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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 13, 2018Ryan SmithPebble Beach, California Q. Start with the last hole. Hit it to about three feet. What was your yardage in there and what did you hit? RYAN SMITH: It was 129, and I hit a full gap wedge 130, so it was a pretty -- I don't want to say simple, but it was one of the more stock shots I probably had the entire day. The wind was just into like two yards off the right, so it kind of set my draw a little bit just to the left hole location. Yeah, that was a good way to end the round. Looking forward to continuing that momentum into tomorrow hopefully. Q. Got off to a good start today, birdied 14 and 15. Tell me about making those two back-to-back. RYAN SMITH: Yeah, well, just the start in general, 10, kind of hit a bad tee shot, and the rough here is kind of wet in the morning, so the rough is kind of penal. I couldn't really get it to the green, and then made a good 10-footer on that hole for par. So that kind of set up the next couple holes. Made a couple good birdies on 14 and 15. Good putt on 15 up the hill. Q. How long was that one? RYAN SMITH: That was about 25 feet. It was pretty straight, though. It was like inside left, left edge. It was a good start, and hopefully I can do the same tomorrow. Q. You struggled a little bit on 16 and 17, but then you bounced back. RYAN SMITH: Yeah, 16, just didn't hit a great tee shot, so I kind of had to lay it down in the bowl short of the green, didn't really hit a great pitch and kind of struggled. I kind of struggled with my 3-iron off the tee today. That kind of cost me two bogeys today, so that's something I'll probably work on after the round today, just straighten that out after the tee. I hit it well off the ground, just -- I don't know, we'll figure that out. Q. How would you rate yourself on 18? RYAN SMITH: You know, it was kind of the same thing I had on the last hole. It was like 114, and I hit my sand wedge 115, so it was kind of a nice yardage with a little flight on it. So yeah, it was kind of the same thing, just left myself under the hole like eight feet. Pretty simple. Q. 2-under sets you up well, and as you know, you're just trying to make match play anyhow. How do you feel right now? RYAN SMITH: Good. Good start. Just kind of looking forward to tomorrow, get some rest tonight and hopefully start out well tomorrow at Pebble. Q. How much do you think advancing as far as you did in the last two Junior Amateurs have helped you mentally get ready for this? RYAN SMITH: You know, it's helped me a little bit with just kind of staying calm in the beginning and knowing I have -- kind of know ballparks of cut lines and stuff like that, especially in the first couple rounds just to make sure I don't get ahead of myself a little bit. So yeah, I think it'll help me kind of in the long run to stay calm throughout. If I get to the match play rounds, staying calm and playing it shot by shot. I think that'll be important. Q. What is this like playing -- obviously you're going to play Pebble tomorrow, but playing Pebble and Spyglass at 16 years old? RYAN SMITH: You know, it's one of those surreal things that you kind of check off on your bucket list of that's the one golf course you'd like to play, and a USGA championship is kind of fun and enjoyable, and you can't really get down on yourself too much. It's something that's kind of once in a lifetime, especially for the U.S. Am to come here, as an amateur. Q. When you were in that practice round on Pebble and you stood on the 7th tee, was there a moment of where am I? RYAN SMITH: Yeah, it was almost like a moment of euphoria. You just kind of lay back and think about it -- even all the holes, just like 4 through 14 are all ocean view holes, you can hear the waves crashing. It's one of those things that it's definitely tough in a tournament to just get down to it and focus, so I think that's one of the things I'm going to definitely hone in on tomorrow and make sure I stay focused, especially in those rounds, putting it in the right place on the greens and all that jazz. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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