U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 1998

Tom McKnight

TOM McKNIGHT: I'm just glad to be here. It's been a wonderful week. I've had two of my sons with me most of the time, one son has gone back, still have the other one caddying for me. It's been a great experience.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes, Jay has gone home, and my wife and daughter are still at home.

TOM McKNIGHT: I don't know if my memory is that good.

TOM McKNIGHT: I hit a poor drive up in the rough. If you get in the rough on any of these holes it's in trouble. I caught a tree coming out, Sean had a good shot. I hit a good chip to save bogey, and Sean made par to win the hole.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes, Sean had a tough chip shot, and ended up making bogey. I think I birdied the next hole. I birdied 4. I hit a lot of good shots there. I hit it up a couple of feet for birdie. And Sean made it from all over the place, all the way across the green at 5. I had a good putt for birdie, and we're back to even again.

TOM McKNIGHT: Every bit of it.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yeah, that's another -- it's a good hole, if you hit it out of the fairway it's in trouble. And Sean hit it in the left rough. And I hit two good shots in there, and went with a par.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes, I had a decent birdie putt. And Sean made bogey there. And won with a par.

TOM McKNIGHT: Did I birdie ten? Where did I hit it? I can't remember. Oh, yeah, I did. I hit two good shots there, about 15, 18 feet to the left of the hole. And made a good putt there. And that was a real -- I thought that was a good, keyhole to win. The next hole I felt like I had a good shot in there close. And Sean made a great up-and-down, and I failed to make my birdie putt.

TOM McKNIGHT: On 10, I think I was maybe 165, and hit -- I don't know if I hit a 6 or 7-iron. I think I hit a 7-iron.

TOM McKNIGHT: He had two very good shots there. And I hit my tee shot in the edge -- in the first cut of the rough. I actually hit a pretty good shot, but once it hit the green it took off and he made a good birdie there.

TOM McKNIGHT: Sean hit it in trouble there. And I hit it -- I had a good putt for birdie. And he was already --

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes, it was up against a tree root and bounced up and ended up going in the water.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yeah, I hit it on the front of the green and 2-putted and Sean left his second approach shot short and didn't get it up-and-down.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yeah, that was probably the only real bad swing I made all day. I got sloppy. I was in between clubs and tried to hit an easy 6-iron, but it was probably a 7-iron shot. He didn't get his up-and-down, and that was it.

TOM McKNIGHT: Not really. From the first hole on this golf course, there's really no letup. You have to -- you really need to hit the ball in the fairway, and you just -- it can jump up and grab you at all times. Once you get it in the rough you're in a pretty tough situation. If you hit fairways and greens, of course, that's like any golf course, I wouldn't say there's any stretch harder than the others, they're all tough holes for the course.

TOM McKNIGHT: It's great. It's great that there are a lot of people out here, really. There have been a lot more people at this amateur than other amateurs in the past that I can recall. And it's been great. And allowing the people to come on the course, sometimes they may be in your way, but to me that's the fun of it. I think it's great for the spectators. Some of that you have to watch and wave them out of your way and go on. But you have to expect that.

TOM McKNIGHT: As far as people?

TOM McKNIGHT: I played in front of Tiger or behind Tiger, I guess, at probably one of his first amateurs, at Muirfield. And everybody was talking about this guy named Tiger Woods. And you could tell then he was going to be something special. But everybody wants to see Tiger.

TOM McKNIGHT: Well, I think -- I thought that I could come this far, yes. Whether I would or not -- I've thought it before, and hadn't gotten here. I'm sure a lot of people think they're going to get there. I've played well in a lot of tournaments. I play in a lot of national-type tournaments, in the biggest amateur tournaments in the country, and done that several years and played well. I've struggled in the amateurs getting very far, it's been frustrating, but it's nice to be here this time. It's great.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes. In Richmond Virginia I was six under par.

