U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 2024

Dan Sullivan

The Honors Course

Quick Quotes

Q. You're in your first USGA final after all these years of close but not cigar.

DAN SULLIVAN: Well, two years of close but not cigar. It's my 13th try at it. I'm 1 for 13.

Q. Lucky 13?

DAN SULLIVAN: I'll take it. No, I'm happy to be here, and regardless of what happens tomorrow, I'm having a blast. I'm just going to try to keep enjoying it and see what happens.

Q. You came here in the spring and you were close to winning.

DAN SULLIVAN: I was. I felt like I should have, actually. I didn't realize my last putt -- my second to last putt would have been for the win.

Q. What happened? Did you three-putt the last green?

DAN SULLIVAN: No, I had like 20 feet for birdie, and Gene at the time had like a two- or three-shot lead, and he unfortunately didn't do well for the rest of the hole. Somebody had already finished at I think it was 1-under for the tournament, and I had no idea. So I kind of just lagged my first putt down there thinking if I make par, I win, and he was already in the house. My mistake. I should have looked at the leaderboard.

Q. Obviously you're coming off a win at the SCGA Senior Match Play. How many matches did you have to win there?

DAN SULLIVAN: That was five, so it starts at 32.

Q. You're obviously in match play mode coming here already, and you seem to have continued match play mode.

DAN SULLIVAN: Yeah, I love match play, especially on a course like this where -- I was far more nervous in stroke play because a bad swing can cost you three or four shots. In match play it just costs you potentially a hole, and you just pick it up and move to the next hole.

I honestly would rather play match play sometimes.

Q. You got off to a great start in this semifinal match. You played 2-under golf basically over the course of the --

DAN SULLIVAN: Did I?

Q. You had one mistake which was on 8.

DAN SULLIVAN: Yeah, Matt didn't play well. He gave me a lot of help early on. My goal was just to make pars. I think pars are good, especially in afternoon matches when you get tired and it's warm and it's a little windier and the course plays harder. If I had made 18 pars I would have been perfectly happy with that because I think that would have won more often than not.

Q. Fatigue level, these weeks are long. Do you work out? I know you ride in a cart, but still, it's fatigue with the heat.

DAN SULLIVAN: No, I do work out. I work with a physical therapist. I put in a lot of work on my physical health, and it's definitely paying off.

Q. You get some nice exemptions just getting to the finals. You're in the Senior Open next year and the Mid-Am --

DAN SULLIVAN: Am I in the Senior Open?

Q. Yes.

DAN SULLIVAN: Awesome.

Q. Senior Open, Mid-Am, Am, and if you win, you get two years Am, two years Mid-Am.

DAN SULLIVAN: So I'm in this year's Mid-Am?

Q. Yeah, this year's Mid-Am. So if you want to play it -- if you win it, you get both. You get this year and next year.

DAN SULLIVAN: That's good to know. I had no idea. I figured I got three years for this exemption. I didn't know about the Senior Open or the Mid-Am. I'm glad I didn't have to qualify for the Mid-Am because I backed out of -- I was supposed to play at Red Hill, and I passed on it to come here. That paid off.

Q. You've just got to book a flight.

DAN SULLIVAN: Yeah. Good problem to have.

Q. Have you ever tried for the Senior Open?

DAN SULLIVAN: I have, yeah. I've tried every year since I was 50, and I've been an alternate but never actually played, so yeah, to be able to play -- awesome, great. I've heard good things about it.

Q. If you win, you get paired with the defending champion and the defending senior champion, so you would play with Richard Bland and the guy who won the British Senior Open this year.

DAN SULLIVAN: Great. Happy to have another opportunity to play in a USGA event.

Q. How do you treat an 18-hole final tomorrow? You've played in obviously the SCGA one, but how do you treat tomorrow?

DAN SULLIVAN: No different than I have every other match this week, just try to make one good swing and make another one and then make a putt and see how it works out at the end of the round.