What they said: Ryan Palmer

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SONY OPEN AT HAWAII: Transcript archive

MARK WILLIAMS: Welcome Ryan Palmer, the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii champion. Your third victory on the PGA TOUR, just give us some thoughts on the day. It was a close battle with Robert and Steve Stricker and a few others down the stretch, and maybe how it compares to a couple of other wins that you've had already.

RYAN PALMER: It's hard to compare. Obviously, the two wins that I had, one when I came back and shot a 62. And of course again, I was one back going in the final round next to the last group. That was the battle when you got 7 guys tied for the lead with five holes to go.

Neither one of them could compare with what I went through today, just emotionally, just how I kept myself in check, and calm, and relaxed. I'm amazed at how calm I was.

I came out today the same motto, the same idea that I had all week, just kept loose.

And playing Robert, we had a good time again, we talked a lot today, which kept me loose too. It was a great battle. Robert deserved just as much as I did to win, but fortunately I am the one that came out on top.

MARK WILLIAMS: You mentioned earlier in the week that you learned something from the program or the newspaper that Zach Johnson, defending

RYAN PALMER: Newspaper, something, it's a mystery now.

MARK WILLIAMS: You took some good notes from that?

RYAN PALMER: I did. What I think I read, which I'm pretty sure I read it, was that I played each day for that day. I played Thursday for Thursday only. I wanted to win today, and James kept saying, go win today, go play the best round today as anybody in the field.

I did that every day. I didn't think about being 11 under when I teed off today. I told myself I was even par. I was just ready to go play golf and I tried to visualize playing some of the holes at Colonial with the guys.

I stepped up on 4, unfortunately made bogey. I told James, I'm going to go birdie 6 at Colonial on that one when I got to 6. That kept me relaxed as well and what a day.

Q. How much did you look the scoreboard on the back 9 and did you look at it like a Match Play situation at all?

RYAN PALMER: I crossed paths with Stricker a couple of times on the hole. I could see the walking scoreboard.

I looked at it. I looked at it the most staying on 17 tee, because I wanted to see if he birdied 18. I knew if me and Robert were tied, I knew one of us, or both of us would birdie 18.

I had a good eye on that on the last two holes. And when I knew he didn't make birdie, it kind of gave me a little relief I guess.

He was the guy to beat I felt, the way he got off to a start, he was playing great, and he was one guy you expected to come out and shoot lights out.

I didn't look too much. I kept calm and relaxed and knew if I kept right around Robert, and just trying to stay under par, I'd be right in the middle of it.

Q. How long of a putt did you have on 18 if you don't hit the pin?

RYAN PALMER: Probably the same as Robert's. It would have gone by ten feet a bit.

Q. It looked like you changed clubs out of the rough. What kind of lie did you have, what did you change to, and how did that shot come out?

RYAN PALMER: On the second shot? I hit a 6 iron first. It was sitting up too good to really catch a flier. That's what we were trying to play for, so I went back to the 5. It obviously didn't jump out like I thought it would. It caught a little bit high on the club face and it didn't come out as hot like Robert's did, obviously, his ball was moving pretty quickly. It came up a little short, and just one of those chips, and the pin got in the way.

Q. Goydos did the exact same thing when he won in '07?

RYAN PALMER: It was a good chip, the green was running against me on the chip shot. It was either to do it fat or do what I did, fortunately I got a good break and hit the best shot in the middle of the pin.

Q. Did you ever go wire to wire before?

RYAN PALMER: No, Nationwide Tour I won New Zealand after Friday. I lead after three days when I won there. Ginn I lead after two days. I was one shot back going into Sunday but other than that, no.

Q. That kind of situation is harder to think just day by day, that you are talking about?

RYAN PALMER: It is. That's what kept me calm, I didn't think about being in the lead or start teeing off as the leader the next day. I just told myself I was even par, let's just go play golf today, try to shoot a round under par and see where we stack up at the end of the day.

Q. Did you think about Tony Romo at all?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, it was a little rough to watch. I still sported the colors. It was a rough morning to watch the football game. I didn't let it bother me. Obviously I came out with a good attitude, excited to play, revenge.

