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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 2016

Dylan Meyer

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Q. Two match wins, moving on. This is probably your toughest match today. Just talk about the round and you had to make some pretty clutch putts including at 18 to extend.
DYLAN MEYER: You know, coming into this match, I knew it was going to be a tough one. It was going to be the hardest match that I would have in the bracket and whatnot coming down to the championship match. Sam is a great player. He's so good. He can hit the ball so far, and he puts himself in pretty good positions, so he knows how to play golf. Florida is going to be pretty good, and that's who we're going to be looking for. But my game this week coming in and playing in match play, I'm kind of feeling it.

Q. He chipped in a time or two this round, didn't he?
DYLAN MEYER: Yeah, he chipped it close a couple times, on I believe it was 14 or 15, he chipped it fairly close from a dead spot. It was impressive. That was when I made my 20-footer. But yeah, that was an unreal up-and-down.

Q. How long have you had the putter that you're using now?
DYLAN MEYER: You know, I actually used it in high school and then I got rid of it, and then I came back to it sophomore year in the spring, right before Big Tens.

Q. That worked out pretty well for you then?
DYLAN MEYER: Yeah, ever since Big Tens it's been a plus.

Q. Why did you ever put it away?
DYLAN MEYER: Well, cross-handed putting wasn't working. It was one of those mental things, just wasn't making anything, and I went back to it, and there goes.

Q. So you're conventional again?
DYLAN MEYER: I'm conventional again, yeah. I've been conventional since freshman year.

Q. Talk about the 10-footer on 18 that you had to make.
DYLAN MEYER: Stressful. It was pretty stressful. I knew that there was a lot of heat on it, and I knew that I had to make it to extend the match. As Coach preaches, we own 10-footers, we own 6-footers, we own these putts that put us in these positions, and as a good player you're going to be in these positions. You have to be clutch, and it's how you respond.

Q. Is there any way to prepare yourself for that? You can hit practice putts all you want, but until you're in that position --
DYLAN MEYER: You know, I keep going back to Coach. It's unbelievable how I do this, but what he says is if you keep repeating it over and over and over again, do it until you don't get it wrong, and over the summer I've been working on my putting stroke and working on 10-footers, six-footers and just around the hole, different breaks. I imagine myself on a putting green just putting that 10-footer like I usually would.

Q. Were the greens any different this afternoon than they were earlier?
DYLAN MEYER: They were a little bit bumpier, a little bit of spike marks, but other than that, the greens rolled pretty good.

Q. What do you learn about yourself in something like this?
DYLAN MEYER: I'm a lot tougher than what I give myself credit for. You know, in these situations, it's one of those things that you dream of. Growing up you watched Tiger playing in majors and you watched all these guys make all these clutch putts, and you're like, wow, I want to be able to do that, can I do that, and just that putt there really showed that I can do these things.

Q. Where do you think you would be with your game right now, and would you even be in a position like this if it wasn't for going to Illinois and it wasn't for Coach Small?
DYLAN MEYER: I wouldn't be here. I'd be sitting at home getting ready to head up to school, wherever I'd be going. Coach has put so many morals and life lessons and golf lessons and whatnot. He's such a great guy for making me a better human being and a better golfer.

Q. How important was beating him a couple weeks ago in terms of the mindset for today? Obviously a good player and whatnot, but you knew psychological you could handle him. Did that help you do you think?
DYLAN MEYER: Yeah, I understood his game. I played with him one time in college, and that was in a stroke-play event, but coming into match play it's a little bit different. I understood his game and I knew what he was going to do, so I was mentally prepared that I had to make my six-footers, eight-footers all day long because he's going to par the golf course because he hits it so far and hits an 8-iron in.

Q. Same thing with his length; you knew obviously what to expect with that?
DYLAN MEYER: Yeah, I mean, I don't really pay attention to anyone's length. I know what I do. I know they're going to fly my golf ball with their 2-iron, so it doesn't matter to me.

Q. Do you think the fact you were hitting first a lot of times put pressure on him?
DYLAN MEYER: Oh, definitely, yeah, especially off the tee. When I told my caddie Nate and we were discussing before, I think at the tee box, just keep on hitting it down the center of the fairway and keep on hitting 5-irons, 4-irons to 20 feet, and a guy is going to get frustrated. I know I would if someone was hitting it shorter than me. It's just a mental thing. You've just got to keep being strong.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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