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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 12, 2011Ben CranePONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA Q. There's a lot of things that can happen on that hole. BEN CRANE: It's a tough driving hole. Certainly you have to hit a great tee shot, and if you do hit driver there, you're probably going to go through the fairway so you have to take it over the water in order to put the ball in play. So you're going to hit a 3-wood or a rescue to play it up the right and then you have a long shot in so the pin is all the way in the back. Tough to judge in the downwind off the right there, so tough to get the right distance. It's a long hole with the pin all the way in back, and this is one of the toughest courses we face all year, and that's certainly one of the toughest holes and one of the most intimidating. Q. This year the rough is longer. Is that making a difference? BEN CRANE: I would say compared to the previous years, this is significantly longer than we've faced in the past, and it makes putting the ball in the fairway at the highest premium I've ever seen it. You cannot play shots from the rough very often. You really have to have a great lie. The rough is just thin enough that it's going to go to the bottom, but it's just thick enough to be course where you can't get a club solidly on it. It's always a tough situation. You're not able to control the pin spin at all and playing long, running shots that it's hard to get the line right on. It matters. When in doubt this week, I know guys are going to be going for the club to get them in the fairway, even if they're further back, just to stay away from that long rough. Q. You've had bad luck on 17 and 18 in years previous. Is that -- BEN CRANE: No, I've actually played that hole very solidly over the years, and that was just one of the things where I caught a gust of wind and I misjudged the wind a little bit, but really hit a great shot there and was excited about the way I was playing the hole. And you can't really control gusts of wind and bounces and stuff like that, so you just try to have a good time with it and have a good attitude because it was certainly unusual. Q. What did you hit off the tee? BEN CRANE: I hit a pitching wedge. Pitching wedge, lob wedge, and then I putted from the fringe and two putts from there. Q. (Inaudible.) BEN CRANE: Yeah, I don't even know if that's a good or a bad break, it's just kind of a really unusual circumstance, having the ball go in the water. You can probably get the ball on the green -- maybe it is a good break. Maybe I do save half a stroke there that way. Yeah, I think all in all, Jack Nicklaus used to say, the better I am, the luckier I get. So I think overall the course of your career the breaks are going to even out. Q. Do you feel comfortable on this course after what you did last year? BEN CRANE: I don't think I ever feel comfortable on this golf course. Every hole is so challenging, and if you drive it in the rough, you're just behind the 8-ball trying to make par. I try not to take any hole for granted when I'm playing out here. Certainly this is one of the best tests of golf we face all year, so I just try to keep plugging away, one shot at a time. Q. You've probably played it better in May than in April. Do you feel like winning this is in the cards for you? BEN CRANE: I think it's certainly possible. I think we've got three rounds ahead of us here, and I wouldn't rule it out. That's why I'm here this week. But all in all, just excited that I'm playing well. My game is in good form, and the greens are so pure. The course is in such great shape, it's just fun to be out there and play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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