U.S. ADAPTIVE OPEN

July 18, 2022

Mario Dino

Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 6)

Quick Quotes

Q. Mario, good playing out there today. Can you talk us through your round a little bit.

MARIO DINO: Yeah, it was a rough start. I think I was 3-over through 14. The putts weren't falling, and I was kind of -- I was nervous. I do have to admit that. Then I birdied 18, which was good, and then I birdied a few holes on the front.

Had a rough ending; I doubled 17, which is the eighth hole on the course. But all in all, it was a good first round, good way to start.

Q. You're definitely still in the hunt, but bigger picture, how does it feel to be a part of the first ever playing of this championship?

MARIO DINO: I mean, this is amazing. The USGA has done really a great job with this championship, and it's so cool to see like everyone and the guy -- the guy I played with today, he had one arm and he hit the ball like 260. It was insane. He was a fantastic golfer, and everyone here, such great people, and it's fantastic.

Q. You touched on it there, but how rewarding is it to share the course with so many other inspiring athletes?

MARIO DINO: I mean, it's really cool. You look at there's like an 80 year old in the tournament and there's a guy who plays with his dog. It's really cool. Everyone out here, as the USGA says, has got a story, and it's pretty amazing.

Q. How do you think this championship will help amplify the adaptive community and stories like yours?

MARIO DINO: I really think one of the guys in the dinner last night touched on it. It just shows it's on a national level now. This is my first adaptive tournament, and it really -- I didn't know much about it and the aptitude it was before this, and now I see that it's kind of all around the country, and it's amazing.