U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 30, 2023

Todd White

Martis Camp Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You're in a final for the first time as an individual at a USGA in your 35th appearance. That's got to be pretty satisfying.

TODD WHITE: It really is. I played that match, the afternoon match with Roger, what a match. The birdies were flying everywhere. I'm sure it was fun to watch, but it was fun to play in. You knew that ebb and flow of the match, topping birdies here and there, it was a great match. Hats off to him for all the birdies he made.

Q. You made a nice little run in the middle there, birdied --

TODD WHITE: Birdied 6, 7 and 8.

Q. And 8 was a nice putt, about 20 feet or so?

TODD WHITE: 8 was the longest putt I've made all week. To be honest with you, with the break that was in the putt, I was just throwing it up on the hill and just trying to lag it down there really, get the halve, and it just happened to go in.

Q. What did you hit into 17? You've got that hole dialed in.

TODD WHITE: I hit 8-iron this morning and hit 9-iron this afternoon. Luckily I had that same putt this morning, so I knew it did break a little bit, so I had to make sure not to play it center, play it right center.

Q. He made a pretty good up-and-down on 16, too, probably a little bit too much on your wedge shot there.

TODD WHITE: 16 I was actually trying to hit my tee shot in the bunker because I felt like that gave me the best chance to get the ball close.

I had like a 35-yard wedge shot, a very tight, firm lie and the bounce on the sand wedge, the club just bounced up into it and just carried too far.

Luckily, I have to hit some flop shots out of Bermuda rough at home, so that was kind of the stuff out of the fescue there, so it was kind of the same thing.

Q. A lot of perks getting to the finals as you know, Senior Open next year, U.S. Amateur next year. You've got at least three years for the Senior Am. If you win tomorrow, you get additional perks.

TODD WHITE: I haven't even stopped to think about that. As I said yesterday, Coach Saban talks about the process, not worried about an outcome, just do your job.

That's kind of what I'm doing on each shot is I'm not really worried about what the opponent is doing. I'm just trying to play golf the best I can.

Q. But those exemptions, you don't have to go through qualifying. Those things are not the easiest thing to do.

TODD WHITE: No, they're not. I've often said that it's easier to play in a championship than it is to qualify for one. But no, talk about that, having the exemptions, for me, it helps because that means that I'm not having to take a day out of school to go qualify for something. Now I'll be in the classroom with kids.

Q. But you have quite a day today. The morning match had all the drama you wanted. You guys had some great birdie opportunities at 17. 18 he misses a putt that could have sent you home. Then you hit that great shot into 19. You birdied that hole three times today, I think, No. 1.

TODD WHITE: Maybe I need to play that as the 18th hole then.

No, again, I'm not looking at course setup. I'm not looking at anything else, I'm just looking at the shot that's called for and seeing if I can execute and hit that shot.

Luckily for me, I'm tickled pink to be in the finals. I really am.

Q. You could get Jody Fanagan. It would be a Walker Cup appetizer, two guys that played in the Walker Cup.

TODD WHITE: Depends on the outcome.

Q. Two winning sides in the Walker Cup. He played in '95 winning for GB&I and you played in '13 on the winning team.

TODD WHITE: Again, all the best to the guys that are over there at St Andrews this week, the Walker Cup team. Shout-out to them, and keep that Cup here in the U.S., guys.

Q. What was your record in the Walker Cup?

TODD WHITE: I was 1-2. I lost both foursomes matches with Michael Weaver, and I won my singles match.

Q. Who did you beat in singles?

TODD WHITE: Rhys Pugh.

Q. Obviously tomorrow is an 18-hole final. It's not a grind like the other ones.

TODD WHITE: I'm looking forward to it. I really am. Everything here is just icing on the cake. Hopefully I'll play well tomorrow, but tomorrow doesn't define me as a golfer. It just defines how I play tomorrow's round.

Q. How many people have you heard from in the last --

TODD WHITE: I have no idea.

Q. Has Nathan called you?

TODD WHITE: Yeah, Nathan has called me actually. I think he's flying out tonight to go over to the Walker Cup. He's carrying the 2013 and for him '11 and '09, he's carrying those team spirits over there with him, and like I said, let's bring that Cup back.

Q. I'm sure you'd like to have at least one -- I know you have the four-ball title but winning one by yourself would probably be a nice little cherry to go with your career.

TODD WHITE: Well, that goes without saying, but that's putting the cart before the horse. But any USGA championship, whether it's the four-ball, whether it's the Senior Amateur, no matter what it is, it's got to be incredibly satisfying.