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U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2017

Noah Goodwin

Andover, Kansas

Q. So you jumped on him early and had control from the start.
NOAH GOODWIN: Yeah, I got off to a really fast start. I hit the ball to about 15 feet on the first hole and was able to make the putt. Then almost chipped in on the second hole, third hole, fourth hole. I got a good par on the fourth hole that was playing really tough today, and he bogeyed, and then I was just able to keep it going and got a good break on 9. I chipped it, wasn't really going in too fast, but it hit the pin, kind of fell on the lip, and then it fell in afterwards, and then I hit it to four feet on 10 to just keep it going.

Q. What are you going to do with that 58-degree wedge? Do you sleep with that at night, the way that thing performed for you today?
NOAH GOODWIN: I don't know. It was just -- it definitely has gotten a lot better throughout the week. At the very beginning of the week, especially in stroke play, I really struggled with distance control with about 70-yard shots or so. But I've really tide I had that up afterwards. Just got to keep grinding and just keep closing in on everything.

Q. Again, we've talked about how you've progressed as the week has gone along. Again, it looked like your form has improved even this afternoon from this morning. How do you feel about it?
NOAH GOODWIN: Oh, I definitely felt a lot better this afternoon. I still made a couple of poor mistakes. Hole 8, just missing in that bunker, you just don't do that. And just like on 11, leaving it short of the ridge like I did on a fairly easy bunker shot, I had the exact same bunker shot this morning, just another silly mistake that I just have to minimize for tomorrow. But besides that, my swing is feeling better and better with each day. My speed on the greens is getting better, and everything is just improving and shaping up.

Q. You're in rarefied air in that now you're in your second consecutive junior amateur final. What's that mean to you?
NOAH GOODWIN: It just means a lot, more that I've just been able to do it two years in a row, and I knew I have the game for it. And just to just show myself and prove to myself that I really am good enough to go back-to-back in finals.

Q. And then what's it going to take for you to take that next step and be the champ?
NOAH GOODWIN: I just think I have to try to do the same thing I did last year. I played great golf in the final last year, and I'm going to have to against whoever I play tomorrow, and I just have to keep playing my own game and just stick to my game plan and just grind. It's just going to be a grind.

Q. What's been the trick for you, back-to-back finals? What's been the difference maker for you?
NOAH GOODWIN: I love match play. I love everything about match play. I just like how you have to play the opponent and not the golf course and how it can change at any moment. And it's just really based a lot off momentum.

So I would say that's a plus, like coming into this tournament really excited because of that, and just -- I just feel like I play my best golf tournaments at harder golf courses, and this is definitely one of them. You have to drive the ball well out here, or you're going to be really penalized because of the rough, and you just have to make putts, and that's something I've been doing more of.

Q. Do you know anything about the two guys that are playing right now?
NOAH GOODWIN: I know less about Garrick, but I know Matt very well. He's a really good friend of mine, and I've played with him a pretty good amount, so I know his game pretty well.

Q. What would it mean for you to be able to play against a good friend, as you said, in the finals of this thing?
NOAH GOODWIN: It would be fun. I mean, you obviously don't want to beat a friend, but at the same time, it's just -- there's no hard feelings in it. You're both trying to win, and you know that up front, and it's just going to be a fun match.

Q. How much fun are you having playing the game of golf right now?
NOAH GOODWIN: Oh, I love it. Everybody around me is just keeping it fun. I have my caddie on the bag, Craig, and every time we're on the bag together, he just does a really good job keeping relaxed. I can get a little up site out there occasionally, especially whenever I make some silly mistakes out there. So he just does a really good job keeping me relaxed, just keeping me realizing, hey, you're playing golf right now, you're at the biggest junior event in the world, and you're playing great. So I just have to keep that in perspective.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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