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A MILITARY TRIBUTE AT THE GREENBRIER

September 14, 2019

Joseph Bramlett

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Q. Talk about first of all nice finish. I mean, I guess Mark was telling us you made quite a few feet of putts today. Must have been a pretty good key to the day.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, been working really hard on my speed and my putting was really good today. Yeah, I have no idea how much feet, but I probably made three pretty good putts.

MARK WILLIAMS: The stats said 140 feet, which is more than double what you made yesterday.

JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I guess that's good. I guess that's the difference. I made a 20-footer on my last hole yesterday, so must it have been pretty bad for a while.

Q. Wow. Okay. But 14 greens in regulations. Solid day.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, just a solid day. I wouldn't say I did anything out of the ordinary. I played very nicely. I made a 50-footer or so on the par-5 for eagle which was a bonus.

Missed a couple from about ten feet I thought I could have made. Just one of those days. Some went in, some didn't. Kept the mistakes to a minimum and it was nice.

Q. You have not played many tour events since the year that you remember, this is only your fourth.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about where you have been from the standpoint -- I know you said you had a back injury.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, no, it's been a little while. Played a lot on the Korn Ferry Tour the last two seasons. Competitively I feel really sharp. I wouldn't say there is that big of a difference between the Korn Ferry Tour and this tour.

I think that's one advantage I have, that some of us have coming straight out of our season into this one, is we didn't really have a layoff. We're just rolling right into the season.

Competitively, even though you would think I haven't played a lot, I feel pretty sharp and ready.

Q. What exactly was the back injury and how long did it keep you down?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: So I was out for total of four and a half years. July 2013 was halfway through my second season on the Korn Ferry Tour now. My rookie year I was PGA TOUR; didn't keep my card; moved back.

So halfway through my second season in Utah, I just trying to warm up on the driving range and my back went out and fell over and couldn't move for a while.

Yeah, it was just stuff. I had an annular tear in my L4, L5 disc, and those usually take about 18 months to deal.

And then I had a lot complications. I very tight hips and poor technique from a functional standpoint. So every time I would start practicing I would practice for about ten days to two weeks, and then I would be on the floor for two weeks.

Just one of those things that it was very frustrating and very trying for a while. I saw 15 different spine surgeons hoping someone could just open me up and fix me. They all said if they did surgery it would end my career. Thankful I got a great coach and therapist. I discovered them probably about three years into the injury, and we were actually able to make some forward progress.

Q. Who was the coach?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: John Scott Rattan. He's a teaching instructor at Congressional Country Club, and then my therapist is Cody Fowler. He's in Los Gatos about 20 minutes from where I live.

Yeah, I flew all over the country seeing people and then sure enough, my girlfriend was like, Well, I got somebody here if you need them. Worked out great.

Q. Could you say again what the tear was.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: An annular tear to my L4, L5 disc.

Q. The guy at Congressional, did he revamp your swing?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, we completely rebuilt my golf swing. I used to have really poor footwork. I was the guy that jumped off the ground and was on his toes at impact, and my hips were rotated way too fast and I was in a lot of side bend. I was just cranking the low right side of my back.

It was just a ticking time bomb. I didn't realize that I was putting myself at risk like I was at the time, but, yeah, we had to rebuild everything from the ground up. I had to, we on my footwork, develop control of my feet, control of my hips, and then, yeah, just go from there.

Q. And then from a rehab standpoint, what were you doing?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: So was that the thing. I had to learn how to use my feet. Just tedious foot exercises and hip mobility exercises. When I first started I had almost zero internal rotation on both my hips. It wasn't a structural issue. I just didn't know how to use them, go through the motion.

My nervous system three years into a back injury I got very tight and tense. You see guys like Rory McIlroy are very fluid and you can see how well they move.

My nervous system had kind of shut me down and I was rigid and locked. So, yeah, just had to break that stuff down.

Q. How do you stay focused on wanting to get back out here when you're gone that long and you're that frustrated and you can't get answers?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I mean, it's been my dream since kindergarten to play out here. I've had a one-track mind. This is what I've always wanted to do. From when I first started playing golf I fell in love and the game and PGA TOUR. That was my dream my whole life.

I had a taste of it right out of college and then my first year on the Webb I was inside the top 25 until the very last event and I fell out. I was just -- it was on the tip of my tongue, just could feel it.

I wouldn't say I questioned myself through the injury until about three years in. I came across my coach and he gave me a new sense of we're going somewhere and we're making progress again. I've had great support from my family and girlfriend and agent, you know, people that are close to you in your life. They've really stepped up and helped me keep a good attitude.

Q. Is there any similarities - a little bit different - with Kevin Chappell yesterday having been out for a long time. He was talking about L5 and L4.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I think every golfer.

Q. But did you take confidence from what he did yesterday and what you were seeing from him, or is it a little bit different in that respect?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, I think there are similarities and differences. I mean, I would love for my injury only to have taken 16 months or whatever. I feel bad for him because no matter what amount of time it takes it feels like a lifetime.

Yeah, I think it was great to see what he did. I thought it spoke to his confidence to be able to come out having not competed and get in that position and just believe in yourself the whole way through.

That was something I fought last year. I started getting really nervous towards the end of tournaments because I hadn't been in that position for a long time. I had to really work through that.

Yeah, I think seeing him do it certainly gave me a little bit of confidence. Certainly different, too.

Q. He was very emotional yesterday. Not so much about shooting that score, but the fact he's back playing and having come out of that low. Have you had moments like that?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yes. Who wouldn't? Yeah, I've always told my friends I don't cry happy tears. I don't get it. Yes, I certainly shed some happy tears after my first Webb event that I came back to play in, and then when I got my card last week I got a little emotional on the drive over as well.

It's one of those things that you believe and you're working towards, but a lot of setbacks along the way, too. Even last year on the Korn Ferry Tour I came up a shot short of getting my card last regular season event and the last finals event.

Yeah, certainly have had those moments, too.

Q. So in those three and a half years when you weren't playing, what were you doing besides going to doctors and rehab? How were you passing the time?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Takes a lot of time trying to search for the right people to see. You can fill a day doing a lot of physical therapy. It's very monotonous and boring. I would do a lot of time where I would have to work for 15 minutes and rest for 45 minutes and work for another 15 and then rest. That would add up for probably most my days.

I certainly had a lot of breaks and put in some time with the Netflix like most people do. I'm not going to say I was solving the world's problems in my down time. I was doing a lot of work in my time off.

Q. And here you are now. Three really good rounds of golf. We don't know what's going to happen toward the end of the day, but you've put yourself in position to have a nice finish, top 10.
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah. I played nicely so far. Just feels good to be back out here, you know?

Q. What's your status this year?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: So I'm just one of the Korn Ferry Tour graduates.

Q. What's your schedule?
JOSEPH BRAMLETT: This week and Jackson - probably won't get into Napa or Vegas - and then Houston is a maybe, Bahamas is pretty good, and RSM I'll get into as well. At least four of the eight. Maybe more.

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