U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 2023

John Marshall Butler

Cherry Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Talk us through your round today. You never fell behind. Pretty dominant out there today.

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Yeah, I was just really in control of my game mentally and physically. Never was rattled. José is a great player. He hit some very high-quality iron shots.

But yeah, just stuck to my game plan, played very resiliently. I have all week.

Q. Can you talk us through last night a little bit, the up and down, and just everything in the dark there?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Yeah, that was a little crazy for sure. But yeah, I hit 3-wood, and I pulled it a little bit, but I thought it was still going to be in the fairway. I guess I just had so much adrenaline going because after he made that shot on 16 and I went 1-down and then I made a great birdie on 17, I was just feeling it, I guess.

Yeah, it went in the water, dropped, got a perfect number with a gap wedge, and just really dialed in on that, hit it, never even saw it. Just heard everybody up at the green screaming, and I was like, oh, my gosh, did it go in? Because it was like one of those roars. But yeah, made a good putt there.

Then came out this morning and finished it off.

But Paul is a great player. We had a fantastic match, probably one of the best matches I'll have of my life.

Yeah, it was unbelievable last night. I didn't sleep too good, either. I was just so pumped up. We went straight to Chipotle and I barely touched my food, and I tried to go to bed, but I probably slept three or four hours last night, honestly. I was just so much adrenaline going.

But yeah, it would be nice to get some rest now that this match is over.

Q. It's an emotional week for sure. We heard yesterday the "boom babies" and stuff and then on the flipside you had where you took some deep breaths and stuff. How have you managed to handle all the up and downs that match play brings?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: I love it. I feel like it brings out the best in my game. I'm just like a very, very competitive person. Yeah, the "boom baby" just comes out sometimes, and it's a little uncalled for for sure, but I just want it so bad. I've just worked so hard for this.

Can't thank my coaches at Auburn enough, my coaches back home in Louisville, my friends, my family, everyone. They're very emotional for me, just trying to go out there and compete for the biggest amateur championship in the world.

Q. Have you worked with anyone like on breathing and stuff like that, or is that just --

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: No, I just study a lot of different athletes. Being from Louisville, Muhammad Ali, a lot of fighters, Conor McGregor, Mike Tyson, just studying their mentality, Jon Jones, really having that self-belief in yourself.

Your mind is the most powerful tool. Even though you have 14 clubs, the most important tool is your mind.

It's all a battle upstairs, and I've felt like I've done a really good job this week of just having high self-belief and a lot of confidence.

Yeah, the breathing is just to just slow my heart rate down.

Q. What did Ali do better than anyone else?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: He was fast. He was really fast. I fortunately never got to see him, but he's the greatest boxer of all time, and what he did for that sport is just amazing. He's my idol for sure, along with a bunch of other athletes.

But yeah, Ali was great in all aspects. He was great skill-wise and great for the city of Louisville, which is what I'm trying to be.

Q. Had you played in Colorado before a week ago?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: No, sir. I have not played in Colorado, no.

Q. Not been here, either?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: No, sir.

Q. What are your impressions after a week here?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: It's beautiful. Being able to look out and see the mountains, very relaxing. The rough is pretty thick, but Colorado is nice. It's very nice.

Q. Do you like playing here?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Playing here is unbelievable. It took a little bit of time to get adjusted to the altitude and how far the ball was going. But once I figured that out, and the weather here, too, man, it's just perfect. It's like 80 degrees, sunny, a little bit of wind. I'm like, dang, why can't we get this at Auburn. No humidity. But Colorado has been awesome.

Q. What were your impressions of the course?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: It's a fantastic golf course, great championship golf course, honestly. Really tests your mental game more than anything. You have to be on the right side of the hole, especially around the greens. This rough is just so thick.

Like today on hole No. 8, I hit it left of the green, which is just dead, and I walked up to where I was going to land the ball a few times, and I think it was two or three times I couldn't even find my ball. I was just like, oh, man, why did I hit it here.

Yeah, this is an unbelievable golf course, and yeah, Cherry Hills, everyone here at Cherry Hills has done a great job, and the maintenance crew, the course is in fantastic shape. Nothing but good things.

Q. Did you get to watch the U.S. Women's Amateur at all last week?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Oh, yeah, 100 percent. Megan is a good friend of mine. It was so cool to see her win with CJ on the bag. CJ played at Auburn for a few years. Just learning things from CJ, he is -- I have nothing but good things to say about CJ He's a man of character, that's for sure. He's kind of like a big brother to me going into college, and to see him on the bag with Megan, I see Megan every day at our facility in Auburn, and I was just glued to the TV, like yes, screaming and stuff. But yeah, it was awesome.

Q. Have you talked with CJ or talked with Megan since last Sunday?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: I haven't. I texted both of them and wished them congratulations, but no, I haven't talked to them.

Q. The work that you've done with your trainer, can you detail how your body has transformed and how long you've been --

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: For sure. Our trainer at Auburn is Matt Smith. We have a really good relationship. Coming into college -- I would say he monitors me, but he kind of lets me do whatever I want.

We power lift a lot, which is good, but we also mix in a lot of mobility, and physically I just -- it's been kind of hard this summer to maintain that because I've been traveling so much. So that's been a challenge.

He's given me a good workout routine that I can do on the road and in the hotel room. So yeah, just being able to kind of maintain it, and then once I go back to school next week, we'll start ramping it up again and start getting stronger and faster and everything else.

Q. What part of your body is the strongest since before you got to college to now?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Oh, man, everything. I would say my chest is the strongest. Yeah, we don't really work chest that much, but every so often I'll throw in a little bench press in there.