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U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 29, 2019Scott HarveyTodd MitchellBandon, Oregon Q. We're with the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four Ball champions, Scott Harvey and Todd Mitchell. Todd, let's start with you first. This is your first USGA Championship. You've been close before. How do you feel right now about it? TODD MITCHELL: I don't know that I can have a better feeling from a golf and competition side. I know he won the Mid-Am by himself. As close as Scott and I have become over the past probably six years, I'm elated that it happened like this. I can't think of a better scenario than to do something like this with Scott. I mean, we live, I don't know, 800 miles away, and we talk every day. Every single day. There's not a day that goes by unless, you know, he's on vacation somewhere, that we don't talk. And to share this with him means everything. Q. Scott, it's your second one, but you've got to feel a lot of pride for Todd here too, getting his first one? SCOTT HARVEY: Absolutely. There's not enough team golf events, in my opinion. And like he said out there, this is the best event going currently, and it's just more fun. Everything you're doing is with someone. You're sharing every part of it with someone, and it just feels that much better. Q. And Todd, let's talk about the way you played down the stretch. I mean -- TODD MITCHELL: I finally showed up. (Laughter.) You know, something needed to happen, one way or the other, and I felt like there for a while, you know, early on, things were kind of on our side, and then we lost a little bit of the momentum, you know. And I don't know that they -- did they make a birdie to beat us? Or did we make -- SCOTT HARVEY: On 10. TODD MITCHELL: Yeah, but we made bogey. SCOTT HARVEY: Right. Q. They made birdies on 7 and 10. TODD MITCHELL: Yeah, 7. Oh, that was a great shot. And 10, those were great shots too, but we were struggling at that point in time. So the momentum had kind of shifted, but yet we were still in it. And with him being on the green on 14, we needed to make something happen. Caddie kind of said, hey, you want to do this, you have to hit something -- if you fly it up on top, it's not going to stop. Hit something kind of low with a wedge below and get it to stop. I was able to hit the shot that we needed to at the time. I mean, we ended up winning the hole. Q. What was your yardage, and what club did you use? TODD MITCHELL: It was a 60 degree wedge. I don't even remember the yardage. I just knew that I had to fly it like 25 yards. And then it seemed like all week, I'd hit good shots, good second shots into 15, and none of them had really got on the right level or anything like that. Like this one, it was on the upper level, but, I mean, Adam just kind of said hey, just throw it out there. It's not really going to go that far by. You know, just get it to that spot, and I was able to do it. Q. I paced off 63 feet. How much break did you play coming down that slope? TODD MITCHELL: I don't know, about 25 feet of break, probably. 20, 25, somewhere in there. It's like sideways. And then on 16, I actually had a really good number for a full 8 iron, and caddie was kind of talking like, hey, you know, I like something a little more. And I just thought, you know, people always talk about being in that moment when the adrenaline's pumping, and I knew, and I asked him -- I asked Scott, I said, what do you feel? Can I fly this this number? He said, yeah, that's the club. And that was like I needed it. And I made a very confident swing, and I guess played the wind right and hit it to 3 1/2 feet, and that was it. Q. Scott, on 14, when they drove the green and then he hit the shot to what was a conceded tap-in birdie, could you feel the momentum swing right there? SCOTT HARVEY: Well, when they three-putted, yes. But that was the shot of the match in my mind because they'd just birdied the previous hole to go 1 up, right? And then he puts the pressure on them, hits it to gimme. I don't want to say he had a tough two-putt, but it wasn't an easy two-putt. Nothing's easy out there in that wind. When he three-putted, that was it. Everything turned in our direction, and Todd dialed it in the last few holes there. Well, 14 -- was it 14, 15, and 16, birdied all three of them, which, you know, any birdie out there in 30-mile-an-hour wind is crazy good. So, yeah, I felt like 14 was the match. Q. I noticed you came over on his second shot on 16. Was there a discussion there about which club to hit? SCOTT HARVEY: Yeah, he called me over and said, this is how far I have. Can I get this club there? And I said yes. That's 100 percent, 100 percent commitment. That's it. And it was perfect, and it was -- I mean, was it absolutely dead perfect pin high? TODD MITCHELL: Yeah. SCOTT HARVEY: I mean, it was absolutely perfect. And still had to make a good putt. I mean, it wasn't one of those you can run at or anything. I mean, you still had to stand over it, step up and made a good putt, and he did. It was perfect. Q. Could you guys see the flag? I was at a bad angle. SCOTT HARVEY: You mean the ball on the green? Q. No. You couldn't see the flag? Where I was, I was at a bad angle. I couldn't see your line SCOTT HARVEY: No. It's a lot harder shot from where we are when the pin's on the left because you got to kind of go up, figure out okay, this is where I've got to hit. I only couldn't see it probably for maybe eight or ten feet when I got behind there. So it was pretty easy to line up and kind of know, you know, from there, I got to