U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 22, 2001

Jay Childs

JAY CHILDS: Appreciate it.

JAY CHILDS: I played in the Amateur when it was at Olympic Club, and I got beat in the first round of match play. I remember Paul Azinger caddied for the guy that beat me. That's the thing I remember. I look on TV, I know that guy. So it's been a long time. I didn't try for 15 years. 36 holes in a day. It's hard to go 36 holes. I played two Mid-Amateurs. I played Dayton and I played at Hot Springs at the Homestead last year. So that's a good experience. The Atlanta Amateur here in Georgia is a match play. And year before that, the GSGA started a Georgia Match Play Championship. So that is good for the guys from Georgia because we get to play a lot of matches against each other and I play a four ball in the state Amateur and the State Open so that's the only holiday I have is golf, so I play a good bit.

JAY CHILDS: I played once, Don Russell, a friend of mine here, I came here I went to the first Open. I haven't played it since then. I played Druid Hills quite often. I played there for six years so I knew that golf course real well and I told Pat when I talked to him, if I could, I'd start on the back nine the first day at 1:21 if I can get through the back this even par, one over, that will be my plan so I know how hard 13 through 18 are and then I played well in the round. I double bogeyed five and bogeyed 7 with a wedge for a 74 and yesterday I went over one early at Druid Hills and I played the front nine in even and then I shot 33 on the back. And hit a 3-wood about 12 feet for eagle. So I knew if I made that I was probably in for sure and I just missed and I tapped it in for birdie so I figured that would get me to match play. Just barely, 143 just barely made it.

JAY CHILDS: Yeah three down.

JAY CHILDS: Well hopefully to win a hole and get the tee. I won 11 to get back to two down so I get to hit first and in match play it's a big advantage if you hit first and you hit the fairway. It's no advantage if you hit it in the woods like I did on one. But it helped getting the tee on 11 and then I birdied 12. I hit a good 3-wood and an 8-iron. I didn't birdie 12.

JAY CHILDS: I birdied 14. Right. He bogeyed 12. I'm sorry. And then par 12 to go get it back to one down. And then we both bogeyed 13 up the hill. And I birdied 14, he birdied 15. I birdied 16. We both parred 17. And we both 3-putted 18 which is making par on 18, is you're happy. You get it up there on the green we're not skimming at it. At least you can put it. Doesn't matter if you're 40 feet or four feet at least you're on that green at 18. He made a great two put down that hill. He's a great player. He didn't three put anywhere. Give me any holes. Except for maybe he birdied 10 to go 3-up and then he hit it in the bunker on 11. I hit a good 5-iron just short of the pin and I made par. And then I hit it in the fairway on 12 he hit it in the rough. My advantage. And he hit it over the green and made bogey. That's right. And then I made par and then on 15 we both hit it, I was just barely in the rough the first cut. And I hit it in the bunker and he hit it in the left on the bank and he chipped it in for par then he lipped it out. He almost. After that we played real well coming in. He hits the ball first hole this morning he just placed down the bottom like he did in the playoff and had 9-iron pitching wedge. He had pitching wedge to three. He he's a good player. I knew he played in the Walker Cup I knew he's got the experience. But I been playing a long time so I figured I'm going to do as best I can. If I could just stay close things happen in match play. Bad kick, a good kick for me. He can turn the match around. But it was just basically sold golf from 14 in. And nobody gave you a hole. I gave him I feel like I gave him the hole on one I should get that ball up-and-down 70 percent of the time but we're not playing a normal round of golf here. A little excited and got the adrenaline flowing and I should have use add 9-iron but there's a ridge and so I used the 8 and it just came out pure and rolled on by the hole. I can't I'm happy. It was like I told Pat, my goal was to make this thing. I wanted to play in it, it was here in town. I love both golf courses, I feel like I'm a good match play player. I won the Atlanta Amateur a match play event in '95, finished second in '96. So I played a lot of matches that helps. These guys have played a lot of matches.

