U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 15, 2024

Jackson Buchanan

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How do you put that together? After you win such a dramatic match in the morning and then get yourself recharged to go back out and play Tyler, who doesn't have the accomplishments as the guy you beat this morning.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yeah, it's a lot. I've never played two matches in one day. Luke, like I said, just brought it all out of me. That was the toughest match I've ever played.

I knew coming into this one it would kind of be a little bit of a dogfight. Tyler played well, and I was able to close, but I'm just gassed right now.

Q. You played a 16-year-old kid this afternoon that took you to 18.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: How good is that? That's why he's a stud.

Q. How do you get yourself re-energized, though? What do you do mentally? What does maybe Coach Small work with you on something like that?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: We play 36 holes all year round in college, so it's not new, but it's different with match play. I think match play brings way more energy out of you, the way the stress and the highs and the lows.

So it was different, but it was nice. They gave us an hour and ten to eat food and get ready. I did my best. I didn't do great, but I did my best.

Q. How is it different playing Luke this morning when everyone is expecting him to win, and then you go out and play Tyler when everyone is expecting you to win?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I mean, it's hard. It's golf. It's match play. As you guys know in match play, anybody can beat anybody. It's not stroke play.

You just have to bring it no matter if you're playing a 16-year-old or the best player in the world.

Q. Take me through 18. You smash a drive, and he was obviously in a little bit of trouble. Then you almost holed that. What did you have in?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I had 130, playing 136 with the uphill. Perfect lie. Just you don't get away from the result and hit as good a shot as you can. I've never club twirled before, and I twirled that one.

Q. How would you rate it?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: What, the shot?

Q. Out of 10.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: The club twirl was great. I don't know what it looked like, but I was fired up about the shot. I get up there, and I thought it was a foot, but I guess it wasn't. It was 12 feet.

Q. It landed maybe a foot or two from the flag. He goes and makes a putt on you. Now you've got to make this putt.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: That's match play. That's match play. In the back of my head, I'm like, oh, man, if he misses this, I have to two-putt. He sinks it, lips it low side, and I've got to get in there and drain it because playoff, man, that would bring it all out of me.

Q. This has been an incredible 24, 48 hours. Yesterday you beat Preston Summerhays, he's a Walker Cup guy, he's a top 5, 6 player in the world too. Then you obviously knock off Luke, and you're in the quarters.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I mean, it's golf. We're all out here to do the best we can. I always talk about my failure and how it makes you grow. When I succeed, that's just kind of what I think of, all the times I've been down. This is an up.

I've got how many more matches?

Q. Three more to go.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Two more for the greatest prize in not winning history.

Q. Obviously still a lot of stuff settling in and get to finally rest a bit tomorrow morning before coming out. What have you learned about yourself this week?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: That I was hitting it terrible at the start of the week. My practice rounds were atrocious. I just kind of threw it all out the window and then relied on my ability.

Sometimes I'm not very confident in parts of my game, so I just kind of threw it out the window, started hitting it better. Birdied my last two to get into match play and just have kind of been riding that since.

Q. You played Pinehurst earlier this year. How much did that experience, albeit on a different golf course, just playing in that atmosphere help you for this?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: It's the biggest tournament in the world. So you go out there, you get that experience. I mean, this is the U.S. Am, but I mean, it's nothing like the U.S. Open.

Just out there nerve-wise, it was not high until you're coming down the stretch, but the golf course is just as hard as Pinehurst, I'll tell you that much. So you have to bring it.

Q. How many Amateurs is this for you?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Two. I've only played two, last year and this year.

Q. Any Juniors?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: No, I wasn't that good.

Q. And then one U.S. Open?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yes, so three.

Q. Three USGAs?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yes.

Q. What was the breakthrough? You said you weren't that good?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Illinois. Coach Small is the greatest coach of all time. I just listen to him, and here I am.

Q. What's the biggest aspect of that program, do you think, that's why they produce such great golfers?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Coach Small.

Q. In terms of specifically what he does for you guys.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I don't think you can really put it into words. It starts with culture, showing up early, getting up early, doing your job when you don't want to. That's kind of what we do. We bring it every day because our goal is a National Championship every year, and we're waiting on that.

Just the culture and his competitiveness and what he can teach you as a man and a player is -- you know, can't get it anywhere else.

Q. Results this summer? Other than making The Open.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Pretty average. U.S. Open, I missed the cut by one. John Deere, I missed the cut by one. And I've cruised to about an average finish in every event.

Q. Did you play Western?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Played Western, made the cut. I averaged 30th there and 30th at the Southern. It's a hard game. So you just put your head down and keep working.

Q. Do you think there's a breakthrough this week? Is the game kind of trending in that?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I wouldn't call it a breakthrough. I could play another tournament next week and miss the cut. That's just golf. I wouldn't call it a breakthrough. It's match play, it's not stroke play.

Q. Would you say your confidence has never been higher than it is right now?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I don't know what my confidence is, to be honest. Confidence for me is to be myself. When I'm out there, I tell myself be you, don't be anybody else. I think that's what confidence is.

The more I own it, I guess you could say the more confident I am. Obviously sometimes I don't want to be -- I want to be like Luke Clanton or something. I would just say owning myself is what I'm doing well right now.

Q. And you're a senior or junior?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I'll be a senior this year.