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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPENFebruary 5, 2012Ben CraneSCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA Q.  That's a nice solid finish. You gave a shot at winning. Maybe it was just Kyle's day. BEN CRANE: Yeah, I certainly didn't have my "A"game. I felt‑‑ my swing was giving me fits out there, and I was just trying to hold it together and I was able to throw a good round at him, but ultimately I just wasn't sharp. But very thankful for‑‑ second is an awesome finish, and I just putted awesome all week, and that really is what kind of kept me going. Q. You started the round with four straight one‑putts. BEN CRANE: Yeah, that always seems to help, seems to open up a hole a little bit, and making a long eagle putt, making a ten‑footer for birdie on 2, making a 30‑footer for eagle on 3 and then about a seven‑footer for birdie on 4 and all of a sudden the round was going well. Q. And you led the tournament in scoring on par‑5s, you were 11‑under on par‑5s for the week. BEN CRANE: Considering that the last five years I'm 200th in par‑5 scoring, that's awesome, so that's fun. Q. We also project you to move into top six in FedExCup points. BEN CRANE: Very cool. You know, I was just kind of on the cusp of getting into the World Match Play, right around the number, and I'm going to go take a couple weeks ago and get ready for the Match Play, and yeah, just thankful for a good week. I mean, it's so fun here. The fans have a great time. This is like the Super Bowl of golf, and we had incredible weather, so it's been a great week. Q. What was going on in your head today? You obviously made a great charge today. BEN CRANE: Yeah, I got off to a great start, making a birdie at 2, eagle at 3 and then a birdie at 4. I just felt things were just going my way. But ultimately my swing was, I guess, confusing. I didn't know why the ball was going left, so I was really just fighting it all day and trying to make corrections on the fly. It was a little uncomfortable. But I wedged it and putted it really well, so that's why I was able to finish the way I was. I just fought. Mentally I was very tough, so it was a great week for me. Q. If anyone can relate to what's happened to Spencer right now, it would be Kyle. Talk about how tough that is to go in with such a lead and not be able to hold onto it? BEN CRANE: Yeah, it's something that obviously you never want to experience, and we've all been there. Unfortunately it's just a tough game, and so you hate to see it, but hat's off to Kyle. He's hung in there a couple weeks in a row, and to come out and fight the way he did after what happened in San Diego is just‑‑ I mean, that's just fantastic, a lot of toughness. It's a pretty cool story. Q. You talked about embracing these crowds like you did yesterday at 16. Can you talk about how important that is to your game? BEN CRANE: Yeah, I think I might have in the past been like, oh, my gosh, I'm coming to 16 and been really nervous, and I still get super nervous, but now I just try to embrace it and have fun with it. Everyone is out here to have fun, you know what I mean? And so I just try to‑‑ it's who I am off the golf course, so I try to be more that way on the golf course. Ultimately we're all out here trying to do our best and enjoy it as much as we can, but sometimes we're so wrapped up in what we're doing that we forget to enjoy ourselves. This is a dream come true for me to be playing on TOUR, let alone to be contending in tournaments, so I just go, praise God, this is better than a dream. Q. And clearly when you can embrace the crowd like that, it probably helps you on the golf course, too, to relax a little bit? BEN CRANE: It does, no question. When I'm thinking about the crowd and enjoying all that they're enjoying, it just takes me a step away from my game for a minute, and yeah, totally helps me relax. Anyway, this is one of the coolest atmospheres we face on the PGA TOUR, if not the coolest. It's like the Super Bowl of golf, and being Super Bowl Sunday, the crowds are just fantastic. Whether the players will say it or not, they're always thinking about 16. Davis Love said to me in the practice round, or in the tournament, it's just like it's always on your mind. It distracts you from 15, it distracts you from some critical shots all along the way, 11 and 12, because 16 is right there and you can hear the crowds. Hats off to the Thunderbirds and Waste Management. They've done a fantastic job making this tournament what it is. Q. When you come within a stroke of winning, what does that do for you the rest of the season in confidence? BEN CRANE: Yeah, this is the third week in a row for me, so I'm tired, but I'm going to take a couple weeks off, and it certainly gives me a lot of confidence. I don't have to have my A stuff to win, and certainly if I can just get a little good work done with my coach, Greg Rose at TPI, just on my swing, clean things up a little bit, I think I'll be playing the best golf of my life, so I'm excited about that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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