U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2020

Andy Lopez

Bandon Dunes

Quick Quotes

Q. How were the conditions out there? You got the first tee time today.

ANDY LOPEZ: Yeah, it was nice. It was still pretty windy so you had to control your ball, but the course is in good shape, so I had a good time.

Q. Was it easier than yesterday afternoon when you played?

ANDY LOPEZ: A little bit. I had control of the ball pretty much throughout the whole day, so it wasn't too hard. The wind was a little bit easier than yesterday, so yeah, it was probably a little bit easier today.

Q. You teed off right around 11:00 something yesterday?

ANDY LOPEZ: Yes, 11:13.

Q. Do you feel like you got by far the best draw of anyone here?

ANDY LOPEZ: In a way, kind of. I don't necessarily think about it like that, I've just got to play the golf course the way it is, and however windy it is you've got to accept that and just battle it out.

Q. Did you talk to any of your teammates who said, man, I wish I had 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.?

ANDY LOPEZ: Yes, a few, but I don't know if I should name names.

Q. I guess there's seven of you guys here this week?

ANDY LOPEZ: Yes.

Q. Is there any kind of secret little championship within a championship contest going on within the group?

ANDY LOPEZ: No, just to beat them, beat all of them.

Q. No like low man gets dinner bought --

ANDY LOPEZ: No, we didn't think about that. I guess we just wanted to beat each other.

Q. Was there a sense of relief yesterday posting that score, because you still had to play much of your round in the wind. Was there a sense of relief turning in a 2-under score, kind of free you up a little bit today?

ANDY LOPEZ: In a way, yes, because I knew I had to start off strong, play good coming in, and then holes 15 through 18 were dead back into the wind, so I knew if I had a good round going and just kept it together throughout the last few, I'd post a pretty solid round. I thought 2-under was pretty solid coming?

Q. Was it windier today around this time than it was yesterday when you teed off at Trails?

ANDY LOPEZ: I think it's about the same right now. You probably feel it morning on Dunes than Trails, but more on 14 through 18, those tee boxes are more up in the hills and more exposed so you can probably feel the wind more there.

Q. What's the harder course in the wind do you think? Is it Trails because sometimes you don't know where the wind is coming from?

ANDY LOPEZ: Yeah, I think Trails might because you can decide on whether you want to keep it below the trees and have the wind not really affect it, or you can put it up above the trees and the wind will affect it more. Probably tougher on Trails.

Q. Given you played at Bandon yesterday and Bandon is now the match play course, did you mentally start thinking about some strategy for match play today?

ANDY LOPEZ: Not really. I tried to work on my presence and just focusing on one shot at a time, think of where I am, just one shot at a time really. Not thinking of the future.

Q. You made match play last year?

ANDY LOPEZ: I did not. I didn't make the cut.

Q. Have you played match play?

ANDY LOPEZ: This is my first time, I think.

Q. If you're under par you're going to make match play. First time playing match play at a U.S. Amateur -- I wouldn't ask you this question if you weren't for sure safe, but what's that kind of mean to you and where does that kind of slot in on your list of achievements?

ANDY LOPEZ: I haven't really thought about that yet, but making match play means a lot.

Q. What's your biggest achievement so far in golf?

ANDY LOPEZ: In golf, probably my first college win in Inverness last year, and this will probably be right up there, too, because this is pretty impressive.

Q. Didn't you go 5-0 in Big 12 Match Play, too?

ANDY LOPEZ: I did.