U.S JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 27, 2022

Oscar Bach

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. Let's start with the first part of your day, having to go through that whole playoff. What kind of pressure was there?

OSCAR BACH: You always know that all the players are really good, so you're probably going to need a birdie or stay for a while to get through. I thought if I just -- I played solid the last couple days, and if I kept playing solid I would get through, and if I didn't then maybe it just wasn't my time. I played solid, hit every fairway and every green, made five straight pars and got through.

Q. On the last hole on the par-3, talk about that tee shot and how it reacted once it got down there.

OSCAR BACH: Yeah, so it's quite tight down there and I hit it pretty good, just a bit right, then it landed up on the hill, came down and then hit the flag and went to about five feet. That was nice.

Q. Then that putt was a little downhill, right?

OSCAR BACH: I hit it a bit past, but I made the three-footer back, so that was nice.

Q. You had to back off a little bit; there was some noise, I guess, maybe that distracted you?

OSCAR BACH: I did, yes. There was a car in the background.

Q. Was it fairly straight in, that three-footer?

OSCAR BACH: Yeah. I mean, I've been hitting my short putts really well this week, so it wasn't really...

Q. Was there a sense of relief after all that was over?

OSCAR BACH: Yeah, yeah, I would say that, yeah, there was.

Q. Now the reward was you got to play a guy who's played pretty well here so far. He posted a couple of 68s over the weekend. I don't know if you knew too much about him going into the match.

OSCAR BACH: No, I had no idea who he was. I only know one other player from New Zealand, but you can look at the leaderboard and see that he's a good player. I knew I had to play well, and yeah.

Q. You got to the middle of the match, and it was pretty tight, and then you won 8, 9 and 10 in a row. Tell me about that stretch of holes.

OSCAR BACH: So I had really -- I didn't play that well in the start, but I kind of got into a rhythm on 3 and 4 and started playing really well.

Then 8, 9, 10, I made a birdie on 8, hit a good putt from like 20 feet; 9, I had a tap-in birdie; 10, I made a good par. From there, we just both played decent, just tied in, and I already had the lead.

Q. Once you got the lead were you feeling more and more confident as the match went along?

OSCAR BACH: I don't know, I just step up to the ball and try to hit a good shot every time. I didn't really feel that much. I just tried to pick a good target and hit, whether the match is 4-up or 4-down. It doesn't matter a bit. Maybe at the end, but in the middle there on 8, 9, 10, I was just trying to hit good shots and really not necessarily think about his game but more how do I play my best.

Q. Have you played this type of links style courses in the past?

OSCAR BACH: I have a couple of times. I was in Scotland a couple of weeks ago, played the Junior Open, so yes, I have. But it is different. It's very different, yeah. But Scotland, the greens are maybe a bit softer but the fairways are firmer. Here it's more when you first land on the green it's super firm and then it rolls out, whereas in Scotland you have to land it short and then when it lands short it loses spin and then keeps rolling out. It's a bit different, but yeah, I really like it.

Q. Obviously Norway is not known for golf, at least until recently. Who were you idolizing as you grew up? Who were you watching that made you want to play the game?

OSCAR BACH: That's a tough question. I mean, I've always been a big fan of Jordan Spieth. I watched a lot of golf in 2015, 2016. I know he had a bad period 2018-2020, so I've always liked him a lot. And Tiger, of course, and Rory. Those were probably my three. I've always liked the way Jordan putts. You can see I kind of hold my grip the same way because I've always tried to look like him.

Q. Did Viktor Hovland give Norwegians that wanted to play golf more confidence that they could do it, too?

OSCAR BACH: In a way, yes, but we're not that many in Norway. I would say so, yeah, especially when he's not from the biggest club in Norway, either. I think so, yeah. For me, I've always thought that I could do it, and I think others should, too. But I think so, yeah, from a small country, if people want to start trying -- I think when you first started you're always trying to believe in yourself so then it doesn't really matter, but when you're getting started it's nice to see someone that's already done it and see that I actually can do it. So I would say so, yeah.

Q. For those that have never seen you play, how would you describe yourself to someone? What kind of a player are you?

OSCAR BACH: I'm calm, try to always stay the same and just plot my way around. I don't play perfect, but sometimes I play good enough and sometimes I don't. That's how it is.

Q. What's your favorite club to hit?

OSCAR BACH: Either hybrid or putter. One of those.

Q. Why?

OSCAR BACH: Putter because I feel like I can hit it in the hole, and hybrid because I just love the sound of it.