U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 16, 2023

Colin Prater

Cherry Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Looking at that match, talk about your decision process on 18. Take us through that hole.

COLIN PRATER: Yeah, I struggled on Monday with that tee shot. I just made birdie on 17, just probably a little bit uncomfortable. Decided to hit driver. Fairway was a little softer. Hit it way right out of bounds.

My thought process was just try to get the ball in play, get it in the short grass, put the pressure on him, so to hit it in the water, that just took all the pressure off of him.

So then my mind just switched to how do we make 5, like let's get beat by a par.

Hit 3-wood again right where I wanted to hit the first one. Had 201, adjusted with the slope 209, it played about 20 of wind into, so it was 230. I knew I couldn't get 5-iron there, so I choked up and hit kind of a smooth 4-iron. Knew I had to hit it right at it. It was probably the best swing of my entire life.

Then had a tricky six-, seven-footer that I played probably at least a foot out, and rolled it right in the middle to keep it going.

Q. On 19, you gave him a decent-sized putt. Do you have any regrets about giving him that putt?

COLIN PRATER: No, I don't think so. He putted well all day. I knew I was going to have to make birdie to win.

Q. Then on the last hole, looked like you gave it a pretty good roll. Did you think you made it at one point?

COLIN PRATER: I did, yeah. I changed my read a little bit. I had it about a cup less, and I think if I would have trusted my initial read, it goes right in the middle. But five feet out, I thought I made it.

Q. What was it like for you to finally make match play?

COLIN PRATER: This experience has been the coolest thing on the planet, to have my little one and my wife and my parents and a ton of high school kids that came out to watch me play today. The experience is the thing that I'm going to cherish.

I think that's the biggest disappointment is that this experience is over.

But it was super neat to be able to play a really good golf course 50 minutes from home.

Q. What is it like playing in your home state and actually near your home, a championship of this magnitude?

COLIN PRATER: Yeah, just being able to have all that support, friends and family, guys that I haven't talked to in years sending me texts and saying they're going to watch. That opportunity has just been so neat.

Q. Just talk a little bit about the ebb and flow of this match, four holes in a row he wins and then you come back. Have you been in one like that before?

COLIN PRATER: I don't think so. I was trying to figure out how to turn the momentum back in my favor because I had it early.

I played really good golf through the first eight to be 2-under par through eight holes. I hit a lot of really high-quality shots, and then I hit a tee shot right on 9, couldn't get it out of the rough. I gave him the hole. He made a good par, but I made 5.

Then he hit it left on 10, so all I needed to do was hit it down the fairway and I'm in control, and I hit it left and kind of give him that one, give him the next hole, give him the next hole.

Q. But then you come back on 14 and 17 to tie it.

COLIN PRATER: Absolutely, yeah. I was just trying to stay within my process, try and hit good-quality shots, obviously go make a couple birdies. By no means did he give me the match. He went out and won it.

But to be able to just grind and stay in it and to force extras, I'm really proud of that.

Q. I know you do some teaching; will this be part of an exercise on what did I do on my summer vacation?

COLIN PRATER: I don't really talk a whole lot about my golf. But yeah, for sure, it's a great life lesson, that when you get kicked in the teeth, just keep on fighting.