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BELLSOUTH CLASSIC

March 30, 2004

Ben Crane

DULUTH, GEORGIA

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome the defending champion Ben Crane to the BellSouth media center. Pretty good year, six out of the eight cuts, made. Let's talk about coming in as defending champion for the first time in your career.

BEN CRANE: Yeah, it's pretty exciting. Obviously, I just went out and played the Back 9, kind of relived all the shots. I couldn't have written it any better. Really a special, special nine holes, special place being back here. So I'm pretty excited.

TODD BUDNICK: An exciting Back 9 it was last year. Do you think about that a lot?

BEN CRANE: Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's probably the best golf I've played. So you definitely want to, you know, remember that. Obviously, my putter was hot, things were kind of clicking. So, yeah, I mean, I think about that. It's fun to relive it a little bit.

But, you know, I understand this is a completely different week, so I need to go out and prepare the same way and see if I can have another good week.

TODD BUDNICK: You only had one Top 10 the remainder of last year, but still had a great year, finishing 48th on the Money List. Does a first-time win like that take a bit out of you for a while?

BEN CRANE: Well, one of the things I struggled with when I was on the Nationwide Tour, after I won, was feeling like I had to live up to being a tournament winner week in and week out after that. I felt that way a little bit, but definitely not as much. I felt like I learned a lot from my Nationwide experience from that.

I feel like I played fairly solidly, I just never quite put it all together the remainder of the year. I really wanted to get in the Top 40, get in the Masters. We kind of just missed, kind of one good tournament away from doing that.

But overall, I was extremely happy with my year.

TODD BUDNICK: Two Top 10s already this season. Your success has continued into this year. Talk a little bit about how you feel about your game at this point.

BEN CRANE: Yeah, I played really well right out of the chute at Kapalua there, Mercedes, then played well at the Hope. Had a chance there, which was fun. Then the last few weeks, you know, I've been making cuts but really haven't played all that great. Really just been kind of piecing it together.

I did some work with Butch last week at TPC, actually showed some signs there, playing well through three rounds. I feel like it's coming together. I think I'm on the verge of playing some good golf.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll take some questions.

Q. (Inaudible)?

BEN CRANE: It's a little wetter today. But I hit it down there. Pretty good shot. I was kind of looking at the TV tower. It's in a little different spot this year. I'm like, "Where is that slot? Where can you get it down there?" I hit it great, still at the top of the hill, obviously, then hit it in the back bunker there my second shot.

But I think it's got to get pretty firm and fast to be able to kind of hit that slot and get it all the way down there with the 7-iron.

Q. (Inaudible)?

BEN CRANE: Oh, I don't even know. I was just kind of just hitting different shots and stuff like that.

Q. With one win, it can change the perception of other players or how you fell about yourself. "I want to get that second win to prove it wasn't a fluke." Do you find yourself feeling that way at all?

BEN CRANE: I try not to think about other people's expectations at all. The expectations I place on myself I think are what I think about the most.

No, I really don't find myself trying to validate what I did. It was certainly a special week. I'm doing things in my game to get my game more consistent where I can contend more often. That's really what I want to do so I can start playing more consistent in the World Golf tournaments, get yourself in the Top 50 in the world rankings to be able to contend and play in majors. So that's really where I'm kind of focused.

Certainly, you know, I want to win this year. But I don't feel like I have to, you know, win this year or win in the next few weeks to validate myself or anything. I'm glad because, you know, going out there and feeling like that is a tough way to play golf.

Q. (Inaudible)?

BEN CRANE: No, I don't think so. My wife kind of said, "That's about it for the big hat." We couldn't quite get the right hat made. We said, "No, that's it."

Q. What is the feeling like in that last round that last year, when the putter is really working? Are you thinking about it at all, "Man, this is really going good"?

BEN CRANE: I don't know. I think you're so focused on each shot and all that you haven't really thought, "I've holed the last seven out of eight putts." You really don't think that way. You're so focused on, you know, continuing, making more birdies, more birdies, to get yourself atop that leaderboard.

You know, I've had streaks like that before where I've putted really well. That was certainly probably my best. That's a place that, you know, you're reading them perfect, you're hitting then perfect, you can just almost will the ball in the hole. Those times don't come that often, but when they do, it's pretty special.

Q. You have a unique putting grip?

BEN CRANE: A little bit. I putt with my left finger, it's kind of an overlap, right finger down the shaft.

Q. (Inaudible)?

BEN CRANE: Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I really haven't changed much in my putting in a number of years. My hands just kind of go on the club that way.

Q. Still using the same putter from last year?

BEN CRANE: Same exact model. It's an actual different putter. We experimented with loft a little bit. But it's the same exact putter.

Q. What is the biggest benefit you felt like you've gotten out of the win?

BEN CRANE: I would say just the fact that you always have status out here, you know, past champion status. I don't know. I think that, you know, champions' tee times are big, you're playing with other tournament winners. You play with great players every week. You can learn from those guys. Got the opportunity to play with Tiger and Ernie, you know, Davis and Freddie, a ton of guys. That's been awesome because, you know, you see where it is you want to be. It's been a huge factor.

But I would say also, you know, again, the world ranking stuff, it pushes you up quite a bit. That's kind of where I'd like to make a move.

Q. Can you talk about you working with Butch, what you get out of Butch, what he can do that maybe some other instructor that you may have worked with in the past hasn't been able to do?

