U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 1, 2021

Jerry Gunthorpe

Country Club of Detroit

Quick Quotes

Q. What did you tell yourself end of the front nine? 3-up lead early; kind of got a little tight there.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Yeah, it did, but I hit a good tee ball in the morning on 10, so I knew my line. I knew how to hit it. I knew what I wanted to do, and I just had to execute, and I did on the tee ball.

In the morning I hit it in the bunker. I did the same thing in the afternoon. I tried to hit in the bunker. So I didn't want to be long, didn't want to be left. That pin was a sucker pin for doing that.

So the positions I was in, and to make birdie was almost exactly the way I played the morning, so it was almost like, here I go again doing the same things, because I succeeded before and I felt more comfortable if I put myself in the same position.

Q. Jumped out to a pretty good start. Two birdies in the first three holes.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Yeah, that's not normal for me I don't think. I made a bomb on 1. I think it was 35 feet or so. So that was a long putt to go in. That was a huge start.

And then he bogeyed 2 and I birdied 3, or...

Q. Yes.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: I think I birdied 3. So, yeah, for me it was a storybook start for sure.

Q. Then you got to it 1 and then you birdied two in a row. I think it was 10 and 11, is that right?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: I birdied 9, 10, and 11. Birdied three in a row, yeah. It didn't change the way I was playing. The grind makes it easier over time, and that's what I'm finding, that I continually stick to my pre-shot, stick to my game, and it seems to be working and not bothering me right now.

Q. What was the goal coming into the week?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Probably win a match, just win one match. In 2019 I played at Old Chatham and lost to a really good player out of California. I was feeling I lost the match more than I won the match. I told myself coming into here I wasn't going to lose a match on my own. I am going to stick to what I do and not change what I've been doing, and that's basically the way I've been doing it all week long.

I'm not getting in my own way so far, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. But I'm looking to just try to continue what I'm doing.

Q. Where do you play out of?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Owasco County Club.

Q. A Michigan guy is in a championship match in Michigan. That doesn't happen very often.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: No. I don't think it's happened in a long time.

Q. Paul Simpson won, he's a native of New Jersey and he won in '12. Mick Bell won in Indiana in '06. That doesn't happen very often.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: No, I'm sure it doesn't. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow. I played with Gene one other time in a Golf Week event last winter. Great guy, good player. I know it's going to be a tight, tough match if I play well.

I just need to play well and see what happens.

Q. Getting to the finals gets you a lot of perks. You're now into the Mid-Am later in the month.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Am I really?

Q. You are now into the Senior Open next year, U.S. Amateur next year.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Are you kidding me? I had no idea.

Q. Thoughts about all the perks that are going to come your way here?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Had I known that I probably would've lost.

Q. Probably good you didn't.

JERRY GUNTHORPE: To be honest. Sweet, I guess. I can't complain for sure. You know, I've golfed my whole life; competed since I was 12.

I just don't do this because I choose not to do this as much. I know I can play with the guys. I tried for the Champions Tour in 2012; I got through one stage of the Champions Tour and I knew I could play with those guys.

I don't like that grind. I don't want to do that grind. I know I can play with those guys. For me it's a justification that I can play with those people. I just got to put myself in the positions to get the chance, get the reps, and I feel like I can play with anybody.

Now, whether I do it that day or not I have no idea. So far it's been a good run.

Q. Is Nick into the Mid-Am?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: He's an alternate. He played two years ago. So two years ago when I was at Old Chatham he caddied for me, and then I caddied for him at Colorado Golf Club. There were four guys tied for three spots and they had a playoff, and three guys made birdies and he made a par, in two playoff holes.

Q. Wow. Both your son caddied for you. How much of a comfort level is that to have those guys, particularly knowing they've played college golf?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: It's huge. I mean, Nate can read a putt better than anybody. Now, I can read a putt better than anybody. Read putts differently. So in the first two rounds we were having a little bit of a communication problem.

After the second round coming into match play I said, we got to change up our routine. We went to the putting green and worked on about a half hour routine of what he's going to read, what I'm going to read, how he's going to communicate it, when I need the information so I can be ready to putt.

The communication was off and I wasn't timed right to hit my putt. I need to be very comfortable because I'm a feel putter. We fixed that coming into match play. That was huge on all my putts. Our communication is 100% better than it was to start and it goes. We're sticking to that routine.

Q. Who gets the final say?

JERRY GUNTHORPE: Obviously I do, but if I don't do it right I might hear about it. We still have the banter going on. You're father son of we played golf against each other. We had our club championship two weeks ago and he beat me, so he says he's still the best golfer in in the family. Which he probably was that week.