U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 29, 2021

Mark Costanza

Sankaty Head Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Kind of a comfortable win this afternoon, if there is such a thing on this course.

MARK COSTANZA: Yep. I played with Andrew before. He's a great player. It's just one of those courses, and the conditions being windy, you've just got to really hit solid shots. You make a lot of pars and birdie the holes that are downwind, you can find yourself in a good spot.

Q. You got a 3-up lead with some pars by winning holes with pars. Were any of those you thought were key to the round?

MARK COSTANZA: You know, I wouldn't say there was any one. I think just being able to, again, put yourself in a spot where you make it easy on yourself. I think that's what's really important because if you start hitting it a little bit sideways, you can really stress yourself out, and it's not going to be good for you.

For the most part, giving yourself easy opportunities, easy putts for par, that's what you want.

Q. You went on to birdie 8 and 9 to get it to 5-up. How did you do that?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, 8 and 9, so those are two holes that are playing a little bit easier with the wind today versus in the days prior. 8 was -- I hit driver and I hit 5-iron just over the green. I could have taken a drop from the path but I decided to just play it like a bunker shot, and hit a great shot in there, made birdie. 9, I hit 2-iron and hit a great pitch shot to two or three feet on 9. So that was good.

Q. Coming into the week, what were your expectations, because you hadn't played in too many of these, right?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, yeah. So the first one I played was 2019 in Colorado. I remember qualifying for that event and thinking that it was just a great accomplishment that I qualified. I think I went into that one just thinking, hey, I'm so happy to be here, it's my first USGA event.

Since then, last year I had a lot of success locally in New Jersey in the met section, so coming into this event, I knew I was playing really well, and I felt a lot differently. I felt like I could really, if I was playing well, have a chance to win the tournament.

Q. What have you upgraded or enhanced in your game that's gotten you to this point?

MARK COSTANZA: You know, I think just being an all-around player. I think in college, I struggled with certain parts of my game, and then others were good, but now just being able to put it all together.

But I think the most important thing is just being mentally comfortable off the course, and that's translated to on the course.

Q. Getting to this point, does this tell you, hey, I belong here and I can compete with these guys?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, absolutely. I felt that before playing in this. I really felt that if I played my best golf, I would be right there at the end, and luckily I've been able to play some really good golf, and here I am.

Yeah, 100 percent I think moving forward I know that you play well in this event and you get this far, it means something.

Q. The wind has changed in all kinds of different directions, and we got a north wind today. How much did that change the course and the way you played it today?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, the first hole, I was hitting 5-irons on that hole, and then today stepped up there and I said, yep, I'm hitting driver. It's really cool to be able to play this course in a couple different winds because I think it does justice to the golf course.

I think just being able to adapt and adjust, I think I did that pretty well.

Q. On a personal level, you just got married 11 days ago, and your wife is here caddying for you.

MARK COSTANZA: Yes.

Q. Would you call this your honeymoon?

MARK COSTANZA: Yes, I would call this the first leg of our honeymoon. I want to say, first and foremost, I would not even be sniffing the semifinals of this tournament or even close to playing as well as I would if it wasn't for Meredith. Just for the last few years of knowing her, my golf game has gotten a lot better, but that's just a byproduct of my life being a lot better.

The second part of that, on Friday we are going to Italy for a week, so we weren't sure how many matches and how long we'd be playing golf this week, but it's been fun, and we're obviously going to see it through.

I think that's probably a question for her, if this was our honeymoon, but it surely is a part of it, and we want to make it as memorable as possible.

Q. Does she help you a lot with the mental side of the game?

MARK COSTANZA: Yes, but not probably in a way that most would think in a traditional caddie sense. You know, she really just kind of keeps me calm and I can kind of look at her, and whether I'm playing really well or not, I think she's -- she almost doesn't magnify the moment in any way, shape or form. She'll just be like, oh, I need a coffee, or -- she doesn't understand -- not that she doesn't understand, but doesn't really put so much pressure on the situation in the moment, and I think that rubs off on me in a good way.