U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 19, 1999

Bryce Molder

BRYCE MOLDER: Last week. The whole week, probably.

BRYCE MOLDER: The last hole, the par-3, No. 5, I'm not sure what he hit, probably 6- or 7- (iron), and he hit it; it landed just left, and bounced up probably seven feet. And I hit mine, and it was just on the line, maybe a yard left of his, and it got a kick, but it stayed in the rough; and I chipped it down there to about maybe five feet or so. And pretty straight uphill putt, and he made a really great putt under the circumstances, especially with the greens being as bumpy as they are this late in the afternoon. He nailed it right in the center.

BRYCE MOLDER: I had the match in my hands. I was 2-up with five holes to play, four holes to play, and I made a couple of bogeys; missed a couple of putts that I thought I'd make. And then he birdied 18. I was 1-up going to 18, and I hit just a pretty bad drive. And I had a 5-iron for my third shot, and really hit a better shot than I thought I could hit to about 15 feet, looking straight up at the hole. And he did a great job, he chipped it up there three or four feet, and I hit my putt about a foot from the putter face; it kind of hopped. I don't know if it happened off line, but it was enough to slow it down and ended up just short. I don't know if it would have gone in or not. We play along, and I make a good save on 1. And I guess it was No. 3 where he had missed his par-putt, and I had probably just over four feet. And I don't like making excuses at all. I felt like I may have pushed it a little bit. I don't feel that I pushed it out of the hole, but it started moving that way pretty quickly and didn't catch the edge. And we tied on 4. Then he won 5.

BRYCE MOLDER: I had a good time. I learned a lot about myself, and the shots I can hit when I have to. And there were a lot of times out there in the middle of the rounds where I needed to step up and hit a drive in the fairway or something like that and didn't. But down the stretch, I got to where I almost wasn't nervous out there. I was just having a good time and trying to hit good shots. I think in the maybe 9 playoff holes, or 8 playoff holes, I think I was even par or something. And on this golf course, I was pretty impressed with that, under the circumstances. And I haven't had a whole lot of -- I've had some chances to win tournaments and some close matches here and there. But I just -- I asked James on the first hole, our first playoff hole, I said, "Are you having fun yet?" And he was grinning, too. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to the next time I'm in that situation.

BRYCE MOLDER: I felt more tired after Tuesday's round. I had to shoot 73, and I got in by a shot or missed the playoff by a shot. And I felt like I was hanging on every single shot there. And this one, I had a lot more adrenaline. I think I was just having more fun. Tomorrow morning, I may wake up and not be able to step out of bed. I think I had more fun today. Emotionally, I'll sit back and just, who knows what. But I feel all right, right now.

BRYCE MOLDER: If you win this thing, you've got to play some really good golf against some really good players that are playing really well. And you get to this stage, and somebody asked me, Tim Jackson, the first match; and I said: You've got to beat somebody along the way. You might as well start off quick, you know. And maybe that was the right attitude. Maybe it wasn't. But at this stage, everybody is playing well, and playing well enough to win.

BRYCE MOLDER: Watch out for Hunter Haas. He doesn't think anybody in this field can play with him, and not from an arrogant standpoint, he feels like he's the best player here. And if he is or isn't, he's playing like it. In match play, he's not mean, but he comes across this way, and almost comes across with that attitude. And I don't want to say mean, because I like the guy. Almost a bull-doggish attitude. And I'd watch out for him. I think he feels like he's got something to prove here.

BRYCE MOLDER: He won the U.S. Junior, I think it was last summer, I'm pretty sure. And he beat Aaron Badley (ph), who is from Australia, he beat him in the finals. Aaron Badley is one of the most talented people physically in the world now, honestly. You'll see his name a lot pretty soon. He (James Oh) won his match easily this morning. That doesn't surprise me at all. He's been in that kind of pressure situation on a tough golf course, and gotten it done. And I knew that going into it.

BRYCE MOLDER: Thanks.