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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 8, 2014Ryan PalmerLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY KELLY ELBIN: Ryan Palmer is tied for the lead at this point in the second round of the 96th PGA Championship. Ryan shot 1‑under par 70 today, 7‑under for the championship, tied currently with Rory McIlroy. Ryan, nice playing again. Talk, please, about some tough conditions out there, certainly, and how you feel being tied for the lead at this point. RYAN PALMER: Yeah, feels great, I mean, to be sitting here at 7‑under through two rounds obviously. But yeah, it was tough when we teed off. Wasn't quite sure if we should have teed off to be honest with you, you could barely see the fairway. It was tough for when we got to 1 green, we couldn't get a clean lie with the Sandy water, so they couldn't even squeegee it clear enough. We were able to wait for a while. But the first three holes are definitely tough as far as the rain goes. I was using both rain gloves I had. Thank you for my short game on the front side, for sure. I was able to have a lot of great up‑and‑downs, and turned at 1‑under and then hit a few good shots on the back. Just kind of struggled there midway through the back nine. James told me, just hit the last three fairways, walking to 16 tee, and let's take what we get. I was able to hit great shots coming in and birdied the last two holes. Great feeling. It's nice to go relax this afternoon sitting at 7‑under going into the weekend. KELLY ELBIN: Four birdies, three bogeys. Would you mind going through those, please? RYAN PALMER: Hit a great drive on 7. Had about 250 to the hole and smoked a 3‑wood and one hopped it over and chipped up to about three feet for birdie. Then hit the wrong club on 8. Hit in the back bunker on 8 and missed a pretty miserable par putt from six feet. Hit a great wedge on 9 to four feet. From there, 12, I hooked it left in the rough and had to lay up. Almost made a good 15‑footer for par, and then had to punch out on 15 and ended up 2‑putting for bogey. I had a great 7‑iron on 17 to about 12 feet. Then I had about 220 on 18 to hit a nice 4‑iron to 18 feet and 2‑putt for birdie. Q. You said you were a little surprised you teed off. Were mud balls an issue at all throughout the round? RYAN PALMER: Not necessarily mud balls. We were questioning in the fairway on 1 why we had to hit into a puddle because 1 was already underwater. We were questioning why we have to hit a second shot into a green that's already half in standing water. They said, that's just golf. We're like, tell the guy indoors that's making the decision to come check it out, because it's wet. When we got to the green, sure enough, it was casual water all over the green. They tried squeegeeing it and they couldn't even do that for my line. Ended up sitting up there for 45 minutes in the tower with the volunteers taking pictures of all the water. Fortunately it lightened up like they said it would and we were able to continue. Q. In 2010 you made a really good run at trying to make that Ryder Cup Team and came up short, and you played well in the Playoffs I think. How much did that motivate you now, not making that team? RYAN PALMER: It's always motivational, motivation to make that team, especially when you get the phone call at 11:00 at night saying sorry. I'll just let it happen if it happens again and not really stress on it or worry about it. I've had some chances this year to move up a lot. I think I've been inside the Top‑30 all year long as far as The Ryder Cup standings but never really got close enough to really taste it I guess. But obviously you come in knowing this week if you win, you're in, so that's in the back of your mind. I kind of just let that take care of itself. Maybe if I don't win, I play well and then go play well at the Playoffs, who knows, maybe I'll get a little look at. Q. Doesn't appear that any of the morning players were able to go real low. What is your expectation about whether minus seven can hold up, or where do you expect to be at the end of the day? RYAN PALMER: Depends what the rain does. If it stops raining and they get clear weather, you're going to see a couple guys shoot 2‑ or 3‑under. Even par is a good score, because the course is long and the ball is not rolling in the fairways. I hammered a drive on 16 and had 212 still. That's long, because it's as soft as it is. I was glad to shoot under par. That's all I could ask for today. You know, we'll go hang out at the house and see where we stand at the end of the day. Q. When it's really wet like that, what's the hardest part about it, and how do you keep a good attitude about it? RYAN PALMER: The hardest part for me is I get a little quick. I think that's the hardest thing is the