BEN CRANE: Well, Butch is brutally honest. The first time I went to see him, he said, "Look, I know you can putt, but the rest of this stuff is a mess." And we've gotten to be great friends over the last year and a half.

But what it is that Butch does, he's got an incredible eye. He can sit there and watch me hit balls, without even watching where the ball goes, and he can say, "It looked like you just released that one a little too early." I mean, he just sees things that I just feel like a lot of people don't see. So he's got an amazing eye.

Certainly he helps me learn how to hit shots and learn how to flight the ball a different way and stuff. Because he's been a great player, you know, in his own day, he's played extremely well, played on tour for years, been around Hogan, a lot of the guys, I think he comes at it from a little different view, you know, being a player like that. I think his eye is just trained.

Q. What is the reason you went to him?

BEN CRANE: I looked at all the instructors, and I felt like the one teacher who made players better was Butch. I felt like there was a lot of guys who went to a lot of -- there's a lot of instructors out there, but I felt like some guys stay the same, some actually get worse, some get better. I felt just like about everybody that went and saw Butch would get better. So I thought there was something to that.

It was really hard for me to get in, but once I got in, we've got to be good friends. It's been a great relationship.

Q. When was the first time you went to see him?

BEN CRANE: It was -- I've been working with him about six months before I won. So about a year and a half ago.

Q. Once you get in, how hard is it to convince Butch to take you on?

BEN CRANE: He just doesn't take any more students. He's got maybe 13 or 14 tour players as well as a bunch of amateurs he's teaching. He's just always booked. For him to take a new student, it's just really not going to happen as far as a Tour player. A Tour player requires more time, going out and seeing them on the road, and stuff.

When he comes out to tournaments, obviously like last week, he had maybe 13 players there. Well, he doesn't have time to take on 10 more players and try to see them that week, whatever.

He just really doesn't take on very many new players.

Q. I think he would take on a former student if that former student wanted to come back: Tiger. Any thoughts, whether Tiger should do that? Obviously, you can't speak for Tiger.

BEN CRANE: I think Tiger played his best golf obviously a couple years ago. But I think he's going about it the best way he knows how. I don't really know, you know, what he's doing, I mean, for an instructor. The guy is still the best player in the world by far.

I think, you know, no matter who teaches Tiger, you know, I mean, I think Tiger's still going to be the best player in the world. But I don't know. I don't know if Tiger's going to go back. I mean, I just don't know any of that situation.

Q. As a player that competes against Tiger on a regular basis, would you rather see him not go back to Butch?

BEN CRANE: I don't know. I don't really think about it that much, to be honest with you.

Q. A good portion of the field won't be playing next week. Does that make it mentally important to play well this weekend with next week having an off week?

BEN CRANE: Yeah, certainly you want to play well, get a little momentum going into the following week. But, you know, a lot of guys are here, they want to get ready for the Masters. A lot of guys are here because they want to get their world ranking up so they can start getting into tournaments like that.

Certainly this is a great tournament to play well at because you got great feelings going into a nice off week, rested, getting ready, get back after it in two weeks.

Q. There is a little talk about adjusting how the world ranking works. How do you feel about it, being low in the world rankings?

BEN CRANE: Well, it hasn't been fair. I don't think that's any secret. I think they're working on things to make it more fair. You know, I mean, I've sat at home a couple times and my world ranking has gone up. I go out, I finish sixth at like FedEx, I think my world ranking stayed the same or might have even gone down.

I don't know exactly how it all works, but it just didn't seem like it was reflecting how everyone was playing. It was rewarding people for staying home, it seemed like. So I think they're fixing that. It's now going to be a lot better.

But, you know, I mean, a few months ago they wrote an article on players that were off on the world ranking maybe according to what a different ranking system. I know my name was highlighted. I was like, "Hmm, that's interesting."

I don't know. I think they're working on it. I think it's going to get better. I think it's going to be less biased towards some of the guys.

Q. What is your world ranking now?

BEN CRANE: I think it's -- what is it?

Q. 85.

BEN CRANE: Okay.

Q. Do you feel like you're an 85 right now? Is your game an 85 right now?

BEN CRANE: I see some of the guys above me, and I think, "Hmm." I wonder how they get their points. I think this is the tour to play on. I think this is by far the best tour in the world. I think the points need to be more focused here. I think certainly winning on the European Tour, some of the other tours, is certainly an incredible thing to do. But I think winning over here definitely means more because of the field, stuff like that.

Q. On the other hand, going through what you've done over the last year, except for the win, you would say you probably haven't had the best year that you would want to have. The question is, are the rankings inherently fair the way they are? Are you really No. 85 in the world right now with what your game is?

BEN CRANE: I'm not the person to answer that question.

Q. Do you think the Masters should change their criteria and allow for winners of PGA TOUR events to get back in?

BEN CRANE: My opinion is, tournaments that are not alternate events should get in. If you win the Southern, doesn't count. Reno-Tahoe doesn't count. If you win a PGA TOUR event, alternate week, I believe you should get in.

Q. Do you feel unfortunate that you broke through at an event, if you had broken through at Nissan or Doral, you would have been in the Masters last year?

BEN CRANE: I don't really look at it that way. I mean, I think -- you know, it is what it is.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you.

BEN CRANE: Okay.

End of FastScripts.

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