U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 10, 2021

Brad Reeves

Oakmont Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Worried about the delay at all?

BRAD REEVES: Not too much. I mean, it's just, you know, you got to stay patient with everything. Kind of going into the day you knew that there was going to be some spotty weather. That's the way Pittsburgh is this time of year.

So I was just kind of hanging out, eating food, staying hydrated, and just messing around.

It was actually a good like break. I don't know, just kind of -- I had some momentum on -- I birdied three of the last four holes before the restart, and then -- so took a little bit of momentum away, but it was fine.

I knew where I stood. Felt comfortable and it was not too bad.

Q. So after yesterday's round and coming here, what you probably think is going to be a tougher test, what was your mindset and what did you think you had to do?

BRAD REEVES: Well, after yesterday's round it gave me a cushion, and seeing the scores yesterday there was only two guys at par or better, so my mindset coming in here was just try to make pars and get a couple birdies when I could and when I had a couple good shots.

And seemed like in the morning when it started blowing when we were warming up I was like, could play even tougher. So I knew that par was going to be a good score. Just came out here and just tried to play the smarts out of the hole.

Generally if you put yourself in the right spot on the green you're not going to have too much trouble putting out here. It's when you get on the wrong side of the hole that you can hit three-, four-putts.

Q. So you birdied 4, 6, and 7 before the break.

BRAD REEVES: Yeah.

Q. Could you go over those birdies? Did you knock it on 4?

BRAD REEVES: No. So right before they stopped play it was blowing pretty good and it was dead into, so I went driver, 4-iron, into like the first cut, the shorter of the rough cuts.

I hit wedge to like six inches.

And then 4, 5, made par.

Q. 6.

BRAD REEVES: 6 I just hit like -- it was straight downwind. It was 207. I hit 8-iron to like five or six feet; made it --

Q. Back in the corner?

BRAD REEVES: -- back right, like back, yeah. And then 7 was playing dead into again. I hit a really good drive probably one of the better ones I hit this week, and then I had a 7-iron to about 10 feet and probably left it in the perfect spot just right of the pin.

It was like a right center putt.

Q. How far with the 7-iron?

BRAD REEVES: It was probably -- I think it was 180 -- well, I don't have it, but it was like 188 adjusted or --

Q. Could see the crest of the hill?

BRAD REEVES: Huh?

Q. Could you see it?

BRAD REEVES: See the pin?

Q. Yeah.

BRAD REEVES: Yeah, yeah, I was very, very top of it, so like I could see the pin but I couldn't really see the surface of the green.

Q. Right, right, right.

BRAD REEVES: But, yeah, so it was solid.

Q. Before the birdie run did you feel like you were struggling at all around here, or it was just the course was beating you up a little bit?

BRAD REEVES: The course is hard. It was blowing. I mean, No. 3 today was straight downwind and pin was in the back and top of that green was really firm. I don't know what it is now.

But it was like really hard to hold the green. I hit a poor drive anyway, but there were holes that were playing ridiculously hard. I knew that I -- I mean, that birdie run just came from playing smart and just trying to hit on the smart side, and if you made par, knowing that that was like a really good score.

Yeah, I was struggling, grinding it out, but I knew everybody else was probably doing the same thing.

Q. 3 played tough yesterday.

BRAD REEVES: Yeah, I mean, it happened to be playing --

Q. Because you either come back or you go deep.

BRAD REEVES: Yeah, exactly. And then it falls right off, like two paces past the -- yeah.

Q. What did you learn today that's going to help you in match play around here?

BRAD REEVES: That I can make birdies out here. Just swing feels good and just reassure myself, just bring that confidence into the rest of the week.

Q. When Tiger came here for the first time he was amazed at how many blind shots there are here. Did that dawn on you? Did you feel/see that happening or...

BRAD REEVES: I mean, before Sunday when I played the practice round I didn't really realize the -- like how many blind shots and how -- I mean, just I wouldn't say it's like super hilly, but just you can't see -- like No. 9's tee you can't see the surface or fairway when you're teeing off.

Yeah, you just have to commit to what you're doing, pick out a good target. They do have the alignment poles like you see here on 15 --

Q. They take them off for the U.S. Open.

BRAD REEVES: They do?

Q. Why don't you guys take them off? What's the matter with you?

BRAD REEVES: So it was kind of nice. It was good reference for some. Tee shots out there, especially like No.4 out there. You can't see the fairway at all. If they didn't have those two poles up there, like left and right side of the fairway, you would have to try to figure out something.

Q. Oh, on 5.

BRAD REEVES: On 5, yeah. Yeah, sorry.

Q. That's okay. Did you hear a lot of the horror stories coming in about this course and do you think it lived up to that as you played it?

BRAD REEVES: Yeah. I mean, I could see how, what was it, Angel Cabrera won at like 7-over or something out here. I could see how it happens, especially we're blessed that it's soft. Right now at least.

Yeah, plays a little longer, but into the greens is where it really makes a difference. So for us to have a little bit of control into the greens and softness, because if they were firm -- I mean, they're fast. Don't get me wrong. But if they were like firm and then fast, the balls would be rolling all over the place and it would be -- you have to be even more precise.

Q. Like yesterday?

BRAD REEVES: Like yesterday, yeah.