U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 28, 2021

Stephen Behr

Sankaty Head Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You had a nice little run on the front where you won 4, 5 and 6, got the lead. What did you do well there?

STEPHEN BEHR: He won No. 3, the par-3. I made bogey and he made a good par. And then on 4, I actually hit it in that left bunker, and he hit it in the right bunker off the tee, and I hit like maybe the best shot of the day for me, just hit a really hard, high 6-iron out of the bunker in there like 15, 20 feet.

Maybe that caught him off guard a touch. I'm not sure. It even caught me off guard a little bit. He made bogey there, so I picked up -- I got that lost hole back right away.

He missed a short putt on 5 in the wind, so that was kind of a gift, but then I capitalized on it, and I hit a really good iron shot into No. 6, the par-3, and was able to make that 10-footer.

Q. You picked up another hole on 11 with a birdie.

STEPHEN BEHR: That's right, yep. I had just won No. 10, and hit a driver, 3-wood into 10 today. It was a beast into that wind.

Then on 11, just hit a really good 6-iron back there pin high, and then Mike didn't hit his best iron shot after me, and he ended up making bogey, so he conceded my 10-foot birdie putt.

Q. You seemed fairly comfortable the rest of the way.

STEPHEN BEHR: Yeah, after this morning, this morning was just the most emotional roller coaster match. It was really emotionally tolling. I had like 15 feet on 18. I just had to two-putt to win and I ended up running it by and missing it coming back, so I was kind of in mental shambles going into the first playoff hole, but I somehow managed to hit it 20 feet, and I rolled in the 20-footer. Just that emotional -- being able to overcome that hole that I squandered for the match, really I was so relieved by that, that I knew I was going to play a great player, and I just felt at peace this afternoon just because of how crazy that morning match was.

It felt good to just be out there and play my game and not get all tense, and that helped me.

Q. Since you said you were in shambles after 18, how did you pull yourself back together to play the 19th hole?

STEPHEN BEHR: Probably anger. Anger probably helped there. I finally just said, you know, the heck with it, let's just hit a good shot, let's hit it on the green and let's just end this.

For me to make that putt was just crazy, crazy and just -- I drew so much confidence from making that putt that I felt like that made this afternoon really a lot easier for me.

Q. You got to the round of 16 in '18.

STEPHEN BEHR: I did.

Q. Didn't play in '19, and obviously we had the COVID year. Does it feel a little weird coming back here three years since playing in this?

STEPHEN BEHR: Yeah, it just goes to show this tournament is so hard to qualify for. It's just always such an amazing opportunity when you get into a USGA event like this. You don't take them for granted. They're hard to get into. I was lucky enough to be exempt this year, which I like that way the best. I really like not having to go through that 18-hole qualifier.

It's been an amazing venue. My family and I are here, and we've had a lot of fun. I think in '18, too, if I would have won my 16 match, I would have played Hagestad in the quarters. It looks like we're going to finally get that match that we thought maybe was going to happen in '18. Tomorrow will be a fun one for Stu.

Q. You chose the work path rather than to try to be a professional golfer. Since the last time we talked to you, how is that going, and how much time do you have to practice?

STEPHEN BEHR: It's good, yeah. I work for SAP. They're always -- SAP has always been pretty supportive with golf, having Ernie Els as an ambassador and Cameron Champ now, so they're a big PGA TOUR ambassador. I do operations and reporting for a group there for the presales organization. I play probably once a week, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I do try to play in like seven or eight tournaments a year, and I feel like that's where I really get my game polished is playing under tournament pressure.

Georgia amateur golf, there's so many good players in Georgia that those are great. That's great preparation for events like this, playing against those guys.