U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2021

Travis Vick

Oakmont Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. So let's start about the match. A little back and forth on the front nine.

TRAVIS VICK: Yes. Got off to a good start. Won the first hole. He missed a putt on 2 and then I won 3, so got 2-up early, and then kind of just tried to hold on for the rest of the day.

Q. Then when you got 10 you started to pull away a little bit. Had a birdied at 10, birdie at 12. Tell us about that.

TRAVIS VICK: Right. Well 8, actually he three-putted, which kind of gave my a little hope. I had a putt to go 3-up in the match, and, anyway, he ended up winning 9 and then I made birdie.

He missed about a 10-footer on 10 and I made about a 7-footer, which kind of shifted the momentum big time in my favor.

Q. And you like that 12 hole.

TRAVIS VICK: Yeah. 12th is playing straight downwind. Looks like the wind is picking up this afternoon, so you can just kind of bomb away. You got to be pretty precise on your second shot, but where that pin is located, people won't have more than a 5-iron.

Q. It's already been a long day in that you already won two matches on the day. How do you keep yourself hydrated and ready to go for that third match?

TRAVIS VICK: If you find out, let me know. (Laughter.) It's difficult having to go to bed at 10:00 p.m. you're place till dark, and you wake up the next morning at 5:00 a.m. just to start your match at 7:30.

I think the main objective this week is just try to stay healthy. That seemed to be a lot more -- been popping Advil and just trying to stay healthy as much as I can.

Q. This week has been kind of a grind for everybody. How do you stay focused with all the delays?

TRAVIS VICK: That's a good question. I think you just -- what I like to do is I take my mind off golf and I like to focus on other things. When it's golf time, like I'm getting out to practice, then I really get zoned in and ready to go.

Giving your mind a break and having outlets is great for this game.

Q. A lot of your teammates have been in this one; have you heard from them? Did they offer advice at all?

TRAVIS VICK: Yes, have. I played Parker in the round of 32, and then Pierceson has texted and said, Keep it going, and Cole just texted and said, Keep it going. The team camaraderie is all great, and hearing from them means a lot to me.

Q. Match play lends itself to some aggressive play at times. With how soft the course is playing, do you find that plays into your hands in some situations?

TRAVIS VICK: I do. I think my ball striking is kind of the strength of my game, so being able to attack more pins leaves closer putts to where -- you know, statistics say the closer you are to the hole the better chance you have of making it.

So the more I can get closer, the better chance I have of making it.

Q. How different is it here compared to Sunday, Monday, when you first got out?

TRAVIS VICK: It's night and day different. You know, you couldn't hole greens, like 12, for example, especially downwind. That ball lands on the front, it's going all the way off the green in the back.

Now you can land it on the front and stop it. It's just playing completely different, but it's -- you still very tight on some fairways and still have to hit it well.