U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2024

Luis Masaveu

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You made it to the semifinals. Obviously it's a huge accomplishment. Not the result you wanted, but just talk about what you're feeling right now having this accomplishment under your belt.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, I feel a little bit disappointed with myself. I started well, started very focused. Just on No. 8 I just got my -- like I made a bad swing, and then everything just changed a little bit. I had a bad lie, made bogey.

Then on the second shot on the 9th, I had a bad number, and I made a bad swing. I made a really bad chip.

Then on the second back nine, I just -- I didn't play bad, but I just didn't have good lies, didn't make the good putts. Yeah, Jose played well. He played really solid, no bogeys. To get to the final of a U.S. Amateur, you have to do a little bit more.

Q. You mentioned a little bit of a shift on 8. Do you think that there was a shift there, kind of in your head or in your game, going through the rest of the match?

LUIS MASAVEU: It was a bad swing, but from there, just things weren't going as well as before. It's just like golf sometimes is just momentum. You don't know why, but sometimes you're making just good swings in the right moment, and that's what today I was not doing.

Q. Talk a little bit about your strategy today. I noticed in a lot of the tee boxes you might have been pulling like a wood or an iron, where Jose had a driver. What was your strategy coming in?

LUIS MASAVEU: I played the same strategy all week. I tend to fade it with a driver, so with this wind, it was easier for me to hit a 3-wood. I hit 3-wood very, very well today.

Q. Talk about how you're feeling for your friend, for Jose? Obviously it's not great to lose, but to see your friend go into the final, go to the Masters, go to the U.S. Open, what does that mean?

LUIS MASAVEU: I'm very happy for him. I think he works really hard, so I think he deserves it. He played better than me today. He handled it better with the pressure.

I think tomorrow he's going to win.

Q. You think his game is going to continue?

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, he's really good under pressure. He hits long, and I think so.

Q. What did you guys talk about, either during the match or after the match? Did you say anything to him?

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, I told him good luck, that he deserved to be in the final.

Yeah, during the round we just talked randomly. We had fun. It was fun.

Q. Now does this mean that you're going to turn professional? If you're not going to go to the Masters with amateur status.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, probably. We'll see. No one knows. Yeah, I'll speak with my team and see what I'm going to do.

Q. What's your plan for the rest of the summer? Any other events?

LUIS MASAVEU: No, I just have one at the end of September. I'm going to rest next week and then try to prepare very well for the next one.