U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 25, 1996

Steve Scott

STEVE SCOTT: Well, yeah, I guess. You figure it would be good enough, but against Tiger Woods, no lead is secure, at all.

STEVE SCOTT: Well, it was just an unbelievable experience. This is probably the best Amateur match ever, final match ever. And just to be a part of it. There was no losers today. I feel completely a winner. After shooting 79 the first round there's no way I thought I would make it this far, especially against Tiger. And I got my shot at him and came up a lip short.

STEVE SCOTT: The third in the morning?

STEVE SCOTT: I hit first and blocked my shot to the right of the green, and I guess the rough turned his club over and put him in the hazard. I had a decent putt there.

STEVE SCOTT: I hit a bad drive in the right bunker. Hit kind of a bad layup shot. My third shot was good, behind the hole about 13 feet, and I made the putt and he missed. He went just over the green, actually. And so I won there.

STEVE SCOTT: 5, I put the pressure on him, made a good shot. And I didn't see his shot. I guess he came out of it or something in the water, and so three up. But being three up is like being even with him. It's so amazing. Like I said no lead is secure.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, I played smart there. I had a downhill lie on the third shot in the rough. I played smart out to the right and I had an easy chip up and had a gimme. And he didn't get it up-and-down. And I thought, this is going good.

STEVE SCOTT: 10th hole. Yeah, I had a real good 5-iron in there. What did we play the hole, three times today? I hit a good 5-iron there. I had to come close to making a one. And hit a good putt and it went in. He had a long putt.

STEVE SCOTT: About four or five feet behind the hole, though it was really fast.

STEVE SCOTT: 11, yes. I laid up short. He was in the trees. He hit a great third shot on the green, and I pitched up there, maybe five feet or something, and he missed.

STEVE SCOTT: No, just keep playing, because there's so many holes. I've seen what he's done in the past. And he's tough.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, it wasn't very hard, really. I had a putt on the fringe and just hit it too hard and hit a bad second putt. I heard some cameras clicking in the back. And I didn't focus really good on that one.

STEVE SCOTT: That was one of my better shots of the day, there. I lipped it out and he 3-putted. I was thinking I was going to probably lose the hole, and winning the hole, that was key.

STEVE SCOTT: And then 18 I hit a good pitch in there, about four feet. He had a tough putt. Similar to the one he had on the 36, this hole to win, and he missed. And I made about a four-footer. So I'm 5 up going into the afternoon.

STEVE SCOTT: Same stuff, just that's not good enough. I wouldn't have been happy until I had him ten up or something. You can't get that. He's that tough.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, the second green I hit by hitting a good chip. My second shot was short. Had a good chip up there and a gimme. And then the third hole is when he started coming around. I pulled my left, but he stuck his, and basically I had no chance to hole it. And same with the next hole, he stuck it again. And I had a tough sand shot. I hit a little thin on the green. And then 5, I didn't focus on that putt either. And I just I missed it there, pulled a little left. And then after that I started playing pretty well. I said, forget this. I'm just going to go play.

STEVE SCOTT: That was a stroke like 5, I decelerated, and it just fell left of the hole left. It broke a lot more than I thought.

STEVE SCOTT: Well, he has a really distinctive edge on that 9th hole. He flies it forever. And I can't carry it that far. It's a tough driving hole. I hit an iron to keep it short of the bunkers and play smart. I won the hole three or four times that way during the week. And he had a good shot in there and I hit a good pitch shot after my crummy second.

STEVE SCOTT: I hit a 2-iron in the rough. And I hit a good chip up there close, and he made it. And then the 10th hole, that was pretty exciting there. I didn't think there was any way I could get that close. And I just tried to hit a flop shot just like I did, and it came off and hit the hole.

STEVE SCOTT: Yes. He made eagle on 11, I couldn't believe that. That was some putt he made there. Because I was up close for a birdie.

STEVE SCOTT: That he had?

STEVE SCOTT: At least 30 feet. And it broke probably three feet, four feet right. It was an amazing putt.

STEVE SCOTT: I won 14. I hit a real good 6-iron in. It was going right at the pin and it checked up a little short. I thought it was going to slow more, and he missed about a 6 or 7-footer.

STEVE SCOTT: I hit a 6-iron. And then the next hole I hit a good putt, just short and he missed his. So I'm two up with three to play. And then he got on fire. He did his famous comebacks. He hit a good wedge in there on 16, and I hit a good bunker shot. I made a good putt and put the pressure on him to make it, and he made a good putt. And 17 was unexpected. That was unbelievable. It just rolled in. You can't say anything more about that.

STEVE SCOTT: It was pretty far. It was across the green.

STEVE SCOTT: That second shot on 18 I was a little nervous. The ball was a little bit by my feet and I swung at it too hard. I hit it pretty flat. I was lucky to go over the hazard. And hit a decent third. I knew he was going to have a tough time getting up-and-down from where he was. I hit a good putt and it was just so fast from downhill, and that four-footer coming back was all I could handle right there. I was pretty nervous on that one.

