CAMBIA PORTLAND CLASSIC

September 18, 2020

Mo Martin

Columbia Edgewater Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Mo Martin back on tour first time in a little bit over a year. So excited to have you back with a 4-under 68. Great way to start your return to the tour. How are you feeling right now?

MO MARTIN: Than you so much. You slipped in a little pun there, back on tour. Yeah, my back did give my some trouble and took me a long time to figure out what to do and how to treat it and a lot of time off of. I had a lot of people who help me do it, keep my spirits up. My family, my friends, my team, Ian, Jamie, Chorus (phonetic), Jennifer and I have great sponsors who stayed by me, Trader Joe's, Golf4Her, Titleist.

And to have good people on my team and to know that my spirits were kept up, even though tournaments kept passing me by, didn't know when and if I was going to return really. That's the reality of it. We don't know how much is in our body. It's a tank. Don't know when it's going to run out.

I'm super grateful. It's been quite a strange week, but Cambia has been a champion and kept us safe. Split down to three days, and lucky to be playing. And the air a nice. It's back to beautiful Portland. The trees, you know, everything is getting a lot clearer, and I hope the rain helped the fires. That's an important thing, too.

Q. Do you mind telling us what happened over the last year and what you have gone through to get back here?

MO MARTIN: Yeah, so pretty much the beginning of 2019 I didn't play that many tournaments. Hurt myself pretty substantially. I was having some pretty bad spasms, and it's scary. Having a back injury is pretty debilitating. I've got two really cute little kiddies at home and I couldn't pick them up at one point, so that's just really sad, and then especially when your job demands your body along with you mind and you spirit.

So, yeah, took a lot of rehab, a lot of doctors. All the doctors, thank you. Talking about four of them right now. A lot of MRIs, some needles that I didn't enjoy.

Yeah, I felt great today. Again, we never know, but going to give it my best and I'm feeling really good right now. Steve, got a new caddie on the bag, so did a great job. We kind of clicked back in because it's been a long time off for him, too.

Q. What was the feeling as you stepped to the first tee today and then walking off after an incredibly successful first round back?

MO MARTIN: Yeah, I mean, I was nervous. But, you know, I'm nervous on every first hole. I think it just means I care. I think it'll be my last tournament if I'm not nervous on the tee box.

I started off on 10 and hit driver, and then my second shot and walked up to it, and it was actually in a divot that was the size of a golf ball. I asked Steve, Have you ever seen anything like that? No. So I said, I don't know if it's a good omen, bad omen, but welcome back.

I actually hit it to about five feet from there and made the putt, and that's kind of how the day went, you know, good putting and hit a lot of greens, some fairways.

It's a nice recipe.

Q. Last question: Do you have to change your routine now? I know you're going from here straight over physio. Do you change your routine now to make up for the back and to help keep that from recurring?

MO MARTIN: Yes. I think was actually advantageous that I had a couple days off at the beginning of the week with the course closure. Luckily I'm at a point where things are pretty routine in my swing. Like I said, I've got great coaches who have great eyes and have kept an eye on it when I've been able to practice.

So, yeah, a little bit less preparation, a little bit more on the physio. I do have about five layers of tape on my back, but learning to deal with it and swing wit it and just, yeah, one swing at a time.

Q. Awesome. Well, we're glad to have that swing back. Welcome back.

MO MARTIN: Thanks for the welcome back.