U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 15, 2020

Charles Osborne

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. Can you talk about the excitement of being in the U.S. Amateur championship match?

CHARLES OSBORNE: It's kind of unbelievable. I can't believe that I'm here. It's just really cool how this week has gone for me, and I'm excited to be in it.

Q. Talk about the way you played on the back nine when you pulled away there.

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, I kind of took it away a little bit. Kind of felt like I turned the table a little bit when I won a couple holes on the front there and got it to 1-up going into the back.

I lost a little bit of ground on 12, but then I brought it right back and made two birdies in a row, which was nice. Obviously 15 was a mess, but we came out all right.

Q. 13, you hit the green in two. What did you have to the green?

CHARLES OSBORNE: It was 179 and we were kind of waiting to see what he did, so we decided to, after he hit it down right, we decided to hit an 8-iron and just make sure get it up there middle of the green.

Q. Then the eagle putt was a long one that went by, but you had about eight feet going uphill. Any break to that?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Right edge. Thought it was right edge just a little bit.

Q. Good drive on the next hole, and what did you have as a short iron?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I had 95 yards and I just hit a little 60 in there.

Q. About six feet?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah.

Q. And again, looked fairly straight?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, we put it on the right edge, actually, and it barely snuck in there which is really cool. That's a shot right there.

Q. When you took the unplayable, obviously you didn't really have anything under that gorse. Tell me what you were thinking there?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, my dad was asking me to kind of go in, do what Tiger did, I think it was at the WGC, but I didn't have anything in there. So I was trying to stick my club in there, but I couldn't get it in there. I decided to take an unplayable, and on the line, which is like just left of No. 12, which is pretty short rough. I had 69 yards coming back on that, and with the green again, it's all right.

Q. Were you surprised on his shot, the second shot that was down near the front bunker, that it went through the green?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, I couldn't -- I thought he was going to run it up there. I mean, it seemed like he thought it was fine, but it just kept rolling. It's kind of a mean pin. Kind of goes down after.

Q. Then obviously, to halve the hole, that was a pretty good shot from the back of the green. What club did you hit there, behind the green?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I just used my putter. I was going to bump it, but after he hit it pretty close, I figured if I have to give it any chance, I could putt it.

Q. And obviously he got in trouble off 16.

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, I actually thought I was the one in trouble a little bit and he kind of did the same thing, and went a little further right, not that far, but managed to go in the hazard.

Q. Gets you in the U.S. Open. Are you surprised to be this far?

CHARLES OSBORNE: It's crazy. It's crazy to think that I have this opportunity.

Q. How do you handle nerves this week, and what kind of match play player did you consider yourself before?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I had not had much of experience in match play. The only thing was probably the NCAAs where I played Hayden Wood. I struggled a little bit in that but it was nice to have the cameras on you and get that experience.

Q. Reached the quarters?

CHARLES OSBORNE: We were just in the first. We were the 8-seed. I don't know if that was the quarterfinals. But that was about it.

This week, I've just kind of -- I've just been looking at it like I have nothing to lose everything and to gain. I try to be as aggressive as possible.

Q. Matthew had said earlier in the week he kind of plays with a chip on his shoulder. You seem to calm and easygoing. Is there a chip on your shoulder at all? You came in here as not a big name obviously.

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah.

Q. So how do you explain how you have gone through this?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I've always considered myself like a good player. I know my ranking doesn't show it, but it's just a number at the end of the day. I know the game I have and know what I can do, so I try to just do me and kind of let everybody else think what they think.

Q. Have you played with him at all, any college run-ins?

CHARLES OSBORNE: No, I haven't. I just said hi on the range this morning, but that was about it.

Q. What is your junior golf background as far as how extensively you've traveled in AJGA and stuff like that?

CHARLES OSBORNE: My dad, we always went to northern California because we're from Reno. We would do a lot of those NCGAs and at the time there was a lot of good names. We'd go do those NCGAs about a two-hour, three-hour drive. We traveled like almost every weekend for those kind of in-season events. And then as I kind of grew up a little bit, we started doing those AJGAs, and after I won the Spieth, I was able to play in those Invitationals and stuff. It was really cool.

Q. When did you win the Spieth?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Beginning of my senior year in high school. It was at Trinity Forest, so that was kind of cool.

Q. You aware of the success SMU players have had in USGA championships over the last five, six years?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, we were talking about it, last year at Pinehurst -- I guess Enloe was there playing in it, too. He was saying about every five years, there's an SMU champ. Yeah, he was saying last year, it could be one of us.

Q. Has any of them -- obviously your teammates would know he went through two finals back-to-back years as a junior. Has he said anything to you?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Oh, yeah. They have been blowing up my phone. The other guy that's been texting me a bit is Kelly Kraft. Good to hear from him. He's been helping the team a lot, so it's really exciting, too.

Q. Does it put any pressure on you when you hear from them?

CHARLES OSBORNE: It actually kind of calms me down to hear from those guys, and they are telling you that you've got the game, just kind of do you. Yeah, it calms me down just to know that they are there.

Q. How would you have rated the level of your game entering this week? What were the expectations?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I mean, you're always trying to win. I was always -- I told myself, just try to do my best and see what happens, type of thing, and make it into match play, and then match play is a different game than stroke play.

Yeah, I just told myself, make it to match play and see what happens.

Q. Have you found that since you didn't play college match play, did you have to alter your mentality much in this? Did you have to look at a guy with a target on his back?

CHARLES OSBORNE: It's hard because you're playing with your friends. I was playing Noah Norton the second match, and I grew up playing with him. He's always been really nice to me and supportive. It's almost hard to look at those guys and think they have a target on their back.

But at some point, you kind of do. You kind of have to try to step on them when they are down, but you feel bad at the same time.

Q. What does it tell you, that you can shoot a 77 in the first round of stroke play and now you're here playing for the championship?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Just anything's possible pretty much, yeah. It's wild.

Q. Says a lot about your mental strength. Do you feel like it says something?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yeah, I think it does. Kind of like you almost leave it behind you and kind of look what's in front of you. It's exciting that I could overcome that and be here now.

Q. Are you an advocate for brownie power now?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Of course. I love brownies.

Q. I don't know if they know but you've been eating a brownie every night?

CHARLES OSBORNE: I'm going to go over to McKee's and get another one.

Q. When did it start?

CHARLES OSBORNE: After the 77. I was sitting there with my assistant coach, and I was like, "You guys want desert?"

And they are like, "I'm kind of stuffed."

I'm like, "I'm going to get a brownie." I was feeling kind of down.

Q. Ice cream on it?

CHARLES OSBORNE: Yes. Big scoop of ice cream.