U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 1997

Roger Tambellini

ROGER TAMBELLINI: -- 67. Let's see, started on 10, made a good up-and-down on 10 for par. Birdied. Hit it like 2 feet on 11, made birdie.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Hit sand wedge from 96 yards. 12, made par. Made pars all the way until 16. Birdied 16. Made a 40-footer on 17 for birdie.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: 16, I hit a 6-iron to about 10 feet, and then hit 7-iron into 17, way left off the green actually and drained it. Hit 2-iron to about 8 feet on 1 and made it. Then I parred 2 and missed a 4-footer, 3-footer on 3. And then made a good 4-footer on 4 for par. Then made an 8-footer on 5 for birdie. And then hit 2-iron to about 12 feet below the hole on 6, made birdie. Then parred, made a good up-and-down on 8. Hit it over the green and got it up-and-down off the back bunker into about 6 inches and made a 2-footer, 3-footer for par on 18.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: 5 -- what's 5? -- oh, hit sand wedge in. I hit 3-wood -- or I hit driver in the rough and then 7-iron into the right rough again, then hit wedge to about 8 feet.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: The bogey was a 3, yeah. Hit the green and 3-putted, missed about a 3- or 4-footer.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: On my second-to-last hole in qualifying and then made par on the -- made like a 6-footer, just barely trickled in on the first playoff hole to stay in it. And then Ray Conrad and I played the 2nd hole, and we both missed for par. And then I birdied the third playoff hole and made like a 6-footer for birdie, and I was in.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, I really did. Actually, the couple practice rounds, I wasn't hitting it that well. I was hitting everything way right. Made a couple adjustments out on the range yesterday and the day before, and I was hitting my draw again. I usually hit a draw and started hitting a fade. And I was actually playing okay with the fade, but I didn't really like it in the draw, so I started hitting the draw today and hit it farther and a lot more solid. Hit a lot of solid shots today pretty straight. Hit a lot on the back 9. My front 9, hit maybe five, six shots inside 10 feet and missed, you know, three of them, or it felt that way anyway. Hit a lot of really good shots and missed it. I mean, it could have been 64 or 5 if everything went my way.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah. I played with Jason Gore on the practice round, and I remember he was talking about how bad he hit it in one of the practice rounds, actually at our tournament, the USC tournament, and he won the tournament. And I remember just absolutely scraping it around with him, hitting it so horrible, but feeling confident. Hitting it horrible even and then I -- I was like, you know, this is going to happen. I was really confident that I was going to play well.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, he won our host -- we host the college tournament, and he -- I remember playing with him in the practice round there. He was playing horrible. I remember hearing later that he told his dad, "I'm going to win this week." And he was telling me this story again, which I already knew, and I'm thinking, you know, the same thoughts. He played -- I saw he played well today. He shot 68 or something.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: North Ranch.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Play bad on the range and play bad in the practice rounds.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, it really was. I mean, all the greens were, you know, you could fire at it 2-iron, right at the stick, and they would stop within a couple feet. I had one shot release on No. 4. I think it was -- hit 7-iron and it hit maybe 10-feet long and released 30-feet long. But other than that, you could fire 2-iron at the stick really. The only tough part was the drives were coming back. You would hit a drive and then it would come back to you a foot or so.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, it was playing really long. And I kind of like, you know, skies like this, and the temperature is just perfect.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah. I think if you come here thinking you're not capable of winning, you're stupid for being here, I think. But, I mean, along with 300 other guys, I think, are thinking that they're capable of winning. Yeah, I definitely think I'm capable of winning. I had my first good match-play tournament, I'd say a few weeks ago, at the Public Links or two months ago, I guess. Month and a half ago, won a three match and got to the quarter finals. I never won any matches in match-play tournaments. That's good to have behind me now.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, mentally, match play is -- it's not necessarily harder, it's just different. You've got to be -- well, it might be harder. You've got to be tougher I think in the head. I mean, if you -- I think match play is a big putting game, too, if you can make all your 4-footers and you make the other guy, you know, think, jeez, this guy is unshakeable. I feel like that's a strong part in my game really right now is putting, so....

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, I definitely think so. To have success, I mean, in anything, you know, really, you have to have experience doing it and being successful at it, I think. So I think winning a few matches earlier in the year could help me a lot.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, in match play, you really have to play like it's you against the course, but it's so easy to see -- it's so easy to make it so it's you against the other player instead of you against the course like it is in stroke play. In stroke play, it, you know, more of the game is you against the course. But in match play, the other person comes into play a lot more than -- in stroke play, you don't know what anyone else is doing so you go out and play your game, but in match play, it's really easy to get into somebody else's game.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah. I think definitely the 2 course is a lot easier. I was thinking yesterday like five shots easier, but actually maybe now -- maybe because I played well, maybe because I just changed my point of view, I don't know -- maybe like three shots or so, but I definitely think 4 is a lot, lot tougher. Two, you can kind of hit it anywhere and kind of scrape it around and shoot par better really, I think. I don't know. I don't know if that sounds cocky. I don't mean it to be, but.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah, in your pocket.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah. Now I kind of have confidence on that course. I mean, I like the course a lot, and I can't believe how -- it's in pretty good shape after all the rain that we've had in the last couple days. They did a good job of squeegeeing or whatever they did. I think it's definitely a lot harder, a lot longer. I mean, you're hitting wedges all day on 2, and I think you're hitting like -- No. 10, I think, is the hardest hole out there, and you're hitting 5-iron in or 4-iron in. I mean, I hit so many 2-irons today.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: No, Rudy Duran is, a friend from home.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: I just played two practice -- I just played one on the 2 course and one on the 4 course.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Yeah.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Ryuji Inada. I haven't played well in my last match that I played there. I think I was even par something. Ryuji just took it deep. He was like 6-under through 13 holes or something.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: No, he didn't, not at all. He didn't miss a putt, and he hit every wedge I think he had inside a foot. I mean, I've never seen a better wedge display than that guy. I mean, he has some game.

ROGER TAMBELLINI: Exactly.