tendency to get fast. With me, it's my legs a little bit more. But the key is to kind of slow down a little bit more, maybe hit a little more club and try to swing a little slower and slow your tempo down a lot. It's hard when the rain is coming down and you're constantly trying to keep your grip dry; you're waiting for it to slip and you never know when it's going to slip. That's the hardest part. Trying to stay positive, stay patient, knowing that everybody is playing in it. You've just got to limit your mistakes and try not to make the big number as much as possible. Then, you know, take your medicine; if you have to hit it 40 feet from the hole, do it and rely on your putter. That's kind of what I did today a little bit more and I was able to survive for sure. Q. Does it cross your mind that you're 36 holes way from something that's really a career‑changing event, or sort of how do you manage being in this position in a tournament of this magnitude? RYAN PALMER: Yeah, I find myself out there, the mind wanders when you get up there and see your name and you start thinking about it. I've been very good to quickly correct myself and say, no, this shot, quit doing that and just go hit this one shot. Then I kind of forget about it. It's in the back of your mind, for sure. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. All I can do is come out and keep doing what I've been doing. I have a pretty good track record when I've played well on Thursday and Friday coming into the weekend. So I'm going to rely on past experiences when I've been up towards the lead or leading going into Saturday, and just keep the same game plan James and I have and just keep attacking as much as possible. Q. I think you told Randy earlier in the week that you felt like this golf course set up well for you. What is it about the golf course; how the holes move or how fast the greens were? RYAN PALMER: It looked good. I've never seen it before. On each tee, I can visualize what I want to do. I took a lot of good notes, more than I've ever taken before, coming into the event. I actually wrote them down, which is shocking (laughs). And then Randy, the work we did around the greens and with my short game; only advice he gave me was on Wednesday, he said, you're ready. That set in pretty good. It's been good. KELLY ELBIN: What was it that caused you to take more notes coming in this week than any previous event. RYAN PALMER: Just when I got on each tee box, I had an idea. I had a game plan. That way you're not on the tee box, well, what do you think, should we hit 3‑wood or driver. Looking back, I told myself, hit driver every day. I've got a target in mind, and just hit it. And I'm not second guessing tee boxes, whether to hit a 5‑wood, 3‑wood, or driver. If it's a driver, hit it. That's kind of what I talked to James about. I'm able to go a little more‑‑ James and Randy are telling me all week, during Tuesdays and Wednesdays, if I was struggling with a driver, they would tell me, try to hit this through the fairway, knowing it's 400 yards away, but try and hit it through the fairway. It's amazing when you let it go and be aggressive, how good you pull a shot off. Q. When you say that you get quick in the rain, is that literally a function of you wanting to get the swing over with just because it's unpleasant out there, or what is that? RYAN PALMER: No, a lot of it, your backswing shortens up a little bit more. Plus you've got a jacket on. I guess you're wondering if your hands are wet or if it's going to slip. I guess you just tend to want to force it more than you should, and that's what happens. My backswing gets a little short and then I don't complete it enough when I get in rainy conditions. I was able to limit my mistakes today and survive out there. So hopefully we can have some good weather on the weekend and won't have to deal with it, but we'll see. Q. Are there certain players you consider to have an advantage in this weather, guys that you expect to play well? RYAN PALMER: I don't know if you can really pick a player that this guy plays good in the rain; this guy plays good in the wind. Rory is the guy to beat, I'll be honest with you. I think a guy that hits it a long way, that carries it a long way, especially with this rain and this softness has a little bit of an advantage because you're hitting shorter irons into the greens. I guess you can look at it‑‑ then you have Steve Stricker out there playing well, and he's not one of the long hitters out here, he's one of the best putters obviously. I can't pinpoint which guy plays better in the rain, which guy doesn't. It's hard to say. KELLY ELBIN: Ryan Palmer tied for the lead at this point in the PGA Championship. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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