WALKER CUP

May 9, 2021

Nathaniel Crosby

Ricky Castillo

Cole Hammer

William Mouw

Seminole Golf Club

United States Press Conference

Q. Ricky, you led the team with a 4-0 record. How were you feeling out there today? It was pretty impressive.

RICKY CASTILLO: I felt good all week. Just my game has been coming around. I've been hitting the ball a lot better. Everything is kind of piecing together. It was a lot of fun out there. The course was tough. The GB&I team played great. They put up a great fight.

It was just a lot of fun being out there, and winning the Walker Cup is the pinnacle of amateur golf, so I couldn't be more excited.

Q. What does that mean to you as an American?

RICKY CASTILLO: It's pretty incredible when you get to represent your country, so I was so excited to just be a part of this team and win the Walker Cup and go 4-0 is pretty special.

Q. Did you feel any extra pressure being one of the guys that seemed to be healthy this week, and getting the momentum to come through again and to step up to bail out some of the other guys that weren't feeling as well all week?

RICKY CASTILLO: Yeah, I felt a little pressure because I think seven of the guys got sick and weren't able to play at some point.

It was tough, but I mean, I just stuck to my game plan, just knew that I was there and I was going to be able to fight for my team. Even though some of the guys didn't feel great, Ty didn't feel great this whole week, even today, but he fought for the team as hard as he could, and he didn't come out with a win, but it was pretty cool to see a guy who's not feeling great at all pretty much almost like passed out and is still out there playing his butt off.

Q. It was kind of nip and tuck out there on the afternoon and whatnot. Were you aware of how close things had gotten at some point, and obviously how critical your point might have been?

RICKY CASTILLO: I didn't know really that much, but I knew that I wanted to win my point and I needed to win my point, and that's literally all I was trying to do.

I can't control any of the other matches or anything. I was just out there just trying to win my point and ended up winning, so it was a tough match, but it was good.

Q. How would you describe the atmosphere this afternoon?

RICKY CASTILLO: It was pretty cool. I mean, the atmosphere was unbelievable. People were cheering. I was going nuts. It's something I've never been a part of, and I'm really glad that I got to be a part of it.

Q. Two years ago you made a really great run at the U.S. Amateur. You came very close to making the Walker Cup team two years ago. How satisfying is it to come into this year's team and play so well given that you were close and then you've really kind of developed into one of the top amateurs in the world since then?

RICKY CASTILLO: Yeah, I mean, it's tough because I've always thought as the Walker Cup, you've got 16 to 20 really good players in the U.S. and only 10 are on the team, so it's -- I was disappointed, but at the same time, everybody on that team in 2019 deserved to be on that team.

I just used it as motivation and got to be a part of this team, and really it's been an incredible experience for all of us. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Q. Can you describe the second shot you hit on 9 today, because that was one of the cooler shots I saw during the tournament? What was your yardage and what were you kind of thinking about that?

RICKY CASTILLO: I had 232 and the trees were a little bit in my way, and I just tried to hit a high cut hybrid and John hit it a little long and stuff, so I knew it was a tough shot. And I just wanted to get up on the green or somewhere just short and pulled it off perfectly and had four feet for eagle and had a conceded eagle.

That was a good point in the match where I just knew I had control.

Q. Captain Crosby, Ricky's performance this week, obviously going 4-0, that was so key to the success in a tight match like this.

NATHANIEL CROSBY: The underclassman is the hero. It's 4-0 -- John Pak was the hero in 2019. He was 3-0. Ricky got the nod due to all of our unusual circumstances. He had the hot hand yesterday and got the four starts and got the four wins. An amazing performance from an amazing player.

I watched him get to the semifinals of the Western twice and watched him play well at Pinehurst in the U.S. Amateur. I think -- I watched him beat Eric Bae in the quarterfinals. You were 63, he was 65. So the guy has got tremendous game.

Nothing was unexpected this week, and nobody will be unexpected when he throws up 30 TOUR wins in the next 20 years.

Q. Captain, you've had a lot of great one-liners and jokes over these few days, but I know deep down this really means a lot to you, at Seminole, a course that has so much history in your life, in your dad's life. Could you sum up maybe what this means to you and what's going on inside your heart right now?

