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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 11, 2014Jimmy BeckJOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA Q. So I'd like to welcome Jimmy Beck from Columbus, Georgia. Recent graduate? JIMMY BECK: One more year. Q. One more year at Kennesaw State. So we've got a good day of local guys playing very well at the U.S. Amateur in your backyard. Jimmy, you shot 6-under today on arguably the hardest golf course of the two in your backyard, basically, on a pretty darn big national stage. Tell us about how that 6-under par round feels? JIMMY BECK: It feels so good. I've been playing well coming into this, and just to see putts fall, continue to fall and just hit it where you want to hit it, it's a good feeling. So today I didn't really have any expectations for today or for the week. I was just really trying to have fun and end the summer right, and what better way to do it than right here in Georgia? Q. How much have you played out here, and if so what kind of advantage does it give you this week? JIMMY BECK: Really the first time was in high school about four years ago in the tournament here, but I'll tell you that experience was nothing like this. The course is completely different. I think they had just put in the brand-new greens here. I might be wrong, but I remember the winds were just brutal that day, so I think I shot low 80s. So any and all experience from that was kind of all negative. Coming up here, seeing the course Friday, Saturday and Sunday was really the first time, again, I would say. Q. Between and you Vick, you probably have a pretty good best ball over at Kennesaw State. How do you think you're representing the school that's not as high profile as some of the others? JIMMY BECK: Right. It's exciting. We're very proud to do it. Austin's a really good friend of mine. We've been roommates for three years, so we're really good buddies. We were actually hoping that two more of us could have played that were first alternates, but unfortunately didn't get that chance. But, yeah, it's fun to come out here and experience this with him. It's been fun. Q. Talking to your coach, you might not be the longest guy off the tee, but you've got an amazing iron game. Looking ahead to Match Play if you get there, it looks like it may be an advantage for you. Do you see it the same way? JIMMY BECK: I do. I think for Highlands, especially, the golf course sets up for me because a lot of the fairway bunkers are out of reach. So that generally plays to my hand, so all I have to do is keep hitting fairways and from there, it's just an iron game. With where my game is right now, I'm comfortable with that. So as long as the putts keep falling, it will be exciting to see how far I can take it. Q. Highlights of the round? What got you going? JIMMY BECK: Really the two quick birdies. I birdied 2 and 3. To start off, I was just hoping I'd make a few pars, get it going and see where my game's at. Just trying to keep the big numbers out of it. So to make those two birdies was pretty good, especially on two with how long it was. So I think I would say No. 2 was definitely the highlight of my round I guess. Q. What was it to that hole? JIMMY BECK: Yeah, off the tee I can't remember. I think I had 240 left, so that's about a 280-yard drive. From there it was just 2-hybrid, and I hit it about as perfect as I could, and left myself eight feet straight up the hill, so couldn't ask for anything better. Q. That's really an eagle, right? That's usually a par-5. JIMMY BECK: Usually, yeah, exactly. Q. How much confidence do you feel right now? JIMMY BECK: I'm really confident. I just came off a second place finish in the Georgia Open, shot some really good numbers even for me out there at a home course. It seems like putts have been falling in these past few weeks, even to qualify for here when I co-medaled at Great Waters, things are just clicking. It's good to see it's still flowing, so, yeah. Q. Did you take a look at the leaderboard at all during the round? Did you know where you were? JIMMY BECK: No, I didn't see any out there. I don't know if I'm just looking in the wrong places or whatnot, but I kind of had an idea of where I was. In tournaments like these you can never be too sure. You can never think you're in the lead, so that's kind of how I always think about it. You're probably still behind. You need to still make birdies. Going into tomorrow, it's kind of the same mindset. There is going to be someone who is going to challenge where I'm at, so I just have to keep on playing how I'm playing. Q. Does it matter where you finish in the hierarchy there of 64 to get to Match Play or do you really care about containing them? JIMMY BECK: It would be nice to win, but I've been telling people all along my main goal and focus is to make it to Match Play. So no matter how high I finish, once you get to Match Play, it's a different game so it doesn't really matter what you had shot. It's one hole at a time and just a completely different game. Q. I know this isn't a college tournament, but what is it about golf that allows Kennesaw State to beat schools like SEC, ACC, and recently we've seen a champion come from the ACC? JIMMY BECK: Right. There are so many good golfers at this level. It doesn't matter. Even if you go down to D-II especially with where we're at in our program, we're able to play top-notch tournaments. We're able to play against those SEC and ACC schools and compete against the best. I know a good number of guys that are at the top of the ranks. Yeah, it's always fun to experience an atmosphere like this. Q. Are you aware of the whole Jones thing here, the history deal? Is that a big deal to you? JIMMY BECK: It is. He's a very honorable man in the state of Georgia. When I won the State Am, that's the first name that stuck out to me. To even be associated with his name is just something in itself. But, yeah, I didn't realize how big he was to this club until actually coming here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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