aim it here because of the wind, and so. Q. I was just curious. Even more impressive. Q. To be clear, you say 8 iron? SCOTT HARVEY: 8 iron. Q. How many yards? SCOTT HARVEY: It was 155. Q. And it went 155. Let's go back to playing four-ball. You guys obviously have played in all five. You've had success each time too. You've made match play every time. Why do you think there's that chemistry on your team? TODD MITCHELL: Well, Scott said it afterwards. We somehow have the ability to pick each other up. When somebody is in trouble, the other person steps up. And I think our -- I think the way we go about the golf course is a little bit different, but we see things the same way, if that makes any sense at all. SCOTT HARVEY: We think the same too. TODD MITCHELL: Yeah, we have a pretty good idea of how to get from Point A to Point B. And if we get a little off, you know -- like obviously, I have a lot of trust in Scott on 16 to call him over and say, hey, is this going to get there? He said yeah, and that's all I needed. Q. Scott, is it more than just reading putts and lining people up when you're out there playing four-ball? SCOTT HARVEY: Oh, God, yeah. Like he just said, he said it perfect. Sometimes in golf, all you need is that reassurance or that confidence, you know what I mean? And we give that to each other. We fully trust each other. We also -- there's just no doubt with each other. It doesn't mean everything's going to work out like you want it to, but when I say something to him or when he says something to me, it's full trust and belief in what we're saying. And, you know, that's everything. That goes well beyond a read or a yardage or something else. It could be something simple like, you know, hey, we're 1 up. Let's put the hammer down and, you know, just go ahead and end this. It could be something like that and really get each other fired up and going. It goes well beyond a number or a line. Q. Scott, all the events you've played in, and obviously you've played in international competition, Walker Cup, how much of that helped you possibly mentally today? SCOTT HARVEY: A lot. Little things like in between the rounds, making sure you get a little bit of a warm-up in, not eating something too heavy in between. You know, just little things like that. And just the mentality of, all right, we're ahead, but let's not take a break because who knows what the hell can happen -- excuse my language. Who knows what can happen? But, you know, you just draw on experiences. Out here, drawing experiences from Walker Cup, where it's very similar conditions, the wind's blowing 35 miles an hour. You're hitting 9 irons from 100 yards. That's not very often you get it around in the States. You know, so just a little bit of comfort and conditions. Q. Todd, you've played in almost 30 USGA Championships. Did you have to rely on that experience today too? TODD MITCHELL: I remember -- I would say yes, because when I made it to the finals in '08, I think, as it's very easy to do, kind of looking ahead. I was playing great that week, and I just knew that I was going to win. I knew it. And I went out there, and I played the worst that I had all week, and I got beat handily. And I think never getting ahead, trying to stay in the moment and not seeing too much beyond that, it really helped. I mean, we were focused all day. I know that at some of our shots, it really didn't look that way. But, you know, you're going to hit good shots in this weather and you're going to hit some like mediocre shots that look bad because of wind gusts or it goes off line and looks crazy. One of the hardest things to do, it's not even hitting shots. It's putting in this. You've got a 15-footer that looks like it's going to break left but the wind's blowing right and it misses by six inches on the right-hand side. You know, there's no -- so yeah. I think I went a long-winded way of saying, yeah, being in this position before, definitely, it's something that we can draw upon from our experiences. Q. You guys, first year you made the final? TODD MITCHELL: Yeah. We've lost in every round except for the finals. Q. There you go. What's it like to win one? SCOTT HARVEY: Well, I got teary-eyed on 18. I didn't cry. Q. 18 or 17? SCOTT HARVEY: Huh? Q. 18 or 17? SCOTT HARVEY: Whatever the last green was, 17. I don't even remember. It was a long time ago. But, yeah, you know, it's just special. The USGA Championship, it's not something that's easy to come by. Like I said earlier, getting to share this with somebody, it just means a lot more. To me, like he said, we've become extremely close friends, and now we have something else to talk about. But yeah, I don't know, I just -- it means a lot to me. It's always the funnest week of the year. Listen, we were ecstatic when we won our quarterfinal match and we weren't going to have to qualify for next year's tournament. Now to think about ten years, I'm -- I'll be -- well, tomorrow's my birthday. I'll be 41. So I'll be 51, playing in this thing. That's like Mike McCoy stuff and Todd White, yeah, yeah. I mean, to me, how cool is that? You know? Q. Scott when you won in '14, we talked a lot about your father and a swing change that he wanted you to make, and you made it, and that helped you win that day. SCOTT HARVEY: Yep. Q. Any thoughts about your father today? SCOTT HARVEY: Yeah. You know, I'll probably cry, but I've done a lot of things in golf, and not a single one of them I could have done without him. And the only thing I can say, and I know he -- I know he's with me. The only thing I can say is that -- Q. Todd -- SCOTT HARVEY: I'm not done. I just wish