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SONY OPEN IN HAWAIIJanuary 12, 2011Joseph BramlettHONOLULU, HAWAII THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome PGA TOUR rookie, Joseph Bramlett into the interview room here at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Joseph, welcome. I know you made a couple of starts on TOUR last year, one as an amateur and one as a professional, but welcome to the PGA TOUR. Just get your thoughts on being here at the Sony Open? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Thank you. Yeah, I'm very excited to be here. Any time you come to Hawaii it's a beautiful place. To get to make my debut out here is very cool. THE MODERATOR: Take us back to Q-school. That was an exciting final day for you. You earned your card. Just look back at that tournament for us. JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, it was my first time at Q-school, and it was certainly as stressful and pressure-packed as everybody told me it was. Yeah, I was a little outside the number coming into the final day and got off to a rough start. Fortunately, able to turn it around at the right time. Couple birdies later, here I am. THE MODERATOR: Just past Jim Furyk who was walking out. Talk a little about the 22-year-old rookie on TOUR, and what your expectations are and what it feels like to be out here with these guys? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: It's a dream come true. Every kid like myself grows up wanting to play on the PGA TOUR and playing on the biggest stage. You know, this is what I've trained for and prepared for my whole life. It's very exciting for me. I've got a lot of great opportunities ahead. Q. Did your dad come out? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: No, it it's just myself. Q. What are your biggest influences? Who inspired you to focus on golf? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, I think my dad certainly had a lot to do with that as a young kid. He definitely introduced me to the game. But I kind of fell in love with golf myself growing up. It's just one of those games that it's all on you. You're either in total control of how hard you work and how hard you practice, and it's just something that I kind of grew to love as I grew up as a young kid. Q. How has golf helped you in other areas of your life? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, I mean, it's given me a lot of great opportunities. One, bringing me to Hawaii in the winter time from California. It's opened doors for me between helping me get into Stanford and pursue my academic career there and bringing me on the PGA TOUR. I've just been able to meet so many great people and so many kids like myself. It's just been tremendous. Q. I'm curious, there is another guy from Stanford. Do you interact with that guy? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I believe you're talking about Mr. Woods. Yeah, we definitely have had a good relationship the last couple of years. I was able to meet him and get to know him through Stanford and my Coach Conrad. He's been awesome for me. He let me play a couple practice rounds with him at the Open this year. He's really just kind of mentored me in ways that have truly helped my game and just growing up as a young person. Q. Is there one thing that sticks out in your mind had a he said to you, what would it be? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, when I was going through my injuries at school, he came out to practice at our facility during the Presidents Cup. I just kind of talked to him a little bit about it. He really just kind of told me that you do whatever you have to do to get through it. I think that applies not only just to injuries, but to a lot of things in your life. There are going to be some rough spots and some things that you're going to go through that you didn't anticipate, but you do whatever you have to to get through them and you keep moving forward. Q. As you prepare for this rookie season, is there a part of you that's prepared to deal the first African-American since such and such all year long? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I think so, certainly. I've had a great set of parents growing up, and they've made me very grounded and really understood who I am as a person. It's probably something that I'll have to talk quite a bit about, but that means that I'm probably doing things well and doing things the way I've always wanted to do them. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, I mean, it's going to be my first tournament on the PGA TOUR, so there are going to be a lot of things I'm going to have to learn. Just from the day-to-day stuff that you go through, practice rounds, scheduling, everything. It's going to be very different. So how will I play? I'm not sure. Every time I tee it up I play to win, so hopefully I'll be sitting here Sunday night as well. Q. How have you been looking at your debut, and you get here and you see this? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I'm pretty sure we're playing golf this week. I think Hawaii's seen rain before, though it doesn't look great at the moment. I did plenty of practice in the rain in Southern California this winter, and I think I'll be all right. Q. Did you look out the window this morning or last night and wonder? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: No, I mean, from everything I've learned, this golf course is used to seeing rain. I kind of leave that in the hands of the tournament officials. I think they'll guide us along the course as we're supposed to be out there. I'm just ready to play whenever. Q. Do you think your level of optimism differs from someone that's been out here for a couple of years? