U.S JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 29, 2022

Caleb Surratt

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. You jumped on him early; tell me what you did early on to get the lead.

CALEB SURRATT: I just kept taking it one shot at a time, hitting shots where I was trying to hit them and I was executing my shots well, and I was really fortunate to just -- balls ended up where they ended up. I feel like I did a good job of picking out my targets and just executed and that's where they went, and it was good enough.

Q. Nick mentioned the 6th hole, said you had a good up-and-down there?

CALEB SURRATT: Yes, so the 6th hole I was 2-up at the time and I was in the fescue. I hit this like 30-yard shot out of the fescue to like six feet and saved the hole. It looked like I had to get it up-and-down because Nick was only about 20 feet for birdie, and that was definitely a hole that kept some momentum going for me.

Q. You talked about keeping your head down all day long because you had a real battle this morning. How did you do that?

CALEB SURRATT: I just kept telling myself like I'm just going to trust in the Lord's plan and trust in the hard work that I've put in, and if that's not good enough, that's not good enough, but I think it's good enough.

Q. Smylie Kaufman asked you earlier, it seemed like you had good control of your golf ball. Did you feel that way in the afternoon?

CALEB SURRATT: Yes, I felt like I had control of my ball pretty much all day, and you really have to in this wind. I was just trying to keep my head down and hit it where I was looking and then let the results add up because I can't control what happens. Nick made some good putts out there to keep the match going and to save some holes and even win some holes. I just had to keep moving forward because you just can't control what happens.

Q. Is there a sense of calmness knowing that you don't have to make a ton of birdies to win holes out here, that even par is a good score?

CALEB SURRATT: Yes, yes, I've just been telling myself that simply, that if I can go out there and shoot my normal 1-, 2-under, maybe even par just on 18 holes, no matter how it happens, it's still going to add up and chances are it'll be pretty close if not up on it. I just don't think it's very likely that somebody is just going to magically shoot 9-under. I'm just trying to birdie the par-5s and just get it in play on the hard holes because literally on some of these hard holes, bogeys have tied every single match, and you can just kind of count on that on some of these hard holes, and then just the other holes, just keep going for pars, see if the putt goes in, try and have as many looks as possible.

Q. You mentioned earlier you and Nick have played so many times in almost like final groups at tournaments. How much was knowing his game helping you compete today?

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, I mean, obviously Nick is such a great player, and it was something that honestly kind of worried me because Nick is one of those players where even to 1-under to 2-under out here may not work.

But I just had to go back to my theory and my just plan of executing shots on certain holes, and I did that, and with the conditions how they are, I just think it's still very unlikely.

Q. Does it help you to have your future college head coach as your caddie, and what does he do to help you?

CALEB SURRATT: He does a really good job putting the ball where it needs to be. I feel like I have control over where it's going, and he has control over where we're going to hit it. I feel like that teamwork has been really good just because I've been able to trust in that.

Q. Now you're at that point where you're going to play for a national championship, and obviously there are other things on the line like a U.S. Open berth. What does that mean to you?

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, it means a lot. I mean, but in a way it's just another day. That's how I'm going to wake up tomorrow and do the same thing I did today. I'm going to wake up the next day and do the same thing.

I feel like that's how you have to train your mind to be able to compete, especially under high-pressure situations like there will be tomorrow. I'm just going to tell myself that it's another day when obviously it's not, but I'm just going to try to trick my mind in a way.

Q. Are there certain tournaments you've played in to date that are going to help you prepare for what's going to happen tomorrow?

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, honestly so far what's happened this week. I've been blessed by some pretty good results over the last year but nothing really compares to this place. I've never played golf like this. I'm just going to kind of be bouncing my just momentum off the last hole we just played and just try to keep it going. Obviously it's going to be 36 holes, so one hole isn't as important as it is in 18. If you lose a hole, no big deal, you can get it back later. I'm just going to keep telling myself that.