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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 16, 2016

Luis Gagne

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Q. You got into this field Friday?
LUIS GAGNE: Friday night, late Friday night.

Q. What were you doing?
LUIS GAGNE: I was at the beach. I hadn't touched a club in like a week.

Q. Down in Florida somewhere?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, I was in New Smyrna.

Q. Just chilling?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, just hanging out.

Q. And were you a little surprised to get a call or did you know where you were on the allotment list?
LUIS GAGNE: I had no idea at all actually. It didn't even cross my mind at all because I actually booked flights to go back to school yesterday, so my flights were booked and I had no idea.

Q. You were scheduled to go back Monday to school from Florida?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, but then I got in this thing, I woke up early Saturday, went to go practice, flew on a plane at like 5:00 and got here and played Sunday.

Q. Was it easy to get a reservation and all the arrangements made last minute?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, it was a little difficult, but we made it work pretty well.

Q. And you got a practice round in at least?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, on this course.

Q. On the South Course, so you made sure you played the tougher one?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah.

Q. And here you are in match play. You're sitting there tanning on Friday and now you're playing in the match play. Is this your first Amateur?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, tried four years, and three out of the four I missed by one.

Q. Did you try this year in Florida?
LUIS GAGNE: No, I actually tried in Kansas, and they only took one spot, and I shot 7-under and missed by one.

Q. Tough field.
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah. At least I'm here now.

Q. You ended up playing with Sam, which I don't think was originally planned.
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, I was really lucky and I think that helped us both out a lot because we were both super comfortable out there, and it was like we were back at school just playing a qualifying round or something.

Q. Now, you've played in USGA stuff before, correct?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, I've played in two Juniors.

Q. That's it?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah.

Q. Do you think it helped you to come in where you didn't have to think about it for a couple weeks, you just walk out here and start playing?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, that could be -- that's a good point because I got a pretty good summer but then I played the Western and I played good the first day, but the second day I had a really bad day.

Q. Missed the cut?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, and I didn't touch a club until then.

Q. So you basically took a week, week and a half off of not swinging anything, no putts, nothing?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, nothing, and actually put a new putter in my bag this week, too. So Sunday was the first time I ever putted with that.

Q. That obviously worked?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah. It did work.

Q. Were you struggling with your putting?
LUIS GAGNE: No, I just -- I got a putter from Odyssey and I put it in the bag, and it's pretty nice.

Q. Were you rolling it pretty good?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah.

Q. How many putts did you have over the two days?
LUIS GAGNE: I have no idea, but I made a good amount of birdies, I just didn't make a lot of mistakes, which is nice. I think I've had three bogeys both days.

Q. You were born in Costa Rica?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah.

Q. How long did you spend there?
LUIS GAGNE: I moved here when I was four.

Q. Do you know Paul at all?
LUIS GAGNE: No.

Q. Are you an American citizen now?
LUIS GAGNE: I'm a dual citizen.

Q. Are your parents Costa Rican?
LUIS GAGNE: My mom is. My dad is actually from Boston.

Q. I think I read somewhere you once shot a 28 in a high school match?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, that was a lot of fun. That was my last high school match.

Q. What did state tournament?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, I won the state.

Q. What level of class were you in?
LUIS GAGNE: I forget, maybe 2A?

Q. So obviously you're not afraid to go low shooting 28.
LUIS GAGNE: Exactly.

Q. I guess last year you had a little bit of some physical issues?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, in the fall my wrist was hurting a little bit. I didn't play much. I played one tournament and I didn't play the rest of the fall, but then the spring it was hard to get back in the lineup because our team is pretty stacked.

Q. Defending national champs, right?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, but then I finally got in at the Floridian, which is only like an hour and a half from my house, so went down there and played really well, came in second, and then I came in fourth at the A & M tournament, and after that it was pretty much --

Q. How far did you go in the NCAAs last year?
LUIS GAGNE: We finished third in stroke play and then we lost in the quarterfinals to Oregon.

Q. To the home team?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, we kind of fell apart towards the end, but we were actually up in every match after nine holes.

Q. Did you win your match?
LUIS GAGNE: Actually tied it, and I had a really good chance to win my match, but then they called it.

Q. Who did you play?
LUIS GAGNE: Thomas --

Q. Lim?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah.

Q. He's here this week. Obviously this is a nice little go into your sophomore year?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, I'm really glad I got to play in it. It's a great tournament.

Q. Obviously I don't know if you get to play at courses like this too many places --
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, exactly. It's tough. It's a tough course.

Q. Was the weather conducive to scoring?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, it plays a lot longer than it would if it was drier, but the greens are really soft, which is nice, so they're not too fast. But they're a great speed. It's easier for chipping, too, around the greens because they're a little more receptive.

Q. Will you change your game plan a little bit for match play?
LUIS GAGNE: I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing and have fun.

Q. It's all a bonus, you're here.
LUIS GAGNE: Exactly.

Q. When does school start?
LUIS GAGNE: Monday.

Q. Next Monday?
LUIS GAGNE: Yeah, five days or so. But it's a lot better than being home.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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