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I think there is definitely something said for being fresh. Everything's new to me right now. That was probably one of the thing that's helped me in Q-school. I hadn't been through it six times, and then failed miserably at finals. I was truly excited to be there and relished the opportunity. So I haven't had a lot of success out here, but I haven't been out here yet. I'm very excited to be out here. Any time you're excited to be playing golf, I think it definitely helps. Q. How do you stay focused? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, I think that's a question that a lot of times you have to deal with on a personal basis. But I think a lot of it just comes down to what do you want to do with the game and how far do you want to take it. There are a lot of kids who dream really high, which I think is a great thing. I think when you can hold on to those dreams and really believe in them as young kids and maintain it throughout your career. I think the focus and practice and everything comes along with that. For me personally, all of my childhood dreams have been the things that have kind of inspired me to keep going. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: You mean on TOUR? Q. Here. JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yes, I practiced with one of my teammates Zach Miller yesterday. We played 18 holes. I'm still getting to know a lot of people out here. I ran into Arjun Atwal. We played together in a practice round at the Open. He's a very nice guy. Practiced a little bit. Saw Jamie in the workout room. But I'm pretty new out here. I'm trying to take it one day at a time and hopefully build those relationships as we go. Q. Just wanted to follow up a little bit about your Q-school experience. You went through all three stages? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I didn't go to pre-qualifying. I went first stage, second stage, third stage. Q. As you went through that, was there a point in the beginning where you said I can make this? Or was there a point in the first stage, second stage where you (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Going into it, my goal was to get through. That is the reason I signed up for it. I played the U.S. Open last summer as an amateur, figured it would be to my best benefit to stay amateur over the summer and play a lot of high-caliber tournaments. That was all in preparation for Q-school this fall. When I got to Q-school, my goal and objective was to win every stage and get through. That was basically why I was there. Q. Certainly at some point you have to say I can do it as opposed to I want to do it? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I think I was prepared before I started. Yeah, I thought I played well all summer and my game felt sharp, So I didn't see any reason why I couldn't make it. Q. Was there any point at any stage where you struggled just a little bit and managed to get through it? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: The first several stages I got through pretty easily. The final stage, round number six, I was outside the cut starting the final day, two bogeys the first three holes. I was probably 50th or 60th on the list. Walking off the third green, I was a little bit down. But, fortunately, for me I was able to kind of change my mindset by the time I got to the fourth tee and got it going. Q. How much, if any, role did Tiger play in you going to Nike? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I don't think he played too big of a factor there. I think where they are at right now is a really good spot. I'm comfortable and confident and happy to be with them, but there wasn't any moment where he was like you should go with Nike or anything. Growing up as a kid I always wore Nike shoes and loved wearing Nike. So I used their equipment through college, and I'm very happy to be with them. Q. Your parents aren't here. Is there somebody you're going to lean on this week or do you feel you need to lean on anybody this week? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Well, there are definitely some people that help you feel more comfortable out here. One being my teammate Zach Miller. We get along really well. My caddy, A.J. Montecito, he definitely has some experience I don't have out here which I think should help. But it's just another golf tournament at the same point. It is the PGA TOUR, it is the big stage. But this is golf. When you're out on the golf course, that is where I feel most comfortable. There are definitely some people that help me through some of the other things that go into it. But when I get on the golf course, it's just go time. Q. Growing up in California, did you see Tiger play? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I did. My dad would take me out to watch Tiger up at Stanford when he was a student there. I probably watched him maybe three or four times. So, yeah, it was really cool getting to see his evolution as a little kid. Watching this guy go from college to professional to who he is today. Q. Did that play a role in you going to Stanford? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Subconsciously maybe it did. I'm not really sure. I mean, growing up, we'd go to Stanford basketball games. I only live 20 minutes away. So when you have that great of an academic institution with the athletic tradition as well for me it was about a no-brainer when I got accepted that that was the place for me. Q. How did you get hooked up with A.J.? