What they said: Ryan Palmer

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SONY OPEN AT HAWAII: Transcript archive

MARK WILLIAMS: Ryan Palmer, thanks for joining us. Opening round 65 at the first full field of interviews, Sony Open of Hawaii. It looks like 7 birdies, a couple of bogeys, and pretty tough conditions out there, very windy, just talk us through it.

RYAN PALMER: Yes, it was. I got off to not really a rough start, but very loose swings early on 10. A tee shot on 12, I was kind of curious on how the day was going to end up. I hung in there and had a great up and down on 12. I bogeyed 12, didn't I?

Q. Yes.

RYAN PALMER: Yes, bogeyed 12. Then I had a great up and down on 13. Yes, 13 and 14, I had some great up downs. I hit about a 25 footer on 15 which kind of kept me patient and that was the key through the first nine holes for me. The swing was getting better as the back 9 was going, and I had a good birdie on 18, and took off on the front, drove it perfect, and hit my irons great, hit it close, made some long putts.

I think it's my best lowest round for the start of the year for me since I've been out here, so a good start to the year.

MARK WILLIAMS: I was just going to say it must be a nice feeling to get under way after an off season that was probably a little busy for you cause I think you had your second child.

RYAN PALMER: We had a baby in August, it was a nice winter. It got cold so it was hard to play a lot of golf. I went to Palm Springs before this tournament for a couple of guys. I played golf with Chad Campbell and Joe, his caddy. I came out fresh. It was nice to get off to a good start with a windy day where you had to use your imagination every once in a while. I played it great and it was a very good feeling.

Q. When your swing is not feeling great first on the first couple of holes and it's gusty like this, what's going through your head at that point?

RYAN PALMER: You know, I knew my swing was good. I think it was a little nervous, I guess, the first tournament of the year, windy. I calmed down and James kept talking to me through the shot which was nice, my caddy, reminded me of what Randy Smith and I worked on.

I just calmed down and relaxed and started thinking about that shot. I learned a little bit from Zach Johnson's article in the program this year. He was talking about how he won here last year. He played Thursday for Thursday. That's all he thought about. And it hit me pretty good. I thought, that's pretty good because when I'm home playing with the guys, that's all you are playing that one day. I came out today and said just go out and play just for today, that's it. Give it your all, do your best, and take what happens at the end of the day. Hey, it kept me relaxed and pretty confident.

Q. What was the key, the biggest factor in your scoring?

RYAN PALMER: My putting. I made about a 25, 30 footer on 1. Made about a 15, 20 footer on 7. I made a 15 footer on 9. My putt on 15 was about 25 feet and a 10 footer on 18. I putted great today.

I drove it great on the front 9, my back 9, and that put me in position. So I give the putter the most credit today.

Q. Looks like ten one putts for the day and a chip in at 15?

RYAN PALMER: I putted but it was off the green.

Q. Was the wind consistent for you, was it windy all day?

RYAN PALMER: It was. Towards the end of it, my back 9, the front, I felt it getting a little calmer but it's pretty steady, I felt, and there were certain shots that it didn't blow as hard, that you are waiting for it to. It was pretty steady. Each shot I was able to judge the wind. It was consistent for a while, so it helped. I hit the shots that needed to be.

With this kind of wind you have to use your imagination a lot, bump and run, try to keep it short of certain pins. Because you get downhill, downwind, down grain, putts on these greens, it's like putting down a sheet of glass. It can make for some interesting days.

Q. What kind of off season did you have? I know you had a baby, did you do anything special to prepare for this other than your Palm Springs visit?

RYAN PALMER: No, I worked with Trent this year. I kind of learned from some assessments that I had some pretty weak areas. I focused on my hips, which was the weakest of my body, so I did a lot of work on that. Mainly just stayed home. Mason is about to be 3, he knows what Santa Claus is now. We had a good time with that. It was nice to have that morning. Just enjoy Cowboys football and hanging out. We went to Palm Springs a few days to get ready for this week, so a pretty calm winter.

MARK WILLIAMS: It's funny you mentioned working out with a trainer, but you didn't mention hitting balls or practicing, how important is fitness these days?

RYAN PALMER: It is, especially for me. The way I go down each shot, with my weak hip, I dip, I slide. I end up flipping a lot of shots. If I stay strong and taller it helps me through the ball more. So working on that.

I played a little bit when the weather was nice. I didn't do a whole lot. You still got to get away from the game. You can't go out there and grind it out through a winter of practicing, you will just wear yourself out. I felt pretty fresh, I felt real fresh, pretty clear, healthy. I didn't have any problems this winter. I had shoulder surgery last winter. So little babies this winter, just raising the little ones, healthy, so that's a good start.

Q. The 2 up and downs you were talking about?

RYAN PALMER: 13, I hit it from the right bunker, I guess. Now I know where I'm at, sorry.

14, I hit it left, they got the tee box back there, it's hard to get round the corner. I had to punch a 5 iron through. It ran through the right of the green and hit a great bunker shot to about three feet. That was 13.

14, I 2 putted. I was actually on the back fringe. It was actually a 2 putt.