U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 13, 2023

Nate McCoy

Sleepy Hollow Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. This was a high-quality match again. You gave him your best shot. How do you feel you played?

NATE McCOY: Yeah, I played well. I played well. I really can leave feeling like I gave it my best, you know, and did as well as I could have.

And so was very pleased with my game. Really the match was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed playing with Stew. I've known him for a while, so it was fun to watch him play and it was fun to see how I stacked up against him, which obviously there is a reason why he's a Walker Cupper.

Q. What did you do well today, even though you lost the match?

NATE McCOY: I think I managed -- if I was out of position, which I was a couple times, I managed it well. I really only made one bogey which was on the first hole, my 10th hole of the tournament.

Besides that, I don't think I three-putted. I drove it in play. On the holes like par-5s that I couldn't reach, I had to kind of navigate that a little differently.

I feel like I managed it well.

Q. Is this guy, Stewart Hagestad, beatable this week if he's going to play like this?

NATE McCOY: Well, you know, match play just everything can change. You go have lunch and go back out and things are completely different.

So if he keeps playing even half as good as the way he played today I think he'll be right there. I wish him the best because he obviously puts a lot of work in and deserves to keep playing well.

Q. What's he doing well that you saw today?

NATE McCOY: You know, he may have only drove it out of play maybe once, and still made birdie out of the rough on a hole that I actually thought I had a chance to maybe get one back on him because I made birdie as well.

Yeah, he putts it well. He had one three-putt, but besides that his speed was great. His lines were good. If he was missing them he was lipping out, so it could have been even deeper than what he shot today.

Q. Let's talk about your father being here. He doesn't get to see you play competitively too many times.

NATE McCOY: No.

Q. How was that this week?

NATE McCOY: It was a lot of fun. Growing up, I mean, I caddied for him in a lot of these and he caddied for me earlier in the week before he kind of started getting sick.

Yeah, it's very meaningful to me. You never know how many of these you're going to have together in the future. I think we played at least four of these maybe together. Three Mid-Ams, a U.S. Am.

To be able to play in the USGA with your dad, it's pretty special, especially when I was a kid growing up and experiencing these championships when I was like 12 years old.

Q. Finally, what are you going to take away from this good play this week?

NATE McCOY: You know, I wish this was the start of the summer. I wish it wasn't the end of my season, because right now I finally feel like -- I might have played the best golf of the summer. I have a new driver in the bag that I put in literally the day of the first round. I didn't even play a round with it.

That kind of seemed to be a game changer for me this week. Playing out of the fairway was a lot better than the rough for sure.

So I have the U.S. Four-Ball qualifier in October, so I'm going to try to see if I can keep this going just a little bit longer and see if me and my partner, Connor Peck, can punch or ticket for next year.