U.S. ADAPTIVE OPEN

July 19, 2022

Jeremy Bittner

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

Quick Quotes

Q. We're here with Jeremy Bittner, who on the 4th hole today recorded the first hole-in-one in U.S. Adaptive Open history. Can you talk us through that shot, that hole, that feeling?

JEREMY BITTNER: Yeah, absolutely. Honestly it's within one of my favorite holes here this week. It's just a real picturesque, visually pleasing hole, downhill. I believe the number from the laser was 187, but playing downhill into the wind, kind of basically just played the number, took a little off a 6-iron. Off the club it was pretty good. It was going right at the flag.

It was my first hole-in-one, so never seen one go in there. When it disappeared I was actually like, oh, no, what happened, and then everybody started screaming and I was like, oh, that was a good thing. For the next 10 minutes I was shaking.

Q. What was the celebration?

JEREMY BITTNER: Just a lot of high fives, hugs, jumping around. It's great in competitive play because obviously it helps loosen things up. Obviously everybody out here is giving it everything they've got, and just to kind of see the camaraderie that comes along with anybody doing something special -- as much as we all want to win, we all want to see good golf, too, and it's cool to see everybody really being happy for me.

Q. You did put together a good round the rest of the day. Can you talk us through the rest of the round after that hole-in-one?

JEREMY BITTNER: Yeah, the rest of the round -- I was a little nervous on the first tee yesterday and I came in pretty good today, and actually the tee off the hole-in-one I was like, oh, man, those nerves came back. But I was able to hold it together somewhat. I didn't have the strongest finish I'd like, but like you said, it's a core memory that is going to stick with me no matter what the score was. It was a good bit better than yesterday, so we're trending in the right direction.

Q. Just kind of bigger picture, how does it feel to be a part of the first ever playing of this championship?

JEREMY BITTNER: It's absolutely fantastic. When I first heard about it this past winter, I was like, this is going to be really cool for the game and everything, and obviously I'd love to be a part of it. You get that email a couple months ago that I've been selected, and it's so cool to be here.

I've played in a lot of adaptive tournaments and everything, and you kind of prepare for all of them in a pretty similar way and know what to expect. Just showing up here on Saturday and seeing everything that they've got for the players -- I said to my buddies, the USGA sure does know how to run a tournament. They're like, yeah, you think?

Yeah, all the accommodations and everything, and just the support that they have, whether it's the USGA staff, the course staff or the hundreds of volunteers they have out here, everybody is just so supportive, and it's great to see.

Q. How rewarding is it to share the course with so many other inspiring athletes with stories similar to yours?

JEREMY BITTNER: Yeah, absolutely. I lost my lower left leg in a lawnmower accident when I was four years old, which is certainly a good story to tell nonetheless, and then you get out here and you hear some of these other stories and you see the adaptations that people have to overcome and come out here and play the game at the highest level when it comes to adaptive golf, and you're like, man, my story doesn't seem so cool anymore because I'm more fascinated by all the other things that I see. Like I said, it's an honor to be a part of it, and as much as I'm learning, I hope I'm giving some of that back to the other players here.