STEVE SCOTT: His first, ripped a drive over the bunkers. I hit a good 2-iron off the tee. I had a 5-iron to the green and hit a good 5-iron in there about 18 feet or so. And he hit just outside of me, rolled his over the edge, and I put a bad stroke on mine and just pushed it off. It was real close, but didn't have a chance. And then the last hole I hit really where you can't hit it, and I end up hitting a good chip shot. And after he missed his putt I thought, because my putt wasn't all that hard, it just trailed off at the end and lipped out. I just didn't give it enough speed. And that's the story.

STEVE SCOTT: He was probably three inches outside of me.

STEVE SCOTT: Something like that.

STEVE SCOTT: Well, I never felt I had the match. Coming down I was 2 up, 3 to go, I thought I had a good chance, but you know Tiger. He does his thing. And I didn't give him the holes, he earned them. And for the fact of getting in the way of history, I was attempting to stop the history. (Laughter.) But I was unsuccessful. He's just so difficult to beat. He's going to give those pros all they can handle there, too, when he goes out there. I don't know how much more he has to prove around here, though.

STEVE SCOTT: On the first putt I had about 207, maybe.

STEVE SCOTT: I didn't really measure, probably 275 or something.

STEVE SCOTT: Probably 275. Obviously I'm expecting him to out-drive me every hole, because he hits it so long.

STEVE SCOTT: I hit a low 2-iron and let it run up there. It keeps it short of the bunkers. I played it that way all week except for the 27th hole today. I took a 3-wood, because the wind was a little into us and I pushed it in the rough.

STEVE SCOTT: Come on.

STEVE SCOTT: I've got a lot more years ahead of me. I've got a lot more to learn, a ton more to learn. I went to school today basically. Tiger taught me a heck of a lot this afternoon and he's -- he's ready. And I'm getting there. I'm probably where he was when he was just winning his last Junior Amateur, maybe. And he's matured faster than I have. And there's really no thoughts of me turning pro. I'm going to stick it out all four years, that's a definite.

STEVE SCOTT: Like I said, the 27th hole I took a 3-wood maybe and I shouldn't have because the wind was a little into me. That hole sets up kind of weird. You have to hit it so perfect. Tiger has a distinct advantage, he can fly it over bunkers, and I can't do that. So I have to play smart. I played my own game. I didn't look in his bag, because his clubs, they go a lot longer than mine. (Laughter.)

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, he knows how to focus and just put in the death blow. He knows just how to go and attack. And he's not afraid to do it, either. It's easier for him hitting a wedge in the green, whereas somebody else is hitting a 5 or 6-iron. You have more confidence with a wedge, a short iron. He's unbelievable.

STEVE SCOTT: Maybe after I holed out on the 28th hole, I guess it was, after I holed out there. And I thought I could build a little momentum and he just killed it with that eagle. He just killed it. I thought I was going to keep going, and he killed the momentum.

STEVE SCOTT: His on 17, for sure. That was unexpected to make. And maybe my tee shot on the last. I thought I hit it good. I thought it would just turn over and kick left like it did in the beginning, and it just stayed out right and I had a tough shot.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah. I hit a 5-iron every time on that hole.

STEVE SCOTT: That's going to be pretty neat. I don't know much about it, but it's just a pretty prestigious honor.

STEVE SCOTT: I'm missing tomorrow, my first day, actually. It's a long trip back to Florida. I don't get in until about 4:30 in the afternoon with all the time changes. And I'll just start from there. I'm all moved into my house, and it's all set up. I'll just start up school. Start more tournaments.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, seeing how the pros play, similar to how Tiger plays. I tried to learn as much as I can there. And to try to pattern my game a little around -- nobody in particular, but just their style of play. The way they think around golf courses. I told myself this week I didn't want to beat myself, and I didn't really maybe up until the last hole. I hit it right and that was about it.

STEVE SCOTT: I talked to him last night. I guess he called me and I just asked him what his thoughts were when he won the Amateur and what he was thinking. And he gave me a little better idea, because he had a semifinal match that was similar to my match today, that he was kind of the underdog and he went out and won 2 and 1. Back then he was in The Masters, if you're in the semifinals. So he said just go out and there's really no pressure on you. You have nothing to lose. Just go out and play your hardest.

STEVE SCOTT: Off the first?

STEVE SCOTT: Just try and hit the fairway. You don't change anything, really.

STEVE SCOTT: I'm trying to make birdies, myself. I hit a good shot in there. I missed the putt. I was trying to make as many birdies as I can, that's the name of the game.

STEVE SCOTT: That was pretty awesome. He made a good putt. He hit a real good pitch down the hill and holed the putt. There's no way he could stop that close to the hole at all. I expected him to make more putts than he did at the beginning, but he just turns on the afterburners and leaves you in the dust.