MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2023

Ben Carr

Quick Quotes

Q. Ben, can you describe walking up to that 1st tee box.

BEN CARR: Yeah, I was super nervous. First thing I did in my warmup was come and putt up on that green by 1 tee just so I could kind of be up here. I think that helped me a little bit kind of when I was trying to tee off.

Yeah, I was super nervous, but I hit a pretty good one. And after that, I was settled in a little bit.

Q. Let's go back to the 1st tee shot. You walk up there. Did you airmail the bunker in your practice rounds at the 1st tee? Was it pure adrenaline, do you think maybe?

BEN CARR: 100 percent, yeah. Even with that wind, the farthest I ever hit it on 1 was pin high with the middle of the bunker. And as soon as I hit that one on 1, it was hot, and it was down off the left. I hit it, and it was just like wow. Just wasn't really thinking it was going there.

Yeah, definitely haven't airmailed the bunker before.

Q. Your approach is short, spins off the front, and you lip out your chip. You get all the range of emotions on the very first hole right off the bat.

BEN CARR: It was weird. I thought the chip when I hit it was going off the green. So I was pretty happy to see it hit the hole and stop. Lipped in my putt pretty hard, but a 4's a 4.

Yeah, I got off to a decent little start. Just never really got comfortable on the greens.

Q. How did you enjoy just the crowd interaction? You can't replicate this in a practice round. You really can't replicate this anywhere. Did you enjoy that aspect of your first Masters appearance?

BEN CARR: Yeah, for sure. We had a decent crowd following. Had a lot of friends and family out. So it was nice to hear them cheering me on. I think it helped me loosen up a little bit and relax.

Yeah, the crowds were awesome. I heard a ton of roars out there. I saw a lot of low numbers. It looked like a fun day out here.

Q. What do you take away from spending four or five hours with Bernhard Langer, a two-time champion?

BEN CARR: He's an amazing player, a legend of the game. He's a super nice guy. He's pretty quiet, but everything he says, he's trying to help you or he's being polite. Just a true professional and a world class player.

Q. One main thing you learned today that you're going to take into tomorrow to help you take a step forward?

BEN CARR: Yeah, I learned a lot. I learned that I'm a good enough ball striker to hit a decent amount of greens and have some looks. But my speed wasn't very good on the greens. I never really got comfortable on the green.

That's the goal for tomorrow is to hopefully roll in a few more putts. I'd love to have a chance coming down the stretch to make the cut.

Q. If someone told you yesterday you'd be 3-over on day 1, would you be satisfied?

BEN CARR: I don't know. If you told me the wind wasn't going to be blowing, it was going to be pretty soft, honestly I probably wouldn't have taken it. Definitely struggled a little bit today. Yeah, I've got another opportunity tomorrow to bounce back.