U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 2022

Sam Bennett

The Ridgewood Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All of a sudden on 17 you're behind a tree and it's tied.

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, that was tough. But yeah, it was my match to win or lose from the get-go. On 17, yeah, that was tough. That's why we play, to be in situations like that. I had the mindset, it's nothing to lose, everything to gain. I'm in this situation tied. It was tough, but I was able to pull off a few good shots to close it out.

Q. You've been on a mission this week, right?

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, for sure.

Q. Big day tomorrow?

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, big day. Job is not done. They said the semifinals match is the toughest one, I guess, but job is not finished. I want to win it all. It's going to be a fun day, 36 holes. I think Ben won. He's been playing good, too, so it should be a good match tomorrow.

Q. Let's go back to where you took the lead on 10. You had like a six-and-a-half-foot par putt. You've seemed to be making those putts all week. What is it about that length of putt for you?

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, I don't know. I've been putting good, I guess. On 10, yeah, I did make it. Me and my coach are really good with the reads. We've been putting good all week. I'm seeing it go in the hole, and I feel comfortable with the speed of the greens.

Around the holes out here, there's not much movement. They're slopey and fast, but if you're around the holes it's pretty flat, and I'm able to just commit to my target, and I've got a lot of confidence on the greens.

Q. You decide to lay up on 12. Take me through that process.

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, for sure. We've been laying up all day. We went for it one time when we were 4-up and I just wanted to hit driver. It's an easy wedge shot. You land it at the hole or right around it, it skips up and it's going to get close. I just had a perfect number for a little chippy 55-degree, and I think that's the play on that hole. You can play ping-pong pretty easily if you can get up there and get out of position.

Q. How much did that putt break? It looked like it was about five and a half feet.

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, I putted just outside the edge and just breathed on it.

Q. He comes back on you, drills that 15-footer on 15 and it's all even. What are you thinking at that point?

SAM BENNETT: For sure, that's easy. Dylan -- that's tough. I knew he was going to make that putt. Dylan is probably the best putter in college golf by far. He rolls it. Really what hurt me was smothering that hybrid on 14. There's miles of room right, and you just need to hit a low hook. I figured all that in, I just settled myself and told myself, this is why we play, embrace it. Still tied with three to go, still in a good spot, and then it got a little dicey there on 17, but somehow we were able to flip that hole.

Q. Let's go by 17 shot by shot. First the tee shot.

SAM BENNETT: First, I was trying to hit a draw. There's a tree off there and I was trying to hit a pretty big draw, a hard one. I've been getting stuck all week. Club is getting behind me, swinging up, just missing it right, especially the OB lie is kind of scary so that went a little more right. Then on the lay-up shot, I didn't know, I told Kortan I just wanted to hit it at the trees and just hopefully it gets through it and I get lucky. What do they say, trees are 90 percent air? So that's what I was betting on. But he told me I could get it left out of there and I did, and I was able to get that ball turning a little bit. We were trying to stay short of the bunker but we got in it, which is fine, but the sand is a little wet so it's not that bad. That pin is on the left and that whole green is tilted right to left, and so I thought if I just hit a good 7-iron, just had to get it turning just a little bit, and I hit it right in the center and was able to make that putt and flip that hole.

Q. What was the number --

SAM BENNETT: It was 175, up four, so 179. At first I was going to hit big draw 8, but I thought -- I didn't think that was enough because the ball really wasn't going that far today. I don't know how it was there, but we just went with a more straighter 7.

Q. You think that was about 12 feet?

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, about 12 feet and it was a hooker. It was breaking a lot.

Q. 18, you played it clean and put the pressure on him?

SAM BENNETT: For sure, yeah. There's a tent back there, we were just trying to hit a hard cut off of it and lined up left and let it loose. I told Kortan, my coach, walking up the fairway, "just one more good swing," and luckily I hit a 7-iron right in the center, and knew it was going to be 10 feet under it just like it was.

Q. Now you're where you want to be in the championship match. It's going to be 36 holes. What's your mindset going into that one?

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, it's going to be fun. No mindset. We're going to keep doing the same things we've been doing all week and not giving holes away. On 17 we were able to stay in the hole. In match play anything can happen. You've just got to stay in it, never be out of it. That's what we're going to continue to do tomorrow.

Q. The other side benefit of all this is you get to play in the U.S. Open again, this time in Los Angeles. That's got to seem pretty good.

SAM BENNETT: Yeah, that'll be fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match first. We're going to get that job done.