Q. This gets you back in The Masters, any thoughts there?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, that's exciting. Actually I played pretty decent there when I played in '05. I was on top of the leaderboard through half the first round. So it's fun to think about that. But, yes, I'm excited to get back there. If I can give myself a chance to get higher on the world rankings, and give myself in some of the world golf events and a couple of the other Majors maybe.

Q. I heard some people talking on the other holes, do you get a lot of people asking if you are the grandson of Arnold Palmer?

RYAN PALMER: That's daily. Everybody is always asking. That's great. Obviously I'm carrying the name as a legend. It's flattering when people talk about him, and they always ask me.

But I got to break their heart some time and tell them there is no relation.

Q. There were some people out there saying his grandfather (Inaudible)?

RYAN PALMER: Oh, yes, there were people that I talked to before. They've gone on with stories and stories, I just let them go. I don't want to ruin it for them and say, well, there is no relation. I just kind of let them go and say great.

Q. Did you ever meet him?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, great man.

Q. Ryan, did Retief's round today change any of the dynamic of how you were thinking about playing the golf course as you got further into the round? Meaning did you think you needed to attack more?

RYAN PALMER: I'm a pretty aggressive player because of my irons. I watched Robert hit his shot close, and it would ant (phn) me up even more to hit it and pull off a shot again. I didn't do anything different after what he shot.

I obviously knew the scores weren't as high as they've been. I knew if I kept playing I was going to have plenty of birdie opportunities coming down the back 9, and I wasn't going to worry about what Retief finished at. I felt Stricker was the guy to beat and that's kind of what I kept my eye on.

Q. There are a couple of players that talked about the importance, or extra benefit of winning a tournament with Tiger in the field, which you did it at Disney in '04, I got a sense you got more probably out of this one in the way you played the final round, no, being in the last round?

RYAN PALMER: What I got out of this is beyond words. It was a great field. Some of the top world players here. To do it every day, I mean, my bad round was a 2 under par yesterday and played good every day, played solid, consistent. I never once got upset, inpatient. To me, what I did today is probably one of the best rounds of golf I've ever experienced.

Q. You had that bounce back thing going on the back 9?

RYAN PALMER: I did. Usually it's the other way around. Usually it's a birdie then a bogey. No, I did. That's where my whole thought process came in. I never once worried about, if I make a bogey, and then I fought back with a great shot and a great putt.

I kept telling myself, you are still under par, you're still playing good, let's just try to go get a couple of more and see what happens at the end.

Q. It seems like you fought your driver a little bit, but seemed to be able to come up with a good shot after?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, there are some fairways here that are hard to hit. If you want to get close to the green, you got to attack it. And that's where I stood on a lot of tee shots.

I was going to just keep hitting the driver. I knew I was hitting some bunkers and rough. I just kept playing the way I approached it all week. I was hitting my 3 wood good when I needed to hit a fairway. Overall, I didn't hit as many fairways, that many fairways, but I kept hitting greens. That was the key. I hit a lot of greens this week.

Q. That's sort of my point, whenever you did, you kind of found a way to give yourself an opportunity?

RYAN PALMER: Yes, I got away with a few tee shots that ended up in a good spots. I was able to hit some fairway bunker shots, or even out of the rough. I kept the ball in play and hit a lot of greens. I gave myself a lot of opportunities.

Q. Are you nervous? Nervous is not the right word. Tell us what your feeling was as soon as your ball comes off the wedge on the chip?

RYAN PALMER: I knew it was going to land too far, and I thought oh gosh. It was so in line. I didn't think about the distance it was going to go. When I first hit it, I could tell I just caught it thin enough where it was going to release a lot more. It's one of those deals, it bounced on the line and it went my way.

Q. Nobody couldn't tell you didn't read it right?

RYAN PALMER: That's true. Read it great.

Q. If anybody was going to fall down today, we thought it would have been Allenby and his ankle?

RYAN PALMER: That's true. It was hard to stand up after that reaction.

Q. It actually looked Norman on 15 at Augusta in '96?

RYAN PALMER: That's right, I remember that. There were different circumstances, obviously, but yes, I remember that.

Q. Can you give us a recap, your first tournament of the year with grooves, what did you learn this week?

RYAN PALMER: I didn't see a whole lot difference. I did see a lot of shots where I hit some 70 or 80 yard wedges that took a skip and stopped. Instead of skip, stop and spin back. So I felt myself controlling my wedges a little bit more that way.

