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U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 19, 2018

Ryan Smith

Springfield, New Jersey

Q. So I'll just get right to it and make it brief. I know yesterday was a bit of a grind. And then today obviously going into 36 hole day, what was sort of the thought process knowing you had a lot of golf to play?
RYAN SMITH: You know, it was a tough one finishing out yesterday. Yesterday was kind of a long grind. Today I knew going in it was going to be the same way, especially in the later round. Kind of making sure I kept my head in the game and make sure I kept on top of myself, kind of stayed hydrated. It was super hot this afternoon.

So just kind of keeping the ball in front of myself; keeping the club in front of myself; just kind of staying patient throughout the day.

Q. Okay. And then so obviously the second match started off quite interesting. Your opponent opened up with four birdies in the first five holes. What were you seeing from him and his play early on?
RYAN SMITH: Well, you know, he scrambled incredibly well on the first couple holes. Chipped in on the 1st hole; great second shot on the 2nd hole.

He played really well all day. He's a great player and he's going to do really well throughout this -- the end of this championship and the rest of the tournaments he has this summer.

You know, I had a couple bad putts and really -- I hit the ball really well kind of all day today. Give credit where it's due. Yeah, he played great today.

Q. And I know at a point you started off on a strong note, but then there was a little bit of back and forth. You got it down to one back. Just tell me what that little bit of a comeback was like.
RYAN SMITH: Yeah, you know, just kind of getting putts to drop; that was mostly about it. Just getting couple putts rolling and getting some momentum back on my side. He kind of had momentum after the five or six holes and I kind of got it back the next six holes; then he kind of took it away on the last four, five.

So I think it was -- I think the match was a really close match. It was going to come down to the last couple kind of all day. It was just about momentum swings is about all the match was about, and getting putts in the hole. He hit a couple great putts early, and I think that kind of set him off on a good foot for the rest of the day.

Q. And then with those couple birdie holes, do you remember what your approach shot was into the green and then how long your putt was?
RYAN SMITH: Yeah, first one was 6. Driver coming down the left edge; had a really good angle. Just kind of hit a slighted gap wedge and left myself underneath the hole, which is key on every hole out here. They had a couple really tough pin locations today.

So I kind of left myself underneath the hole 16 feet; kind of left myself a pretty simple putt.

Then on 7 I hit a really good tee shot just underneath the hole 10, 15 feet. Kind of the same thing. Like a right edge putt kind of inside the hole. So I kind of got momentum toward that.

At that point, I kind of started feeling better with the reads and making sure with my speed I was on pointe.

Then 9 I hit a good tee shot, good pitch shot, from like 70, 75 yards to about six, eight feet under the hole and just kind of -- just outside the hole on the right and just had to kind of keep up the speed because it was kind of dying and uphill, breaking right to left.

Hit a good putt there and made that one. Kind of got my momentum going after that.

Q. And then just lastly, I know last year you were in the quarterfinals and then round of 16 today. Just what about the Junior makes you excited and confident that you can make a deep run going into match play?
RYAN SMITH: I feel confident in match play. It's one hole. I can be a little bit more aggressive on certain holes. My caddie and coach, Patrick McGuire, he helps me out a lot just kind of thinking through shots and making sure my planning is in the right place.

My whole team has really helped me out with that the past couple months. That's really the only thing I've really been struggling with the mid-part of this year, is my planing and making sure I'm staying aggressive and make sure I'm -- I know where my strengths and weaknesses are and kind of sticking to my game plan the entire day.

So my team has just helped out a lot with that, and especially this week. A lot more confident on the greens as I progressed throughout the week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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