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BOB HOPE CLASSIC

January 23, 2010

Martin Flores

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

DOUG MILNE: Like to welcome Martin Flores to the interview room. Congratulations on a second consecutive 7-under 65. Obviously right in the mix. Just thoughts on being here, being in the position you're in as you're heading into the weekend.
MARTIN FLORES: What can I say other than I'm really excited. It's definitely a first for me. Like I always said, there's a first for everything. And I just seemed to be very comfortable in this situation for some reason. I don't know why that is.
I just feel very confident in what I'm doing, and I never wanted to come off as somebody that's arrogant, but I just have a -- I'm just confident in my game and I like that right now.
DOUG MILNE: Before we open it up for questions, obviously, you're one of the newer names out here. For those of us, why don't you just give us a little bit of a background kind of where you grew up, where you played, and kind of how you got to this point.
MARTIN FLORES: I was born in the Fort Worth area. I grew up in the Dallas Fort Worth area I guess most of my life. I was in San Antonio for a little while. Went to the University of Oklahoma in 2000. I was there until 2004. I graduated, and played mostly mini tours, Adams TOUR, Hooter's Tour, Gateway Tour, any TOUR, I mean, for that matter.
(Laughter.)
Until last year, I finally got through Q-School, got on the Nationwide Tour. Didn't have very good status, but I got some limited starts; I guess two starts until August. And after that, I topped 25 a few times to play some more events, and I think I ended up with, like, I guess, around nine events.
And then I really thought that helped me through Q-School. And then, I mean, playing the in your -- granted, I didn't play that many events, but I thought it really prepared me for the start of this year. And I just felt very comfortable from the get-go, the first tournament.
DOUG MILNE: We'll open it up for some questions.

Q. Talk about how you're dealing with your emotions now in this situation, and how it might be different than finding yourself an opportunity to win here in the big time.
MARTIN FLORES: I've always been somebody that's been really level headed. I'm not getting too high, getting too low. That's just kind of my personality. Always been very relaxed. The nerves are always going to be there, so I might as well embrace them.
As far as winning, I don't really think about winning the tournament right now. I'm thinking about making as many birdies as possible. Because I know that if you start thinking about winning or start thinking about protecting a score, you're just going to get passed.
So might as well just keep your foot down and make as many birdies as possible.

Q. You're going to be learning a lot of new golf courses. This week, you get to learn a lot of new golf courses. Your first event here. How would you prepare with having never seen any of these golf courses, I assume, in person? For four different golf courses in the same week how do you prepare?
MARTIN FLORES: Well, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to play all four, so there's no sense in wearing yourself out before the tournament starts. So I felt like if I could just see every course, not necessarily see every detail, but if I had a good idea of where every hole went, I felt like I was well prepared. I was mentally fresh to start the week. Physically fresh, since you're not playing four practice rounds. You can ride every course and still get a good practice round in, as long as you look at everything you need to look at.

Q. Did you play any practice rounds?
MARTIN FLORES: I played one. I played with some pro-am guys that are from my hometown. And I played with them at SilverRock, I believe, on Tuesday, and I just road the rest. So I felt like if -- you just saw the courses, you know, you have a pretty good idea of where to go.

Q. What was it like getting your first PGA TOUR check out at the Sony. I think it was $12,100. Did you frame it or cash it?
MARTIN FLORES: I haven't even seen it yet. I don't even know where it is.
(Laughter.)
You never complain when money comes in, that's for sure. It was definitely good to start on the right foot, make the cut in the first tournament, and I'm just looking to build on that.

Q. Right now, there's two pure TOUR rookies on the top of the leaderboard, Alex and you. Alex talked about how he had been prepared by the Nationwide Tour. That he didn't really see a whole lot of difference out here. Do you see a whole lot of difference or are the differences outside the ropes?
MARTIN FLORES: There are some differences, but it's not very much. Like I said, I can't tell you how much that TOUR prepares you for this TOUR. There's just a lot more people. That's all I can say. There's a lot more people.

Q. A little more money, too.
MARTIN FLORES: A lot more money, too.

Q. What do you think you and Alex and some of the young guys are doing pretty well here, why do you think that might be?
MARTIN FLORES: You obviously have to make putts. So the putter's got to be working. The putter's working, then you got to be hitting your iron shots close. And if that's working, you got to be driving it well. So I think you have to be doing everything well if you're going to be at the top of the leaderboard. Because there's too many good players for you to have one part of your game off.

Q. It seems like maybe a decade or so ago, when a rookie would come out, the first thing they would think of is keeping their card, not necessarily contending right way. But in the last few years, it seems like guys want to come out and contend right away. Is that because you've got so much experience, not just on the Nationwide Tour, but the other tours? Or are guys just not scared anymore? It just seems like it would be easy to be conservative early.
MARTIN FLORES: I don't see any reason to be conservative. You want to set your goals high. Because if you aim high, if you don't reach them, you've gotten that much better. So if you're just showing up to maybe just keep your card or just make cuts, I feel like that can get you in trouble. So if guys are going to come out to play to win, then I feel like if you can do that, come out and play to win, then it's going to take you to the next level.
DOUG MILNE: Real quick before we cut you loose, if you wouldn't mind just running us through your birdies and giving us some clubs and yardage as best you can.
MARTIN FLORES: Okay. I started -- I can't even remember the holes because I haven't seen it. I seen then one time.
(Laughter.)
I know on the front -- I know I started on the back, but I'm going to go to the front. The third hole, I hit a 7-iron to about a few inches. I don't know how far it was, probably 10 inches probably.
Next hole I hit, I think I had like 150 maybe, 40-something, I hit a little 9-iron about 10 to 8 feet short of the hole. I made birdie there.
6, I had a chip in from just off the green with a pitching wedge. That was probably from 45 feet.
7, I hit a 56 degree wedge from 96 yards to probably four or five feet.
11, gosh, for some reason I can't think of what 11 is. It's a par-5, but I can't think of what it does.

Q. 11 is a par-4 at SilverRock. It comes back towards the clubhouse.
MARTIN FLORES: Oh, okay. Oh, yeah, that's right. I think I hit a 9-iron in there to about 15 feet -- or, yeah, about 10 feet. 15 feet. Somewhere in there. Short of the hole. Made the putt.
13, I hit another 9-iron. Wow, I hit a lot of nine irons today. I hit that to probably about 15 feet right of the hole. Made the putt.
18, I hit 3-wood from about 250-something, hit it way over the green, hit a good pitch to probably about 10 feet past the hole and made the little curler in there.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. Well, congratulations on a great round and best of luck on the weekend.
MARTIN FLORES: Appreciate it.

End of FastScripts

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