NATHANIEL CROSBY: Well, I like to keep the atmosphere light. It's not me being superficial or lighthearted about the event. I obviously have an incredible passion. I think every one of the players has seen me out there toting around at Sunnehanna, the Porter Cup, the Western Amateurs, and so many of these tournaments, Southern Amateur that I played in 45 years ago has been like being in a time warp for me.

So I really dedicated myself to getting to know the players that were going to be considered and trying to offer myself so that it wouldn't be awkward when we first -- when the team was selected. It wasn't going to be our first encounter, which in the past -- not recent past, but in the distant past, many of the captains were meeting the team for the first time at the departure steps of the gate to go overseas or the arrival at a local venue.

Seminole to me, I first set foot here with my dad, George Coleman, who was the president of the club here many times and my dad's best friend, 1976. I was 14 years old. Two years later I get to play four rounds of golf consecutively with Ben Hogan and George Coleman.

I kind of pinched myself sometimes to think that I might be the real Forrest Gump.

But to come back, I've been a member here since 1992, and to be a Walker Cup captain at my home course and to have a close victory like we did today and to have the special friendships that I've had with each and every team member that allowed us to win is too good to be true.

Q. Cole, to get the, I guess clinching point to retain the Cup, what does that mean to you, and kind of compare and contrast the end of yesterday to now how you're feeling right now?

COLE HAMMER: Yeah, it obviously means a lot. It didn't have to be me to get the clinching point. I just got lucky that I was ninth out, and I'm grateful that Cap trusted Stew and I to kind of anchor it for us at the end. When Robby told me that my match clinched it I got pretty emotional because this event means so much to me after being a part of a winning team two years ago, and being able to do it again here at Cap's home spot was really cool.

Q. For the three players, Nathaniel Crosby is 2-0 as a Walker Cup captain, winning the first Walker Cup at Seminole. What do you think this means to him?

WILLIAM MOUW: I think this is huge for Captain Crosby. He's been a hell of a player in his amateur days, and I think it's just really topped off his career to be 2-0 in his Walker Cup experiences.

Pretty cool for Captain to experience this, and he's one funny guy and he's a great captain. We loved him.

COLE HAMMER: Cap, we love you, man. Thank you for everything.

NATHANIEL CROSBY: Don't get gushy. Be strong. No tears on the plane going home. Be strong.

COLE HAMMER: Fair enough. No, seriously, congrats. We loved it.

NATHANIEL CROSBY: You guys hit the shots. Thanks for making my life better, buddy. All of you guys, really.

Q. Five, ten years down the road, what will you remember from this week?

NATHANIEL CROSBY: Well, the best thing is I feel like I have a lifelong relationship with all the players. I'm going to be fighting, scratching, and clawing to get them insights.

It's hard to call sponsors and say I've got 20 guys, but one at a time the Brando Wus and the Alex Smalleys and the Isaiah Salindas are going to get their tee times and going to be successful, and shortly thereafter or simultaneous these guys will, as well.

I pick my spots but I try to help them. I feel like I've got a lifelong association, and that means not just taking what they've given me these last few days, this last week and the last couple of years of following them and getting to know them, but to really try to make whatever I can do for them going forward so that they can achieve their true goals and not be snipped on the bud because they don't get enough tee times. That's all I can really do.

I think once they emerge past getting the right tee times to establish themselves, then they're on their way, and I get to pay full price to play with them in a pro-am.

Q. How would you characterize the win then this week? Was it hard-fought? Was it a relief?

NATHANIEL CROSBY: It's a relief for me for them because it's a lifelong memory for me, as was my experience in 2019, as was my experience in 1983, as was my World Amateur experience in 1982.

You know, the USGA somehow has interwoven itself in my life, but it was a relief for me to know that all of our team and all the players on our team will have a positive look back on their Walker Cup experience.

It wasn't that I made a Walker Cup team. It's not that I played in the Walker Cup team. It's that they were part of a winning Walker Cup team and they got to do pictures with the trophy.

It really serves as a foundation because they hit critical shots under pressure, and it's more like a major championship moment, or the feeling. It'll serve them when they're in that moment, which might be two years down the road, it might be five years down the road, might be 10 years down the road.

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations. Thank you for joining us.