TOM McKNIGHT: Well, today was pretty nice for my play. It's just a great golf course. Obviously, I'm not -- I'm not some of these other guys that absolutely kill the ball. I'm going to be playing 30, 40, 50 yards behind some of these guys. But I would prefer the fairways be a little fast, but they're not, you just play with what's there. I'm pretty straight, some of the other guys might not be quite as straight. You have to play your own game, and you have to be careful in these tournaments to not play the other guy, because you start watching him play and forget about your own game. But if you play the golf course, anything is possible out here.

TOM McKNIGHT: It's fun. It's great. You really don't pay any attention to them, except when they walk out in front of you. But it's great being out with a lot of people watching. I've played in front of people before, so that's not nothing new, but I think that's part of the fun. If it wasn't for the thrill of the competition, and the playing, and things like this, I wouldn't play.

TOM McKNIGHT: Not really. I heard them roar on one hole, and I said: I haven't even hit, and they're yelling. Of course they were a hole over. We had quite a few people following us around. There were quite a few, there were just a lot more back there.

TOM McKNIGHT: I've known Sean for several years. And I don't know that we've -- we've played somewhere, and I know we've played somewhere along the way, I don't recall exactly when or where. We've never played headup in matchplay. But we have played together, and I've known him for quite a few years, we're good friends.

TOM McKNIGHT: I'd like to go out and beat whoever I'm playing, who that might be I don't know, and whatever their credentials are, that's theirs. Of all the people here, I probably knew -- out of 300 people I bet I knew a hundred of them from playing them before. And Garcia, I don't know. I know he's got a great reputation, and I heard about him a couple of years ago. Look out for this kid, he's going to be great, and obviously he is. But a lot of these other guys I've played with and known for several years, playing in these tournaments.

TOM McKNIGHT: I'm 44, and I want to win tomorrow. (Laughter.)

TOM McKNIGHT: No.

TOM McKNIGHT: I'm a gasoline and fuel distributor.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yes, I was when I -- I went to the University of Virginia and graduated in '76 and turned pro for about -- I guess between three and four years. And played on many Tours, and went overseas, came back, got my amateur status back, and started playing amateur golf I think in '84. I've been playing tournaments since.

TOM McKNIGHT: I had to wait three years. I applied for my amateur status maybe back in 1980, by the time I got back the '83 season was through or whatever, but it was '84 before I started playing anything again.

TOM McKNIGHT: I guess the farthest was in the third round at Muirfield.

TOM McKNIGHT: Third round a couple of times.

TOM McKNIGHT: David Parker and Keith Decker.

TOM McKNIGHT: I missed getting my PGA card, and I didn't want to continue playing the minute I Tours. And at the time I really felt if I hung in there maybe I could make it, but there was a good opportunity for a family business at home. I was starting a family. I thought the timing was good for me to go back. And I thought about trying it again, but then the year after that, and I was playing in a basketball league over the winter and broke my arm. And they told me I might not ever play again, and it wouldn't be the caliber I used to. So I applied for my amateur status back.

TOM McKNIGHT: No, not really. Who knows when you get or something, but I'm not that far away from there now. But at this point, no.

TOM McKNIGHT: My left.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yeah, it's definitely changed my -- the way I swing and play. My arm is very crooked and I can't touch my shoulder, like that is as far as I can go, and I (indicating). But it was funny, I probably quit playing maybe 6 offer 8 months, and when I started back, I hit 150 yard or 60 yard slices, but it took me a while to recover after that. But I'm not complaining now.

TOM McKNIGHT: That would be 1980.

TOM McKNIGHT: Yeah, I got under cut on a layup. The guy never said he was sorry.

TOM McKNIGHT: I fell down and landed on my chin, cut open my chin, and the elbow was does located. And I couldn't get off the floor. There was a guy that played college ball, and he was a doctor on my team, I said please, put this thing in place right now. He said I wouldn't touch that for anything. They had to carry me out on a stretcher, I couldn't get up.

TOM McKNIGHT: Must have, must have (laughter.) We won the game. I don't remember.

TOM McKNIGHT: Right.

TOM McKNIGHT: I've probably been somewhere in the top-10 in the last two or three years or whatever. It's just as far as what that is, yeah.