I think a lot more shots you are going to see higher, spinning, balls sliding up the club face because they're not grabbing as the old grooves were. That's probably why I was able to hit that shot on 16 over the tree, I was able to hit that. That could have helped.

Q. What would you have done last year from that spot with square grooves?

RYAN PALMER: I was far enough back I could have hit it. It was a lob wedge. It wasn't a problem getting over that tree.

Q. I heard Vijay was in a similar spot, probably a little bit closer, and last year might not have been able to pull it off?

RYAN PALMER: It was far enough back. I could have hit a gap wedge over the tree I believe. A lot more difficult with the chipping around the greens. You will see some different roughs which will definitely play affect. The Bermuda here, we will play a thicker rough somewhere. It might be easier than checking it. These Bermuda roughs are so hard to spin a ball any ways and when you put V grooves in there it makes it even worse.

Q. Your bunker shot on is 11, is that groove or sand?

RYAN PALMER: Sand. Very shallow, very thin sand, very hard to get underneath it and go down on it like you want to. It's easy to bounce a club into it.

Q. You just hit that one too hard?

RYAN PALMER: Yes.

Q. Birdies and bogeys.

RYAN PALMER: Let's see, I got to remember the holes now. 3, rescue off the tee, pitching wedge to about 8 feet.

Bogey on 4 was a tough pin placement for me, back right pin with a hybrid, with a right to left wind I hit a pretty decent chip. It just didn't come out right.

5, I hit a great gap wedge to about two feet.

8, hit a great fairway bunker with an 8 iron from about 155, 165, I think to about 8 feet behind the hole.

I hit a great lob wedge from 80 yards on 10 to about five feet.

And then 11, just fairly to get up and down out of the bunker.

12, I hit it in the left fairway bunker again, hit a great pitching wedge to ten feet and made a good put there.

I came back with a bogey from the fairway bunker on 13.

And then 14 bounced back with a great pitching wedge to the back left pinch, which is set up perfect for me to about 10, 12 feet.

And then the pin got in the way on 18.

Q. Ryan, how important a win is this for you?

RYAN PALMER: It's huge. First tournament of the year. My last year of exemption from '08. Curious, I've been fighting the last three years besides Ginn. If you look at my last three years, I had one good tournament and that was the Ginn, fortunately I won it.

What a way to start a year. Now I can go into Bob Hope, where I played well in the past. Now I've got some tournaments to get ready for and get excited about. The pressure is off now. Just go out and enjoy the year.

Q. You weren't in the Player's Championship either, were you?

RYAN PALMER: I was not. I get to go back there as well. Get to go to Masters. What more to say about that.

Q. Bridgestone?

RYAN PALMER: It puts me in the U.S. Open. Second win since U.S. Open, I just realized that. Two wins from U.S. Open to U.S. Open, is that right?

MARK WILLIAMS: I think second win since previous U.S. Open.

Q. Ginn was '08.

RYAN PALMER: Right, sorry.

MARK WILLIAMS: PGA championship though.

RYAN PALMER: Back in the PGA championship, one more win will get me in.

Q. Was your shoulder last year?

RYAN PALMER: Last year, right before. I had it done and five weeks later I was able to play Maui. It was very minor surgery. They just went in and shaved a little bone spur and them removed the bursa sac.

Q. No excuse for finishing 150, that was not a shoulder related issue?

RYAN PALMER: It took a while to get strong to where I felt comfortable with it. I wouldn't say that was the reason I didn't perform well. We had a baby in August. Just one of those years. I won the year before so I guess you could I was lackadaisical with the game sitting back on exemption maybe

Q. Is that two year exemption a big deal, you are good through 12 now?

RYAN PALMER: That's huge, very big now. It's nice knowing that I won a FedExCup event. The other two events come in the fall. Now if you win FedEx, you win an elite tournament, with an elite field. People seem to separate the two with the fall and FedExCup. But now that I won a FedExCup event, that's special.

Q. Do you think this will make you more focused now, get your focus back the rest of the year?

RYAN PALMER: I'm going to keep working hard on my strengthening, keep working with Randy. I think it's going to make me a better player. I will go out with more confidence than I came out with today. And I can take in all five rounds next week. And I think I'm going to give myself a chance again next week because I feel that good about what I am doing.

Q. You are working with Randy?

RYAN PALMER: Smith.