U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2020

James Piot

Bandon Dunes

Quick Quotes

Q. You're basically putting yourself in a great position for match play.

JAMES PIOT: Absolutely.

Q. Two eagles here at Bandon Dunes. Talk to me a little bit about the weather, what you thought the weather was going to be like going in and then actually what you experienced.

JAMES PIOT: Yeah, so beginning of the week I was sending off texts to all my buddies at home, I was saying, you know what, cut is going to be 6-, 7-over. I've never played a U.S. Am, but this wind and how it was looking practice rounds -- No. 11 I couldn't even get home in two which was a par-4 in the practice round, so I was like, you know what, I'm going to try to score the best I can this week, and I got a fortunate draw with the weather situation going morning/afternoon, and today was kind of dead out there on the Dunes course, which I was really surprised about, because like I said, practice round was nasty. Just took full advantage of it.

And yesterday at the Trails, too, it was pretty calm my first 13 holes and then I got out of the woods and the last four played straight into the wind, which was nasty, but I was fortunate enough not to have to play 18 in it, so I was pretty glad to get 2-under out of that round.

And then today just struck it unreal, for lack of better words.

Q. Your dad said it was basically for him one of the most stress-free rounds he's ever seen you play in person. You were the one actually hitting the shots. Your card is pretty quiet except for two monstrous eagles that really kick-started everything. How was that for you?

JAMES PIOT: Yeah, I mean, I just hit it really well, like I said. Just out of the gate I had birdie looks on 1, 2, 3 -- 3 I had an eagle putt from 25 feet, so getting that two-putt and being under par right away was a nice momentum booster, and just kept it going from there.

Looking back at it, didn't really hit any errant shots or anything like that, it was just a really good ball-striking day, and yeah, I would say pretty stress-free, other than my bogey on 7, but it was just a couple mental errors, and other than that, it was a really good day of golf.

Q. You did a lot of work last night with your buddy John Pak on the putting green at the Bandon Dunes practice center. Do you find that is something you really needed to work on, the wind blowing you off putts? It's not something everyone practices or has to deal with?

JAMES PIOT: I mean, it was a big factor going out there and hitting some putts last night, I thought just getting ready for today because I was expecting a lot more wind, and just getting used to the fact that when my ball is starting to die it's going to sweep a little bit more with that wind. But part of it, too, is I just like being out there hitting putts practicing after my rounds and just enjoying -- John happened to be out there, so I was like, let's have a putting contest, have some fun. It was a nice prep for today, though, no doubt.

Q. First U.S. Amateur, but you have experience in match play. What do you do to prepare yourself? You're going to be one of the higher seeds, so you're going to be probably facing off against someone that maybe is getting through a playoff Wednesday morning, so looking for tomorrow, what are you thinking about?

JAMES PIOT: Just play my game. I mean, I can't control who I'm playing or how they play. Just hopefully keep the ball-striking up and just good shots off the tee. I don't know what the weather is going to be tomorrow yet. I haven't checked. But you know what, just make the best of it.

Q. What's the worst weather you've played in, in Lansing?

JAMES PIOT: In Lansing now? We've played in borderline snow where it's starting to come down just for fun or qualifying like that. We've gotten rain where it's puddling on the green, had it called because of that. But low 30s. I've played in freezing weather where the ball is bouncing like concrete off of it. I've played in it all, to be honest with you. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'm fully prepared for it, no excuses, so I'm looking forward to it.