U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 16, 2024

Jackson Buchanan

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You didn't have to go 18 today. How does that feel? Your first three matches were so intense.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: It feels weird. It doesn't even feel like I won. Like I didn't go to 18? All right.

I played solid. That's it really.

Q. How much of what happened in the past couple of days has carried over to what's going on now?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: It's more like last few years in matches being up and giving up a few holes, so I tried to not give anything up. Got like 4-up and just kept telling myself you still can lose this, and that kind of kept me in it.

Q. I know Tiger used to always say, if I'm 4-up, I want to get 5-up, I want to get 6-up. How do you tell yourself mentally I got to keep the foot on the gas?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Mentally you tell yourself I can win this thing, but the moment you think that, you're toast. So just kept telling myself Jacob's not out of this. He's still really good.

Q. Was there a hole where you felt this might be my day? Was there a turning point?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: No. Maybe on 12 I made a big putt. I just kept telling myself, it's not over until it's over.

That putt was big, but then he made another one on the next hole. I really thought he was going to keep going, but he kind of gave one up on 14 there.

Q. That second shot you hit on 5 out of the fairway bunker when he had thrown one in there tight, did you kind of feel like you stole a bit of momentum out there?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I think the bunkers are pretty much fairway out here. They're about as easy as you can get. The lies are perfect. When the ball's not going online, I'm begging it to get into a bunker, and it did. It just feels like a fairway shot honestly, you have to treat it that way.

But that was a good shot too to put pressure on him.

Q. Tomorrow you're going to face a guy that's Big Ten. You faced him before? You ever played with him?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I never faced him. We play in the Big Ten. I think he's going to be a sophomore, so it will be fun.

Q. Is that weird to go up? I mean, the Big Ten is -- everybody talks about the SEC and the Big 12, obviously the Pac-12.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: The Big Ten is not the SEC, but it's a huge conference. It's probably the biggest conference, the best conference. Golf up in the Midwest is not as good as down South. I'm from Georgia, so I would know. Obviously we're still very competitive.

Q. One guy from Florida goes to Iowa. You're from Georgia, and you go to Illinois. That seems -- usually it's the other way around.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yeah, we're just going to good golf programs.

Q. How did that decision come about?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Mike Small, best coach in the country, and for a reason.

Q. Have you talked to him at all this week? I'm sure he may venture out here at some point?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I have, but he says talk is cheap. It is. It's like what are you going to say? Just keep the pedal down. He's proud of me, but there's still -- if I want to win, there's still two huge matches I've got to play. We're just kind of taking it one at a time.

Q. What's your favorite Mike Small quote? I know he says a lot of them all the time. What's your favorite one that he said in the time you've known him?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I know he always asks, always asks, can you chip and putt? If you can't chip and putt, you might as well pick up tennis is what he says.

(Laughter)

If you can chip and putt, you'll be all right.

Q. How did you get into the game?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I live on a golf course. It's a funny story. My sister's homecoming date came to pick her up. I looked up to him. He's a big football player. He was like, man, if I lived here, I'd go out on that course every day. In seventh grade, I was like, you know what, I'm going to try that, and here I am.

Q. At what point did you think I'm pretty good at this thing?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Pretty early. I played baseball. I was a big baseball guy. I quickly learned that batting .200 is not very fun, but neither is shooting 4-over. I think I was a little better at golf, and I picked that.

Q. What's harder, hitting a flush iron shot, tee shot, or hitting one square in the barrel of the bat?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Probably hitting. Hitting is so hard. But golf mentally is on another level, but hitting is probably the hardest thing to do in sports.

Q. What's your support group been like today? More people flew up?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: My dad came up today, so that was pretty special.

Q. His name?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: John Buchanan. That was super cool. I don't like him to travel too much because he has work, but this is the U.S. Am, so this is great. I've got my buddy on the bag, a teammate, and we're having a great time out here.

Q. Noah is going to have the home course advantage with all his uncles and relatives. Does that mean anything?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: We've all played the course plenty of times to know what's going on. It will just be a mental battle, I think, the whole time. This course tests you. I know everything about the course, I think, at this point. I've been everywhere.

Q. You've got a chance to be the second Illinois guy to win a USGA title behind Stricker.

JACKSON BUCHANAN: USGA titles are awesome, so that would be great. I'm not really thinking that far ahead, but that would be awesome.

Q. You said yesterday that confidence for you is being yourself out there. Is that something you've ever struggled with?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Of course. I mean, I got better pretty fast. I'm typically like, I still am, a little immature on the golf course and look around and, like I said, wish I could hit my irons like Luke or drive it like Gordon.

But just owning yourself and understanding that I'm me and I can do this, that's kind of what I've been telling myself.

Q. Is that a more strategic thing in course management, or is it an emotional inside feeling?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: I feel like it's a life thing honestly. You can -- it's a life thing, and you can relate golf to life in a lot of ways. I think that helps me a lot. It's more of a golf thing for me.

Off the course I'm just a college student, but it's more of a golf thing, but it helps in life for sure.

Q. Who's your teammate on the bag?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: My teammate is not on the bag. My teammate's caddie was on the bag for stroke play, and now he's on the play for match play.

Q. Who's on the bag?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Tony Vals, legend.

Q. Has it been fun having Max follow you around too?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yeah, I've heard him cheer louder than anybody. I'm not used to that. I don't usually have people yelling for me, so it's good to hear.

Q. When your head hits the pillow tonight, do you allow yourself to think about what could be tomorrow?

JACKSON BUCHANAN: Yeah, but I'm not super like -- you see me out there, I'm not throwing huge haymakers. I'm more of a chill player and chill thinker, and I try not to get ahead of myself. Obviously the heart rate is up, but I'm not thinking too far ahead.