, but I'm just happy to see my game going in the right direction. I didn't start the year off great, but trending in the right way, so be a fun weekend.

Q. Where has the last two weeks come from?
BEN MARTIN: You know, I think I missed five or six cuts in a row earlier this year, but I've made seven or eight in a row now.

Haven't really finished anything off strong until last weekend. I think I was in 10th or 15th at the PLAYERS at one point an Sunday.

Last week was really the first time I finished it off. Any time you want to win you got to finish strong. I think that gave me a lot of confidence last week to kind of keep the ball rolling.

Q. Do you have a number in your head what it's going to take to win this? I know you probably don't play it that way, hole to hole.
BEN MARTIN: Yeah, it was playing pretty soft earlier. I was thinking it could take 20-something. But it's starting to firm off. If the wind blows, maybe not quite that low.

Really at the end of the day I'm just trying to go out and see what I have that say and shoot the lowest score I can that day. I would be happy with 66, 67 two more days and see where that stacks up.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297