JAY CHILDS: Distance wise? I had 178 plus seven. And I used a 3-wood to chip cut it. Because the limb hanging down.

JAY CHILDS: No that was a good shot. I would have cut it just a little bit more it would have skipped on the green I had I visualized the shot. I knew what I wanted to do but it still got up a little bit and caught the leaves so it's hard to I could have hit a driver so I went with a 3-wood and choked it down to the grip and I hit it solid and I was very happy to be there. Anywhere short. Right in there I felt like I could get it up-and-down. That's where I was playing to. He knows where I am. He saw my shot. So played smart shot. He played 15, 18 feet left. So he had a putt down the hill. So he's not going to give me a hole.

JAY CHILDS: 60, 65, 70 feet. Yeah. The putt was probably 20-footer, 15 footer for par. And it wasn't a bad put it had a chance but going up the hill it's breaking a little left and then it flattened out and then it broke a little left again. So nothing, I should have hit a better chip. I wanted to get it inside six feet was my goal.

JAY CHILDS: No as long as I play well it's funny if I go out there and I don't play well and I get beat then I feel like I didn't do my job if I go out there and play well and I think well and I don't make any mental errors, I know I'm going to make some bad swings. That is just golf. I'm not grooved as those guys are but I played the State Open I was low amateur in that. I played well in our state Amateur. So I feel like I was on a little bit of a roll and I felt like if I could just get even or one or two up, I wasn't going to give the guy anything. I wasn't going to give any holes. I was going to make him play. Make him make birdie to beat you. Fair way and the green.

JAY CHILDS: Not now. Now I'm all juice dollars up. Day after tomorrow after playing but I walked in our State Amateur getting ready for this. We could take carts. But I took a caddy and walked every day in the State Amateur preparing myself for this. Because most events we have to ride. So I try to walk, I walk in that. So I could prepare myself for this and I been walking at home at the club and trying to get your body because 90 degrees and hot is a lot different than when you're riding in a golf cart. You all play golf you know that. So I was in good shape. I been ride ago bike and doing some exercises because the guy's get younger and I get older. And it's just more of a spread. So you have to fight a little harder to stay competitive and he's got a great swing. You saw the positions he's in the strength he has. He's a great putter, a good chipper, good driver of the ball. Which is excellent for here. So he's, he played well last year he's going to play good this year. I got it to even when I birdied 16 I felt really good but he birdied 16 to get it back to even and then had a good four iron on 17 and came out of the fringe hot and went over the green. Hit a good chip and he made another good putt down the hill. So never ran them buy six feet he lag the ball up there for gimmies all day, which is a sign of a good player. He's not putting pressure on himself, he's leaving where it's that's good, pick it up. So I hope he plays well. There's a lot of good players here. The 63 that the guy shot I don't know who that was, but that's an out standing round of golf. Pat played here in the Media Day I don't know y'all got a chance to play here. To shoot 63 here that's as good a round of golf I could think of. I would like to have seen that.

JAY CHILDS: Unfortunately I got too good a memory, this morning I hit it left. So you get on the tee and I hit a cut and I hit it down the left side and I pulled it. And so I moved to the center of the fair way I should have aimed down the left side and played the cut. But you get excited, figure I'm juice dollars up I'll aim down the middle and just hit it hard and straight. And I just opened up and got in front of it and blocked it. That was not a good shot at all. The second one was a heck of a lot better than the first one. This golf course like I told Pat, Druid Hills is short enough where I can hit some three woods and irons off the tee and leave myself 7, 8, 9. You give me that distance I'm distinguishing to be on the green inside 15 feet a lot I'm going to make some birdies. Here, you got to drive it well to have a four, five, six iron. So it's a big difference. He hits it long enough I think he hit like a three iron into 10. I had 251 I hit 3-wood. That's a big spot. It's still how many, not how.

JAY CHILDS: Thank you.