What they said: Ryan Palmer

text size

SONY OPEN AT HAWAII: Transcript archive

JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome Ryan Palmer into the interview room after a 4 under par 66. Our current leader at 9 under par. Ryan, a solid effort out there, if we can just get your comments on a great two days so far.

RYAN PALMER: What to say, excited. I'm really excited about the way the year is getting off to. Obviously, yesterday was a great start to the year, and today I was really pleased and almost surprised on how calm and relaxed I was.

I was curious how I was going to come out and get the day started after playing well yesterday and how my nerves were going to hold up, if any, and it was great.

I drove it great on the front. I just never could get the ball to go in. I made a great birdie on 2, hit it close, and just played solid, steady golf on the front.

A little rough on 10, I was making bogey, but never once crossed my mind or got upset.

I was even par, that's all I thought about today. It was the only round I cared about. I came back with a great birdie on 11, I hit a 5 iron to about ten feet. I think I told James, my caddy, listen, I'm going to make it. So I made a 2. We call them do don'ts back home at Colonial.

I just kept plugging along on the back, hit some great tee shots and some great recoveries because I kept hitting the rough. I made some unbelievable putts on 14. I made an unbelievable putt, a little right to left breaker.

17, hit a good putt, and a great 2 putt on 18.

Great day, hit the tee ball a little better today, hit my irons very good and putted great. So I'm really excited about what holds tomorrow

Q. Can you translate the do don'ts?

RYAN PALMER: We play the big game at Colonial, my home course, and they call it the big game, there are about 10 or 20 guys, and every 2 is worth $10. And so they call it do don'ts. I think it's helped my par 3 play the last two years. Par 3s, I've made more birdies on par 3's the last two years than I have the last seven years.

Q. I still don't get the do don't thing. Do what?

RYAN PALMER: You do or you don't.

Q. You do or you don't make it?

RYAN PALMER: Make a two.

Q. You can say that on every hole.

RYAN PALMER: Well, I know, but it's not a 2. It's a 2. Anywhere on the golf course, you either do make a 2 or you don't.

Q. I will roll with that, Ryan.

RYAN PALMER: Every time I make it James says do don't. You got to be a big game player at Colonial if you want to understand.

Q. You are supposed to be a member at Colonial, that's where we got to get there.

RYAN PALMER: That's my home course where I play all the time.

Q. In previous years, if you started sluggishly or not scored as well as you wanted to, you would have had a, I won't call it a temper problem, bring visions in the head, but an inpatient problem, maybe?

RYAN PALMER: Definitely not temper. You play well the first day you come out and you want to keep it. You constantly go, am I in the lead, tied for the lead, how close am I, that's in the past.

Like I told you yesterday I didn't think about it yesterday. When I got to the golf course today I was even par. That's all I thought about. I'm even par for the day, time to go play golf today and that was it. I think it's starting to set in how calm I am and relaxed because that's all I think about is just today's round.

You can say I take each shot at a time, but I'm just playing golf today, that's all I thought about. You know I got in trouble, I just hit some great recovery shots.

Q. What was your best one?

RYAN PALMER: Probably on 13, hit a great tee shot. 13, smoked a tee shot through the fairway, and I had to punch a 7 iron kind of below some trees and actually it was rolling, almost going in the left bunker, it caught the rough and kind of kicked it back to 12, 15 feet.

Q. Back left?

RYAN PALMER: Back left there, and I got a very fortunate there. I just hit two good shots on 14, made birdie and hit a great tee shot on 16.

Q. What was your line there, did you have good wind with you there on 16?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, I hit a 5 wood perfect. I thought I hit it too far left but it flew through the fairway just far enough and had 120 to the hole.

Q. Who did you play with today?

RYAN PALMER: Steve Lowery and Carl Pettersson. It was fun because me and Carl, when you get a guy playing good that's up there, it kind of keeps you going. It was a great 3 some I had.

Q. The mindset you have, it came from the program from reading about Zach?

RYAN PALMER: I was wrong there because I read it over to make sure, I think I read it in the newspaper. I could have dreamt it. I don't know.

Q. Is that where all of this came from or were you working on that before?

RYAN PALMER: No, I came out here just anxious to get it going. It might have been in the paper one or two mornings this week. Like I said, I don't think I dreamed it because it was so clear. I thought about it. I know I read it, okay, I'm sorry. It wasn't in the program because I read the program again. These guys probably think I'm crazy. I did read an article. It was great.

Like I said, after yesterday's round, I went and had dinner and today I woke up and I was even par. I didn't think about yesterday's round at all and where I stood. I came out relaxed and excited to play here.

