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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 2004

Ryan Moore

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK

PETE KOWALSKI: Tell us about the holes that you won and then some general comments on how you played.

RYAN MOORE: Well, I went down on the third hole and then until hole number, where is it, No. 4, I won with a par. Birdie on 6 and 7 to go 2-up. And birdied 8, that was a heck of a birdie[]. 15, won that one with a bogey, just an all-around ugly hole for both of us. And then made birdie there on 16 to cap it off.

Q. Talk about your play today

RYAN MOORE: I played pretty solid. I made a lot of pars out there. I didn't capitalize. I hit some real good long irons to 15 and 20 feet and didn't make any of those, really. The ball-striking was pretty solid. Just got to get the putter rolling a little bit better. Just have to give myself a lot of opportunities give hitting a lot of fairways.

Q. Pretty much your tournament when you're not playing well, just learning how to still be patient?

RYAN MOORE: I think any major tournament like this is about patience, especially on a tough golf course. You're going to hit your bad shots out there. You can't let your bogeys, I think you just can't let that bother you and just keep pressing on and don't worry about it. Don't get too wrapped up in that and just keep trying to hit good shots all the way around. Like I said, it's a tough course, hitting a lot of long irons, you're not going to hit every green with a long iron. Made some tough up-and-downs. For me, it just about being patient and not really worrying about it.

Q. How many times have you played this golf course before?

RYAN MOORE: This was my second time.

Q. Second time?

RYAN MOORE: Second round ever on this golf course.

Q. You had never seen it before you came here?

RYAN MOORE: No, I had never got to see it. Yesterday was my first round on it. I had walked on it. I couldn't play in the practice round.

It's a great, championship golf course. You have to play well to shoot even par or better. You have to execute all the way around. But it's very straightforward which I like, to. Just hit it you're not hitting right down the middle and hunting for or anything like that. It's very straightforward. It's a good course.

Q. Any birdies out there?

RYAN MOORE: It's either or, like two, in my mind would be birdie holes, 5 and 6, those are reachable par 5s and short par 4, you get it real close to the green now, it's probably a 20-yard pitch, so I got it to about three feet there. Besides that, you're hitting driver and a long or mid-iron to every hole. So not a lot.

Q. Playing today, beyond in the morningÃ‚Â -- inaudible?

RYAN MOORE: Well, I think very similar. Didn't make very many putts. I don't know, I think I was going to be around even, I'm pretty sure. Maybe 1-over for the day. I played solid out there. Even playing every round, you're not going to get worn out. I don't see anybody really going 5-, 6-, 7-under on this golf course unless you get 3-iron to five feet every hole. I've got to keep playing the same way. I'm happy with how I played. He was getting up-and-down just everywhere and I just kept being persistent, just playing my game and hitting greens. If you're missing all the greens out there, it's going to wear on you toward the end of the round and it's going to catch up with you eventually.

Q. Did you keep it in the fairway all the time or did you have some problems getting out?

RYAN MOORE: Do I usually hit fairways?

Q. Did you?

RYAN MOORE: Today? Yeah, I hit a lot of fairways today, actually. I don't think of any that I missed off the top of my head. So I guess that's good. I seem to be right there with a good shot on the green practically every hole.

I guess I missed the ninth fairway, it was in the first cut, though, so I still had a chance to go at the green. Yeah, but I wasÃ‚Â -- it was thick rough today. [] Just try to forget about it, but if it happened, I don't know, but I don't think I was ever in the long stuff today.

Q. Can you compare how you're playing at this point this year and backtrack to Oakmont?

RYAN MOORE: No, it really was embarrassing there. I'm playing a lot better now. I guess I played pretty good in the stroke-play. But I'm just playing a lot more consistent. I'm hitting a lot more fairways and a lot more greens and I'm a lot more patient with myself. I'd say I'm all around more consistent and more solid player. Whereas last year, I wasÃ‚Â -- I kind of had the possibility of getting, going the other way, too. They were playing good and I just played a little worse. I'm happy with how I'm playing. Feel like it's going to be a good week.

Q. Is it a relief it get the first one out of the way this year?

RYAN MOORE: You know, the first match is always kind of stuff. It's tough transitioning over into match-play sometimes. You know, when you're grinding for a couple of rounds playing stroke-play just to transition is sometimes hard. I've had some really good first round matches, even like earlier this year I birdied first three holes in my match there, so felt like I was going to start playing well now. It's a lot more fun, the first round is always[] really interesting. It's always a release to get past in any round, you're just one step closer, one match closer with every match you win.

Q. Spencer Levin says you are the man, you are the man to beat. How do you feel about that?

RYAN MOORE: That's great, I guess. I don't know. I don't really think about it or worry about it. I just go out there and I play. I play one shot at a time. All of this media stuff, that's your guys' deal. That's not my deal. I don't handle that.

That's fine. If I'm the person to beat this week, then I guess that would maybe put extra pressure on that person. But at the same time it might give them more motivation to beat me. So I don't really worry about it. I don't really think about it, I just go play.

Q. If this course stays like this, is it drivable for some guys or not really?

RYAN MOORE: Yeah, my ball would have got on the front edge pretty easily today or on the front left section, probably rolled back to pin-high if I would have hit it low. I hit it pretty much right at the pin today in the middle of the bunker I flew right into the rough and had just about five feet short of the bunker, so I would have actually flown right on to the front edge. It was a little downwind today, so I don't know if this is the normal wind out here, but it definitely is drivable for, I'd say, a majority of the field out here probably, or you can get real close do it.

Q. Are you a superstitious golfer?

RYAN MOORE: No.

Q. None at all?

RYAN MOORE: Not really. I like to mark my ball with a quarter. That's about it, though. Put the same mark on my ball every day but I think everybody does that.

Q. You don't leave the quarter?

RYAN MOORE: No. I'm not real superstitious. I'm a routine kind of guy. I like to stick with my routine. But that's anybody and everybody. You've got to have that out there. I think that really helps but I'm not superstitious by any means.

Q. The Open is here in two years, would you like to be here in two years as a professional playing on TOUR?

RYAN MOORE: No. I don't want to play in the U.S. Open here. (Laughing).

Yes, I will be a professional by that time and I would love to be playing here. This is a great course. It actually fits my game pretty well. This is almost like a little preview, a little, not necessarily an advantage, but it's nice getting to see itÃ‚Â andÃ‚Â pretty much the shape it's going to be in. I'm sure the greens are firmer and faster, but at the same time you never know with the rain and whatnot.

I think it's great. I'm taking this experience and I'm going to hopefully be able to use it here in a couple of years.

PETE KOWALSKI: With your success in USGA Championships, is you've been in the Walker Cup, you've been the runner-up at Junior Am, is this an event that you've been aiming at?

RYAN MOORE: Always, always. This is the biggest Amateur event. This is the one everybody, if you had one Amateur event to win, this would be it.

I kind of feel the same way. I've played well in others, bigger tournaments, but this is the biggest. This is the one I've been gunning for and I feel like I've given myself a good chance this year. My game is ready and solid and just got to go keep being patient and keep playing my own game.

PETE KOWALSKI: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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