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Couple of family friends, guy named Doc Simms, he's good friends with A.J., good friends with myself as well. So we kind of hooked up five or six months ago, got to know each other a little bit. Like I said, he has a lot of experience that I don't have, and we get along on a personal level very well. Q. Who has A.J. worked for in the past? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: In the past? Q. Yes. JOSEPH BRAMLETT: He worked for Y.E. Yang when he won the PGA and the Honda, I believe. So he worked with him for just under two years maybe. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: My freshman year we won one football game. He came in and we beat USC and beat Cal. He turned it around so well. I'm sure Stanford will do just fine finding a replacement. But when you have a guy that brings the excitement to the football game that he did, combined with Andrew Luck, it was a lot of fun finally winning this year. Q. (Indiscernible) do you think the numbers will help or do you think there is more to it? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: No, I certainly think numbers will help. I think if you have more fresh and different faces out there. In terms of the public eye, I don't know how significantly it will change. But I think when you can have little kids growing up and seeing that there is such a diverse group of people on the PGA TOUR, I think it can truly inspire kids to think that I can do it too. I think that is one of the biggest things that when you can help change things and break down any kind of barriers. There will be young kids coming up to him like if can he do it, I can do it. Just because I don't look like anybody else, that's not important. It's if he can do it, I can do it too. Q. Your dad introduced you to golf? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yes, he introduced it to me at a young age. Q. Do you think it was because of Tiger that changed things? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: No, not really. I think having Tiger there was an amazing role model for me, because I truly identified with the way he did things, from his work ethic, to how he worked out, to just the way he treated the game. You could tell it was something he really loved as a kid, and he had these great dreams and he just followed them along. I could really identify with him as a role model. Seeing he was somebody like myself, it definitely helped. But at the same time I fell in love with the game before I knew who Tiger Woods was. My dad got me really into it, and it was something that I knew I wanted to do. Q. What kind of impact would you like to make on this game? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: That's a good question. There are several things I think could happen. One, just seeing a fresh new face out here. I hope to carry myself in a way and to play the game in a way that the young kids can definitely agree with and look up to. And, hopefully, like I said, just seeing someone that is a little bit different, someone that's not what you typically see out here, hopefully, they can identify somewhat with me. He's out there. I can be out there too. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Do I hope it wouldn't be an issue, yes. Will it be? I don't know. But I think that, hopefully, I can leave an impact on the game that can help change things further. Tiger had a huge impact, and I'm just one of several kids coming up right now. Because like I said before, there is definitely a group of us coming up right now. I think that by the time I'm done and sitting in a rocking chair, I think that hopefully this game will look a little different. Q. Have you thought about the synchronicity of Martin Luther King and the tradition and here you are (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: It definitely did hit me the other day. It's interesting. Just the timing of everything and how it's worked out. So I definitely think it's unique. Is it that big of a deal? I don't know. I guess we'll have to see how things go. But I definitely, yeah, I thought that was kind of cool. Q. I'm curious, when you started playing with your dad, how many of your other friends that you were growing up with at that age played golf? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Not many of them (laughing). They were playing basketball, football. I mean, I played all the sports growing up as a little kid. But, I don't know why, but for some reason I remember being in kindergarten just like you I want to be on the PGA TOUR. Everybody else wanted to be in the NBA, the NFL, astronauts, you know. But, yeah, for some reason I wanted to be a professional golfer. Q. Did you ever when you were in school know what you wanted to be? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: Yeah, that was one of the popular topics the first week of class. What do you want to do when you grow up? Nobody understood it. They thought I was kind of weird, you know. But it was definitely something I've always wanted to do, and I just felt it inside and tried to run with it. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSEPH BRAMLETT: I honestly remember as early as kindergarten. Talking to people like what do you want to do when you grow up? And I was like I want to be on the PGA TOUR. I had to explain what the PGA TOUR was because a lot of people didn't have any idea, but it was what I wanted to do. End of FastScripts |
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