U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 1996

Steve Scott

STEVE SCOTT: Well, it was interesting playing a teammate, again, and probably hard at times. We played against each other before. And the first time I played against him we played match play and I was a little nervous playing against him, because he's a pretty good putter and if he gets on a roll he can make everything. And he missed a few today and I capitalized on those. I just tried to continue playing solid and it worked out.

STEVE SCOTT: No. 2 I hit a little 7-iron in there, couldn't miss the hole by too much. And it went past. He was in the bunker and he played over and conceded the putt. So I was early one up. The next hole for me, it was unbelievable. It was a pretty great shot out of the bunker, hit it about 2 feet, 3 feet and made that to go 2 up. And the next hole hit another good putt from about 15 feet, rolled that in the middle and tied. So it was a good start. And then I gave him back on 9.

STEVE SCOTT: Yeah, Rob made a birdie, though, so that was fine. I don't mind losing holes to birdies. Then he squared it up on 9. I missed a short one.

STEVE SCOTT: Not really. I pulled it a little. I just hit it too far, it wasn't a very easy putt to begin with. So that was all right. 11 I hit a good wedge in there. I laid up to a perfect distance with my sand wedge and hit a perfect sand wedge in there, just stopped about 2 feet away. And he missed his birdie from one up. The next hole I got my putt for birdie there. 13 is where I started getting a little nervous with my driver and I hit an awful pulled hook in the left rough and had a good third shot up there and hit I poor putt to tie the hole. And so we were back to square. And 14 was tee. I hit the fairway into the bunker. I hit near the green and chipped up. He hit his third shot just over. It was a real tough shot, tough pitch up there. And he conceded the birdie there, too, after missing the par-putt. And 15 was pretty big. I hit one of the best 6 irons of the week there, almost went in the hole and made a good stroke on my putt, perfect speed, and so I'm 2 up. And I'm thinking this is great. Good solid drives, and I hit it probably my worst drive of the week, pop hook and it was pretty ugly. But I played smart. What Rob did was a surprise. I was not expecting that. I was expecting to be one up going to 17. And he left the door open. It was tough to end the match that way,. I kind of didn't want to. But that's what happens.

STEVE SCOTT: No. That's why match play is great because it's so unpredictable. You never know what can happen. I end up chipping in and he made 7 and that's the end. You can't give up in match play.

STEVE SCOTT: No, I pulled one out against John Harris in my second round match. I was about a foot from that sensitive area all the way back right. I had to chip through some trees, and the pin was all the way to the left. And I hit an unbelievable shot. It was pretty lucky, for an eagle.

STEVE SCOTT: I didn't think he had a shot. He probably, if he maybe thought about it a little more, he might have gone back to the fairway, considering my situation. But I guess he thought he could try to pull the shot off and it didn't work out and he really couldn't take it back any further because he didn't have much back there, and it was a tough situation.

STEVE SCOTT: I'm feeling pretty good. Last year I kind of let one go, and I had my chance for The Masters. And I've been thinking about it all year. I let my chance slip away, and after an opening round 79 I thought there was no way I would get my shot again. It's a great feeling, really.

STEVE SCOTT: Not head-to-head, no. I've played with him before, one college tournament, that's it. I know how he plays, and he plays real tough. I'm going to give him my best out there and we'll see who plays better.

STEVE SCOTT: I hope the gallery will clap at good shots. Everyone is going to want to see him win three in a row. If he does, he does. And I'll give it my best.

STEVE SCOTT: I'm going to try not to. I'm going to try to play it just like it's anybody else. You can't go thinking you're playing Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus because your mind set is you lose already. So I have to go in and play my hardest, that's it.

STEVE SCOTT: It was at Hilton Head in November. I forget what it's called.

STEVE SCOTT: No, I almost went this year with Robert and Josh McCumber, because we had a tournament right after that and I wasn't able to go. So, no, I didn't. But I've heard good things about it.

STEVE SCOTT: I'm 5' 10", 165, give or take a few cheeseburgers, I guess.