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U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPSeptember 17, 2019Joe DeraneyAurora, Colorado Q. You got off to a little bit of a slow start today. Was there a turning point in the match? What happened that got you going? JOE DERANEY: Yeah, so this afternoon I made a nice birdie on 1, and then struggled for the next five or six holes. It was windy, and it's firm. Some of it's me, some of it's the golf course had some teeth. I made a little bit of a comeback on 8. I hit it just over the green in kind of some tall fescue and was able to save par and he made 6, to cut the lead from 3 to 2, and I chose to go for the green and I hit a greenside bunker, and I hit a beautiful bunker shot on 8 to a tap-in, so it got it back down to 1. And then 1-up, it's fair game there. Played pretty solid on the back, nothing crazy, just hit some good shots. It got really, really windy, so yeah, we both made some bogeys that really weren't bad bogeys because the holes were playing -- 13, 14, 12 was playing great and very difficult. But the little stretch, 7 and 8, to cut the deficit to 1 at the turn, and then I got very fortunate on 10. Wind was pumping 30 off the left and I hit one way right, and it went so far right that it ended up in 9 fairway, and then I was able to actually win the hole. I hit a great second shot and made par, so I won the hole. Q. Talk about this course as a match play venue, especially these closing holes is a pretty brutal test. How do you keep the mindset knowing it doesn't have to be a birdie-fest to win? JOE DERANEY: Yeah, especially in the afternoon. In the morning the greens are a little more receptive and you know you're probably going to have to make a few more birdies. Typically in the afternoon, the breeze gets up here -- you've got 5-irons -- they're nice enough to give you some drivable holes, but they're difficult drivable holes. I almost holed out on 14, and then went over the green and had nothing. Hit a wonderful shot to about nine feet. The golf course I think is a great match play venue. In the morning you know you've probably got to make a few more birdies. Because it's so firm and fast you know you can get to every par-5, so you know that you've got to kind of take advantage of those, especially if you have the advantage over your opponent, with a wink. But it's great. You've got to hit quality shots, and no, you don't have to make that many birdies to win. I probably ended up a couple over. I got conceded an eagle, but it wasn't -- an eagle, that helps the score, but you could easily shoot 2-over here every day and get by. In the morning, though, you probably need a little bit better score. It's great. I think it's wonderful. The USGA has done a good job so far with the pins, not making them bad. Frankly these greens can get really, really fast, and Coore & Crenshaw did a great job designing them, but I'm not sure if they were designed for 12 and a half, 13s, so the pin placements are important to make everything fair. Q. You're into the quarterfinals. That's a big deal. What are your initial feelings about that? JOE DERANEY: Yeah, I'm excited. I've been playing pretty solid over the last little while, and I had to miss a PGA TOUR tournament this week because I was here, so I surely didn't want to lose early because you don't get too many opportunities to play at a PGA TOUR event. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited. Right now my thoughts are I'm hungry and I'm tired and I'm going to go sit down and take it easy and go try again tomorrow morning. Q. Speaking of that, this is a pretty taxing course to walk. I imagine you're pretty exhausted, but to win this thing you're going to have to do the same thing two straight days. What are your plans to help alleviate that and get rested and ready for tomorrow and hopefully the next day? JOE DERANEY: You know, here I was thinking we were having a nice conversation, and you ask a question like that. Yeah, I've got no plan. I've got big ol' legs so they're going to support me, I'm going to stay upright. But it's just rest. You've got to rest and recuperate. If I'm being honest, when I come every morning, I bring Aleve, Gold Bond and a coffee. That's what I need. I'm going to do it again tomorrow morning and go again from there. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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