Q. Has that been a problem in the past?

RYAN PALMER: I think so. You come out after a good round, you want to stay up there. If you get loose and somebody gets in the lead, and you start thinking about it, and you want to be up there, and that's when you start pressuring yourself.

I never once got it under pressure. I never once thought about Allenby shot 3 under, I better get to 8. I just never thought about it. And then I finished great to sneak in there ahead of him.

It's overwhelming, exciting, first tournament of the year to be feeling this good. I'm just excited for what tomorrow holds.

Q. Did you come from behind at Ginn?

RYAN PALMER: Actually, I had a 2 or 3 shot lead through the turn on Sunday. I think I was one back going into Sunday. And then I actually had a 2 or 3 shot lead through the turn at Ginn. Then I had a penalty on myself on 10 and a double on 11.

Q. Did you fall back or come back?

RYAN PALMER: I was behind like two shots, got within a shot tied for the lead going into the last hole and I then made birdie.

Q. Chad Campbell has talked in the past this course is kind of similar to Colonial in some ways he thinks, do you feel that at all?

RYAN PALMER: Very much so. I think the trees at Colonial are more full a little bit bigger. You probably have to hit a few more tee shots at Colonial. But this course is old school, all doglegs. It probably helps a little playing Colonial as much as do I. I'm able to see a lot more shots on this golf course than do I at Colonial. When you can visualize a shot you hit so many times, and you get up there, it makes it a little bit more easier on your mind, and you are able to free swing it and pull a shot that needs to be hit.

Q. What's your lowest at Colonial?

RYAN PALMER: I think I shot 62 last year in the second round, I think.

Q. What about in the big game?

RYAN PALMER: 64, I guess. I have made three 2's.

Q. It's a lot of pressure?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, these guys get too many shots. I made 3 in one day. I was pretty pumped.

Q. Can you talk about what you have to do here, just like what you have to do at Colonial to play well here?

RYAN PALMER: I think here, if you can keep the ball in front of you a lot more. I haven't hit many fairways in the last two days, but I'm able to put the ball in position around the green. And this course gives you some little help in being able to run the ball up on the greens, so if you miss a few fairways you can play the square you are going to get out of the rough to be able to run the ball up on the green and still give yourself a chance to have a putt.

Here, it's just putting. These greens are tough. When you get certain downhill, down grain putts you are putting down a sheet of glass. If you keep the ball below the hole and in front of you, a lot of times you are going to have some success here.

Q. Did you say you made birdie on 14?

RYAN PALMER: No, 15. I get 13, 14, 15 mixed up. 14 was a great recovery shot.

Q. What's the story on that one?

RYAN PALMER: That's the when I hit through the fairway and hit the 7 iron that ran. That was 14, sorry. The putt I hit on 15, was a 15 footer downhill, hit it just perfect. One of those putts that make you just kind of giggle.

Q. You are still giggling?

RYAN PALMER: Still am.

JOHN BUSH: Go ahead and go through the rest of those.

RYAN PALMER: I hit a 3 wood off the tee, which I decided to do. I hit one of the best knockdown 7 irons I've ever hit to about three feet. I thought I made it.

The birdie on 11 was a 5 iron probably about 10, 12 feet, left of the hole.

The birdie on 15 was about a 15 footer.

I hit a great rescue off the tee and hit an 8 iron to about 15 feet there.

17, was just a nice solid full 8 iron for me and hit about 12 feet left of the pin.

My fun tee shot on 18, I love, because I can get up and sling it so I hit a big old hooker on there, hit an 8 iron on the front right and had a great 2 putt from 30 or 40 feet. A pretty steady round.

Q. How old are you, Ryan?

RYAN PALMER: 33.

Q. So tomorrow you start even par again?

RYAN PALMER: I am.

Q. You are 9 shots behind.

(Laughter.)

RYAN PALMER: Yes, same thing. I was telling James, it's kept me calm. You get so wrapped up with where you're at. I'm not going to lie, I will be thinking about it. It's hard not to. I'm not going to sit here and say, I'm not going think about being in the lead, no way. Who doesn't think about it when they tee off on Saturday, final group, so it will be there. I just keep the same mindset. I'll just go play golf today, shooting par, and if I can go play a round of golf and see what happens. Play a solid round, shoot a couple under par and see where I stand. That's the way I'm going to try to take it tomorrow.

I'm sure there will be times where I get a little anxious, nervous maybe a little on the first shot, but I just keep my patients and stay patient all day, I will have a good day.

Q. You don't even look at the leaderboard?

RYAN PALMER: I do. I won't lie. I do. I try to see where friends are standing, obviously Chad. It's nice when you get paired with him. It's been a good day together. I keep an eye on it. It's hard not to. For me it is. I won't have to worry about where I stand, or if I'm leading or not leading.