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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 15, 2014Denny McCarthyJOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA PETE KOWALSKI: We are pleased to welcome Denny McCarthy from Rockville, Maryland, 3 & 2 winner over Roman Robledo in the quarterfinals, and he is the last to come into the media center of the 2014 U.S. Amateur semifinalists. Congratulations on your great play. You've played a lot of U.S. Amateurs, this is your sixth, and you've made it to a really good stage here. How does that feel? COREY CONNERS: It feels pretty good. I haven't been on the best end of the U.S. Amateur. Has not been too kind to me in the past but that's all in the past. I've put it in the past and kind of just focused on what I'm doing right now at this moment, and that's my semifinal match tomorrow against Corey Conners. PETE KOWALSKI: The last couple of matches, you said you've had to come from behind, and here, you've put the pedal to the metal pretty quickly. You were 3-up after five holes. Tell us what happened there. COREY CONNERS: Yeah, the first four holes here are really holes you need to get by. In the stroke play when I played in my round, I thought if I could get by the first four holes at even par, I would be gaining a couple shots on the field. Kind of the same mentality for match play, really. Got some beast of a hole on 2 and 3, and 4 is a really tough par 3. So I believe I played them even par today, which you're going to be up in most matches you play and those are just really tough holes, like I said. Then got to 5, the par 5 after that, played that hole well. I feel every time after walking off 4 that my opponent is going to make birdie on 5, so I feel like I need to make birdie on 5, as well. It's worked out a couple of times where my opponent has not made birdie and I have made birdie, and so that's increased my lead a little bit. But I think that mind-set has really helped me the first four or five holes. Q. Did you feel like you had your best stuff out there today? COREY CONNERS: I hit the ball well. I didn't drive it as well as I have been. I leaked a couple right. Lost one left. But I really haven't made any putts. I've made a lot of pars. I've given myself a lot of looks on the greens in good spots. I just haven't really made the putts. Some of the matches, I haven't really had to; just kind of lag them and 2-putt them. But I think if I make a couple putts tomorrow, I'll be in good shape. Q. What has made this U.S. Amateur different for you from the millions of others you've played? COREY CONNERS: This is my sixth one, like I said. I feel pretty old saying that; I'm still 21. I don't know, I just feel much more comfortable. This is the first time where I really stepped on the first tee and haven't really had that nervous or doubting feeling. I've stepped up on the first tee feeling really comfortable with my game and my ability to go out and execute shots. So I'm really just focused on my match tomorrow, like I said. I can't do anything about the past U.S. Ams, just focused on this one. Q. How old were you? You were an embryo when you first played? COREY CONNERS: I guess 15 or 16, I think I was going to be a sophomore in high school or something. I was pretty young. Q. Obviously if you can figure something out then, you have to feel so much more prepared for this. COREY CONNERS: I do. My wedge game, especially, has evolved. I think that's huge; inside 150 yards, my game has gotten so much better, even the last couple years. My matches, when I'm inside 150 yards, I'm looking to take dead aim. I've picked pretty conservative targets but making aggressive swings to those and it's worked out well for me. And I've given myself a lot of good looks, so I think if I keep doing that, I'll put pressure on my opponent and I think it will work out. Q. I know you had some family and friends drive in over the night; did you feel the support out there, or did you feel like a an underdog again? COREY CONNERS: No, I definitely felt the support. My uncle and three of his kids drove through the middle of the night last night. He said he would drive down for the finals but I knew if I reached to this point, I knew they would come down. He did it when I made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior, I don't even know how long ago that was, and a couple other friends from my club drove down. Definitely took a little off me, just seeing them relaxed helped me relax before the round and get some smiles and laughs in. Definitely made me feel more comfortable. Q. You'll be playing tomorrow a guy who has been in his second semifinal. Do you and Corey have much of a history? I guess you can't say experience is going to be a factor one way or the other here. COREY CONNERS: Yeah, I think I've played with him once in a college tournament maybe a couple years ago I think in the fall. I don't really know him too well. Obviously I know he's a great player. So I'm going to have to come tomorrow and really be ready to play. Q. If you faced your 16-year-old self today, what would the score be today? COREY CONNERS: I think I would kick his butt. Q. 8 & 7? COREY CONNERS: I don't know. I had some fight in me back then, too. I have some fight in me now, but my game is definitely much better now. It's more just all-around better game and I think I have a little bit more of a level head. I think I had a little bit of a temper back then. I think I'm a little more relaxed now; I'd like to think so. Q. What was the toughest moment out there for you today? COREY CONNERS: Probably second hole, I have a 1-up through one lead, and he's in the back bunker and I'm on the front fringe and looking to go 2-up through two, and he holds the bunker shot and I lip out my putt, and now we're even. So that's a pretty big swing right off the bat, even though it's early in the match and still a lot of holes. Still a huge swing, 2-up through two compared to even through two. So that was a pretty big point. I still played the holes, like I said, it's a hard stretch, three and four, and I played those holes well to maintain my lead. I wasn't too worried about it. Obviously it was a pretty big swing early in the match, but I knew there was still a lot of holes left. Q. What were your expectations this week? COREY CONNERS: I don't think I really had any expectations really. It was nice to get the monkey off my back just getting past the first round. And then from there, I guess it's just seeing how far you can go. Just keep grinding and keep focusing on my next opponent. Q. Your relatives that drove down, are they from -- COREY CONNERS: They're from Maryland. They drove ten hours through the night. PETE KOWALSKI: Denny, thanks so much. Congratulations and well played. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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