	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 16, 2019

Cohen Trolio

Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Cohen Trolio from West Point, Mississippi, a 3 & 1 winner over Austin Squires to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur. Cohen, just tell me what you think when you hear your name as U.S. Amateur semifinalist. What do you think?

COHEN TROLIO: It's cool. It's crazy, but it's awesome, and I know that I've still got a couple more steps to go, so we aren't getting too crazy excited. But it's cool.

Q. The first question is he drives the green on 13, makes the putt.
COHEN TROLIO: Yeah.

Q. Squares the match, and what are you thinking at that point?
COHEN TROLIO: I know what I -- I know my expectations, and I know that's good enough to beat just about anybody. Of course he was making a little run, and I was like, I'm going to focus on myself. I guess focusing on myself worked and sticking to my plan worked.

Q. Hearing you got a pretty vocal support system behind you today, how important was that for you and what kind of motivation did you pull from that?
COHEN TROLIO: It was awesome. Johnny Moore was out there. I play golf with him all the time. Yeah, you could probably hear him yelling from a mile away. But yeah, it was cool. It was fun.

Q. What were your expectations heading into this week?
COHEN TROLIO: I wanted to win the golf tournament. I didn't think any less of that. I knew that if I stuck to my plan, then I'm good enough to beat just about anybody here.

Q. With only playing junior events this summer and no amateur events, what gave you the confidence that you could win this golf tournament?
COHEN TROLIO: Well, I train hard enough, I practice hard enough. I don't practice just to beat juniors, I don't practice just to beat amateurs. I practice to beat everybody.

That's just my expectation. That's the way I've thought forever. I just made it happen here.

Q. Have you played in any amateur tournaments even before the summer then, any national ones? Or is this literally your first?
COHEN TROLIO: Like amateur events?

Q. Not junior tournaments but amateur events.
COHEN TROLIO: No, this is my first time trying to qualify for U.S. Am. So no, I don't think so.

Q. You say that you've got confidence, obviously that you've been working hard an your game and you believe you can beat anybody here. Was there something specific over the course of the last couple months that allowed that confidence to brew and keep maturing?
COHEN TROLIO: You know, I don't think so. I think that you kind of build up from the past, like the past couple years it's kind of built up. But I knew I was good enough from the beginning.

Now, I didn't get overly like that, but I knew that it was going to happen at some point.

Q. You talked about sticking to your game plan. Your game was much different than Austin's today. Was it difficult for you to not push? How did you deal with that?
COHEN TROLIO: Well, y'all probably saw he's hitting it 60 yards past me off the tee box. So it does -- you kind of start thinking, oh, I've got to hit it harder, oh, I've got to hit it harder. Well, I don't think -- it got kind of hard after I saw him bomb it about 50 past me I guess on No. 4, but I still knew that what I had was good enough. So I just stuck to it.

Q. Can you share the story of your wedges? Is there a certain age restriction to get loft, or how does that work?
COHEN TROLIO: Yeah, so I guess we played a 52 until we were 11. Then we turned 11, I got a 54. I played a 54 until my 16th birthday, and then I just got a 56. That's about it.

Q. What's the theory behind that?
COHEN TROLIO: Well, I think Loren Roberts and I think Jim Gallagher told dad that if you -- you don't have to -- if you have talent, you don't need a 60-degree. You've got to learn to chip with not something that just sits on the ground wide open for you.

Q. Do you feel like you're at a disadvantage?
COHEN TROLIO: You know, I don't feel that way because I've learned obviously playing with a 54 and 52, you don't short-side yourself. You can't. I guess you get in some situations where it might, but not many.

Q. What's it going to take to get a 60?
COHEN TROLIO: I don't know. Nobody can tell my dad to give me a 60. I'm going to be honest with you. Nobody.

Q. Maybe your mom?
COHEN TROLIO: No, I don't think so.

Q. Your father being an instructor at Old Waverley and the adjacent golf course Mossy Oak, just curious if you have any experience playing against collegiate players from Mississippi State to give you kind of a little bit of a sneak preview about what it's like to play this week?
COHEN TROLIO: Yeah, I've played a lot of golf with Jim Gallagher Jr. I've played a lot of golf with Jonathan Randolph, Chad Ramey, Matt Fast. I've played a lot of golf -- a lot of the state players and a lot of Ole Miss players. I play basically every day. We've got a couple juniors that play at Waverley, but just about every day I'm teeing it up with guys who hit it 20 past me, know what I mean? So you learn you can beat them. It's not impossible to beat them.

Q. Have you ever played with Braden Thornberry?
COHEN TROLIO: I have, yes. I've played a good bit with him.

Q. Was it a match or more of a casual round?
COHEN TROLIO: Me and my little brother played him and Josh Seiple. It was a little match.

Q. How did it turn out?
COHEN TROLIO: We beat them. We got them. I don't remember by how much, but we got them.

Q. You were one of three junior golfers in the quarterfinals here. In your last three matches you took out a bunch of guys who have deep match play experience. What does it say about the state of the junior game? What is it about the junior circuit that's maybe getting you guys prepared to go out and compete with guys who have four or five years' experience playing in big events like this?
COHEN TROLIO: I think first of all, the golf courses, they've kind of lengthened them and made them a little bit harder, so scores are a little bit higher, so you learn to accept maybe shooting even par and striping it all day. So I think they're just playing longer harder golf courses kind of gets you acclimated to it.

Q. You've got momentum, you're up 2 and then the rain comes. What were you thinking, and how did you spend the rain delay?
COHEN TROLIO: I spent the rain delay sitting in a car, and we were just drying everything off. Of course I knew -- he's a good player. He's going to make a run. We're playing good players around here. So I knew he was going to come off hot, and so I was just -- I was like, I'm not going to start firing at pins, I'm not going to start doing this, so I just stuck to my plan, and he did make a run, obviously. I guess it turned out to go my way.

Q. What grade will you be going into now?
COHEN TROLIO: I'll be going into the 11th.

Q. It sounds like you've played some very good professional players. Who would you say is the best golfer that you have beaten on the golf course?
COHEN TROLIO: Oh, man. I don't even want to throw his name out there. I've gotten a little bit of Jim Gallagher. I've gotten a little bit of him. Now, he still can put on a fight, but I got him once or twice. (Laughter.)

Q. You seem very laid-back, very calm right now. Has there been any moment this week where you've felt pressure?
COHEN TROLIO: Not really. I mean, I'm just kind of here. I do this every day. I mean, I play golf every day. So not really, to be honest with you.

Q. You're going to be playing somebody from Mississippi. What do you know about Andy, and are you close to him? Have you played with him before?
COHEN TROLIO: He grew up in -- well, Little Rock, but it's basically Meridian. So I've played a little bit of golf with him. I don't know him very, very well, just because kind of when I started playing junior events, he was kind of going out. I don't know him great, but I know he's a very good player, and it'll be a fun match.

Q. Have you found your phone yet after the match? Just curious to see how many messages you have from your junior golf peers.
COHEN TROLIO: I actually gave my phone to my mom before because it was buzzing. I hadn't checked it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297