he was here. I can see the smile on his face, and I wish he was here to give me a big hug. That's it. Q. Todd, they may not know this, but you were not a golfer in college. You were a baseball player. Just give them a little bit of the background of going through that and how you arrived at playing golf at the amateur level. TODD MITCHELL: He was in my hometown. Q. In fact, Eddie Wooten told me about that today. TODD MITCHELL: Yeah. So I've always grown up playing golf. I think I played my first tournament when I was 4. It was like the Pepsi Little People's Championships or something. I remember that only because I left my favorite doll in the hotel. And back then -- it wouldn't happen today, but back then, they sent it to me. Sent it back. They found it and sent it back to me. I just remember that. So I've been playing golf a long time. I had scholarships to play in college and all that. I chose baseball. And then for probably four, five years, I played on and off. But once I got to college, I didn't play near as much. I played at Illinois State for three years and then was drafted. And then in 1999, Major League Baseball draft in the 14th round by the Yankees. I played two years with them. The second year was in Greensboro. Our paths obviously never crossed. And then after that, it was kind of one of those things where I just knew it wasn't for me. You know, that lifestyle and being away, and my fiancée at the time -- Q. In Greensboro? TODD MITCHELL: In Greensboro, yeah. No, actually, she lived with me during the summer in Greensboro. She came down and lived. Q. Oh, okay. TODD MITCHELL: So -- Q. But it had nothing to do with Derek Jeter? TODD MITCHELL: No, it didn't. Didn't have anything to do with Derek Jeter, no. And then I was 21 at the time when I was done with baseball. I still wanted to be competitive in something, and I just kind of started with entering local tournaments and then state events. Then 2003 was my first amateur at Oakmont. It's been this way ever since. Q. Let's go back to 14, because which order did you guys hit? SCOTT HARVEY: He hit first, I was in the bunker. TODD MITCHELL: Oh, on 14? Yeah, I hit first. Q. You hit first, and I think they would have given you the bunker shot. Did that seem like you -- did that free you up? You left the bunker shot. SCOTT HARVEY: I went a little past the hole, but it almost went in. Q. It was not far past the hole, though? SCOTT HARVEY: Originally, we were talking about landing it, trying to land it into the bank and have it tumble over to the hole, but he had a gimme. I said I'm just going to try and dunk it which, whatever. That doesn't mean anything. But I was trying to make it, yes. Q. Sure, sure. Have you guys played in any other team events besides this one? SCOTT HARVEY: Uh-uh. Q. Do you ever play golf any time of the year together? TODD MITCHELL: We play some of the tournaments together and play practice rounds together. Q. You play practice rounds in other event? TODD MITCHELL: Yeah. Q. I'm sorry to ask. The specific number is how many USGA events for both of you guys? TODD MITCHELL: I think I'm close to 30 or something. SCOTT HARVEY: I think it was pretty close. TODD MITCHELL: I think we have 60 between us. SCOTT HARVEY: I remember telling my dad, I tried to qualify for my first one in the 2007, U.S. Amateur at Olympic. I made it. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea. I went out there, and I was like, oh, my God, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. Everything was perfect. I didn't even know what a Mid-Am was at the time. I came back, my buddy said, hey, you should try for the Mid-Am and whatever. Next thing you know, I'm like, man, these USGA events, this is incredible. So I told my dad, I said, Dad, I played in the U.S. Am and the Mid-Am in the same year. He's like, man, you can do it every year if you want to. I'm like, I don't know about that, but I really want to. And, you know, fast forward, what are we, 12 years later, I don't know how many I've played in, but this is -- I mean, it's incredible. TODD MITCHELL: My first Mid-Am was here. Q. Really? TODD MITCHELL: Yeah. I had qualified. I had played in the Am in '03, '05, and '06. And I think I was 27, so I was a couple years after. And I think being in your 20s, you think you're invincible. I want to play against college kids. I want to play against the best and all that. Then I heard -- I think somebody from my hometown came out and said how great it was. I said oh, the Mid-Am is out there. I'm going to try to qualify. Because the Mid-Am was here is the reason I tried to qualify for the Mid-Am. Q. Do you remember how you did? TODD MITCHELL: I shot 83 the first round. Q. Okay. TODD MITCHELL: But the weather got so bad the next day, I shoot 68, and I went from, like, 215th to, like, 40th. I lost in the second round of match play. Q. My memory is they set the course up with the prevailing north wind that summer, and they got a south wind on the first day, and it flipped all the tee boxes. I don't know if you remember. TODD MITCHELL: It was abandoned trails. Q. Completely flipped? TODD MITCHELL: It was definitely out of the south because I remember I made triple on the 18th at Pacific. Q. It was not what you expect the wind to be. TODD MITCHELL: It was like into my face, off the -- Q. (No microphone)? TODD MITCHELL: That was the second day. THE MODERATOR: Scott Harvey, Todd Mitchell, thank you for your time. Congratulations on being the four-ball champion. SCOTT HARVEY: Thank you. TODD MITCHELL: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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