U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 15, 2022

Hugh Foley

Erin Hills

Quick Quotes

Q. Getting to the semifinals, I guess this is a good place for Irish players?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, Erin Hills means Ireland back home, in Irish. And then all the lodges here are named after Irish courses, so it's nothing like golf courses at home, but at least the names are there.

Q. Do you have that little mojo here this week?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, a little bit. We're getting looked after so well. First by Greg in Chicago, and then by Dan here who lives 15 minutes away. Definitely there's a lot of Irish contingency out here who are looking after us, which is super. We're having a great time, such a great time.

I don't know how Matt is getting on. I hope he's winning. We're on opposite sides of the draw. We were looking at that.

Q. You won two events in Ireland that hadn't been won in the same year since 1990 by a guy named Darren Clarke.

HUGH FOLEY: That's right, yeah, yeah. I've had a decent last few amateur events I've played, first, first, second, and then here. So it's been a good run. I played a pro event in between that went okay.

But yeah, amateur events I'm doing well at.

Q. The pro event was where?

HUGH FOLEY: I played in the K Club and then I played in Sweden, as well, two pro events in Sweden.

Q. What Tour?

HUGH FOLEY: Challenge Tour, two invites.

Q. The south of Ireland, that was at Lahinch, right?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah.

Q. What was the north?

HUGH FOLEY: The north was at Portrush, two nice courses. The guys were asking me, is this a links course, and sometimes it looks like it is but the fairways are about twice as wide. So it's been nice hitting my driver. I used to hit irons off every tee at home, so it's kind of nice loosening up and hitting drivers.

Q. How did you find out about this event? Does this event get any notoriety back home?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, I've always known about it. I've heard about Stewart Hagestad, guys playing in the Masters, you see them, and I didn't know -- back home it's 30 for a Mid-Amateur, so when I turned 25 I was feeling kind of old, but this week I feel kind of young. It's like a paradox.

Yeah, we heard about it. We knew we were exempt in the World Ranking, so it would have been tough to come out and qualify, but because we knew we were in, we decided to come and give it a go.

Q. What courses did you play in Chicago before you got here?

HUGH FOLEY: We got in the 4th, and we played Shore Acres on the 5th and the 7th and we got in some good practice with Greg.

Q. Who's Greg?

HUGH FOLEY: Zeeman.

Q. Is he an Irish guy or --

HUGH FOLEY: No, he's just a friend of a friend who's looked after us. Just the hospitality that the Americans have given us here, it's unreal. I'm hoping we can pay some of the guys back when they come to Ireland.

Q. Talk about this match today a little bit. What are your thoughts on where the key holes were, and was the birdie at 16 a strong point for you?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, we both hit great shots to 15. First time I've ever given an eagle on a par-4. He hit it to like a foot. I hit 3-wood to like 15 feet. Birdied that. It was a bit of a pillow fight before. There were a lot of bogeys thrown on each other. I hope he doesn't mind me saying that. It was from both of us.

Then yeah, hit a great shot into 16, holed a putt, and to be honest, the last two holes were downwind, and I thought, should we play a little bit easy, maybe I got a bit tense and hit two bad tee shots and got away with it on the last.

Q. What did you hit into 16 and how far?

HUGH FOLEY: I hit 7-iron. It was about 179, so hit it to about five feet. That was probably the shot that turned it around.

Q. Has this week been mental and physical? What has it been like in terms of mentally and even physically playing that much golf?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, we play a lot of it back home, so we have six major championships. Top of my head, three of them are this format, 36 a day. Now, the hills around here make it tougher on you physically, but I'm quite used to it. I've played something like 25 matches this year, 36 a day. It takes a lot of getting used to, I think. Your feet start hurting, but you just keep going.

I think today I was over par in both matches, so you can get maybe a bit of luck, luck of the Irish, that you don't get a guy who shoots 5-under and knocks you out. That's maybe why I'm still here. Need to capitalize on the luck now and turn it around tomorrow.

Q. What is a 36-hole walk like here?

HUGH FOLEY: Yeah, it's tough. At least I have a caddie. I have Dan carrying the bag. That's what it's like. He's a financial trader. I just met him through a friend of mine, Daniel Connelly, who played -- good friends with Dan, stayed with him. They invited us over for a barbecue, and little did he know we were bringing all our luggage with us, and we moved in. I had never met Dan until this week, and he's been great.

Q. What's Dan's last name?

HUGH FOLEY: Benedum.

Q. What's it like now that you are into the Final Four?

HUGH FOLEY: It's great. Like I wasn't really -- I didn't know what to expect coming over. Just free wheel. Just keep going. Don't tighten up, just keep loose, and just -- I just feel used to it. It's not like -- I lost in the final of the Irish Amateur a couple weeks ago, so I've got to know not to get ahead of myself and just keep playing hole by hole. It feels comfortable.

Q. What's tonight for you?

HUGH FOLEY: I don't know, lying down, put my feet up. I'm going to go support Matt. I don't know what hole he's on. If I can get a buggy, that would be nice, rest the legs.

Q. Who were your golfing idols growing up?

HUGH FOLEY: Well, Rory McIlroy, definitely. My coach, Geoff Loughrey and Sean McGonigle, they work with Michael Bannon, so they've been working with Michael for 25 years, who coaches Rory, so I have great ties kind of there. We tried to emulate him even though it's not possible, try and get as close as you can, so it's a good benchmark. Rory at the moment, I'll tune in to watch Rory play anywhere. Before that it was Harrington, a couple of my first memories, watching Harrington and Clarke in the Opens. Those were kind of the heroes.