U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 30, 2021

Mark Costanza

Sankaty Head Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You got out there a little bit early and kind of controlled the match.

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, it was important to get off to a good start, which I did. Made a few birdies early on, a couple nice putts. I matched a couple of his birdies, which were nice. He chipped in on 9, and that putt that I had -- I hit a great shot in there to about four or five feet, and he chipped in for birdie, and to make that and kind of keep the momentum going was big, and then just kind of kept it going from there.

Q. You got birdies on 5 and 8 that got you to 4-up. Can you tell me about those?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, so 5 was one where I didn't hit the best wedge shot. It was playing really firm, and it kind of trickled to the back of the green. My putt was probably going at least 15, 20 feet by the hole if it didn't go in, and I was screaming, whoa, whoa, right from the get-go, and it went right in the heart, so it was kind of steal one there.

8, hit it in the front bunker left and made a great up-and-down that just kind of kept it going.

Q. He cut the lead in half on the back; you birdied the 14th.

MARK COSTANZA: Correct, so he made a big birdie on 13 to cut it, and they were fired up, and it was kind of -- it looked like it could be a turning point in the match. I hit a great putt on 14, a probably 35-footer right to left, and just poured it right in the heart, and that was huge.

Q. Tell me about your excitement level going into a final now and what you know about your opponent Stewart Hagestad.

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, super excited. I mean, I was excited really no matter what the result was going to be here this week, but now that I'm here and got a chance at the final and playing who is "the guy" in mid-am golf, and I've gotten to know him a little bit over the past year or so, and really looking forward to it.

Q. Your experience winning the New Jersey state Open and a couple other championships in the last year, how much will that help you this afternoon?

MARK COSTANZA: Yeah, it'll me a lot. Even today as sort of the pressure was building a little bit, I thought back to the state open when there was a big crowd out there watching and the pressure sort of mounts a little bit. If I hadn't been in those situations and come through victorious in New Jersey and in the Met section, I think I would have been feeling a little bit more uncomfortable.

To have those experiences to fall back on is really important.