|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 13, 2012Martin LairdPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA CHRIS REIMER: We want to welcome Martin Laird, a fantastic round today of kind of all the guys that really were in the mix, your 5‑under was tops in that group. Just talk about the round as a whole, and just coming up a couple strokes short today here at THE PLAYERS Championship. MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, obviously very happy with how I played today. That's one of best rounds I've ever played under the circumstances, and the conditions. It was one of those days that just I felt really comfortable out there. I had a really nice up‑and‑down on 1, which is only the first hole but that's big. I hit a pretty poor shot into 1 and had a nice up‑and‑down and that settled me down. Made a nice birdie on 2 and really felt comfortable from then on and played great golf. I've been putting well all week. Didn't putt great yesterday but today I really felt good on the greens. As I said it was one of those days that I had a nice feeling out there, I hit a lot of good numbers and really drove the ball well which you've got to do around this golf course. CHRIS REIMER: At what point in the round did you feel that you were in it. MARTIN LAIRD: When I birdied 9, I knew I was right there. You know, I holed that putt there on 9, and then I can't remember what it was at the time, I think it was maybe a couple back at the time, two, three back. But I knew the back nine is where you can make your score around this golf course, with a couple of par 5s that you can get to and a couple of easier holes. Then obviously when I got on that little stretch, birdieing 11, 12, 13 I think‑‑ yeah, 11, 12, 13, then I knew I was right in the middle of it. Played good coming in, and played those‑‑ birdied 16, which was obviously good, and then 17, solid hole. It's just such a tough pin to go at over there on the right. Obviously a little disappointed with my bogey on 18 but overall very happy. CHRIS REIMER: The way this week finished up, will you focus on the positive or are there a couple of shots out there that will keep you up at night. MARTIN LAIRD: No, there's no shots that's going to keep me up; if there was, it would be Friday's finish. I got a little comfortable out there and I got a little aggressive on Friday. Turned what had been a very solid round into finishing 4‑over my last three holes, because that was kind of the start of the domino effect there on 16. Just got to look back and learn from that. I'm definitely going to take the positives.  I drove the ball great and putted great. My iron game was I would say average week. Looking back, at what I would say is an average week with my irons, and to be in contention at THE PLAYERS Championship shows I'm in the right spot. Q. You started the day six back. Were you aware of that, and did it enter your mind, you're making a pretty big come back here? MARTIN LAIRD: I didn't know what the largest comeback ever was. I knew when I started and I knew that it's just not a golf course where the leaders are going to go out and shoot 4‑ or 5‑under. It's just too tough [and you|you and] can't play aggressive like that to shoot that, without taking lots of risks. I didn't have a specific number in my head but I knew if I shot 4‑, 5‑, 6‑under, obviously more towards 5‑ or 6‑under today, I would have a chance. Didn't mean I thought I was going to do it but that's where I wanted to go to, and I had that mind‑set starting out, and obviously to shoot 5‑under, I was very happy. Q. Looks like they watered the greens this morning; are you surprised how receptive they were as you were playing? MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, they were a little softer than probably what I would have thought. I think it's good around this golf course when it's windy; if you get these greens firm with this wind, it almost becomes kind of a joke, some of these holes. It was set up very fair all week. It was in the best shape I've ever seen it. The greens are unbelievable. It was set up, if you play good, you can shoot 5‑ , 6‑under and if you don't, you're going to shoot over par. I think that's a perfect setup for a Sunday. Q. Can you talk about what you were going through on 18 with that up‑and‑down, trying to fly it a little bit to the right to let the wind catch it? MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, the wind was kind of coming straight across right‑to‑left. I figured if I went straight at the hole, I wouldn't be going back into the wind at all and I really had no chance of stopping it. I pretty much accepted four or five feet right, as would be a good spot, and kind of tried to throw it up in the air, back into the wind a little and it came out perfect. It really was as close as I thought I could get it without taking any stupid risks and trying to like land it in the fringe or anything. I hit a great shot and I hit a good putt. Just miss‑read it. It's one of those things, my first look was left‑edge and I kind of second‑guessed it and probably thought it was going to be straight and then tried to hit it straight and it broke right. Q. Kuchar obviously won here when you were in that playoff at Barclays a few years ago; can you talk about him as a competitor and what you noticed that might pertain to here, too? MARTIN LAIRD: He's just such an easy going guy. He's one of the nicest guys out here. Just doesn't seem like anything is going to upset him too much. That's obviously a good attitude to have when you're out here on Sunday on this golf course. I know his swing, people think it looks a little weird but when you play with him, he's one of the best‑ball strikers on TOUR. He hits a lot of shots that just never leave the flagstick, and he's such a solid putter, and he showed that this week. I heard on TV, that he was leading in proximity to the hole or something like that, and he's obviously onto a good week. Q. How much confidence do you take from this? MARTIN LAIRD: I've been looking for confidence the last couple of months. Just last week at Quail Hollow, I was talking to my coach about it, I just don't have the confidence to stand up and make good swings on these holes. I found it this week for some reason. A good finish last week and hitting some good shots, as the week went on, built the confidence. To come into this as probably my best finish‑‑ well, it is my best finish in a big, big marquee event like the players, and if I can't take confidence in that, then I'm doing something wrong. CHRIS REIMER: Thank you, Martin, good week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|