U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 2024

Catherine Rao

Southern Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Quite the comeback. Start with that eagle, the hybrid or 3-wood you hit into that green. Start there and talk through the next couple holes you ended up winning.

CATHERINE RAO: Yeah. I mean, since stroke play I've been kind of struggling. Haven't been making many putts but been playing well, so it was just a matter of time until putts started dropping. I think honestly hole 11 was a bigger turnaround for me, just after the train wreck that happened on 10. It was nice to just stick one close, make a putt.

Once I got to the par-5, it just kind of felt like easy sailing from there. It was one of those things where people say, you've been playing golf for so long, it's like second nature, and that's what it was out there.

Q. Kind of felt like momentum took over a little bit once you got that eagle and you were able to hit the shots you wanted?

CATHERINE RAO: Yeah, it was like you get the feel down, feel stuck in your head that's been there for the last 10 years since I've been playing golf. Yeah, just keep it going from there.

Q. You're obviously an accomplished match play player in this tournament. You made the quarterfinals last year. But to take down the defending champion, does that make this one a little bit sweeter?

CATHERINE RAO: It does make it a little bit sweeter, but at the end of the day I'm out here, and I think the biggest thing that I've learned in playing U.S. Amateur is I'm out here to play golf and I'm competing against myself more than anyone else. I'm just doing my thing, stay calm, and trying to take the pressure off. To me it doesn't really matter whether I'm playing against the past champion or someone that I don't even know.

I was one of probably the lowest ranked players in the field my first U.S. Am. It's one of those things where I'm trying to focus on myself, focus on my own game, and I know if I play a good round of golf that I'm going to play good.

Q. What's allowed you to become a player who can succeed like you have in match play?

CATHERINE RAO: I think I've always loved competition, and I think that's the thing that really drives me. I like playing aggressive. During stroke play you see a couple of pins where you're like, I don't want to go at that, I might go in the bunker and make triple right there. You don't have the same consequences out here with match play. It's easier for me, and I play much better than when I just take it one hole at a time. That's match play.