U.S. AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 16, 2005

Clay Ogden

THE MODERATOR: We have Clay Ogden, 2005 United States Amateur Public Links Champion. That has to have a nice ring to it. Give us your thoughts on the entire week. I know it's been a whirlwind. You beat Michelle Wie in front of a thousand people, and today it was probably ten times less than that, but again your play came out. Maybe you could just talk about that.

CLAY OGDEN: The week started off pretty well. I had a good practice round. I thought the course was fairly good for my game. I wasn't 100% sure about it. But started off the first round, played really well. I had a couple of mistakes, but got through it. Second round, struggled a little. Then got into the playoff and to get in the match play, and I just made a couple pars and got in.

After that, I just I just hung in there. I was down in four of my six matches to making the turn and I just, I don't know, a little lucky. I was just fortunate enough to be able to hit the shots when I needed them.

THE MODERATOR: I'm not sure that's been a 63rd qualifier to win this championship, but you had to go three holes in that playoff just to get a spot in the field and you knock off the No. 2 seed and you get 19 holes to win your next match and Friday morning you're playing Michelle Wie in front of every cameraman in town. Did it just build over the week? Did you feel the confidence coming on?

CLAY OGDEN: I did. I've been making a few swing changes, and, you know, the second day I was a little tentative. Wasn't really trusting it and hit a few loose shots. But as the week progressed, you know, out there this afternoon, I really tried to just stay loose and just trust it. Because I was getting whipped anyway, so I figured I'd better start trusting it or I was going to get smoked. I just, I don't really know what to say to be honest.

Q. There's so much talk this week about Michelle Wie making Masters, and it's just as important for any of you guys in college. Means just as much I would imagine

CLAY OGDEN: Oh, sure.

Q. to get there. Could you put into words what that invite means?

CLAY OGDEN: No. (Laughter).

Q. Could you try?

CLAY OGDEN: Yeah. Playing at Augusta will be it's going to be unbelievable, playing in front of the crowds, you know, just being in the atmosphere, I'm not sure.

But, you know, I've always talked about wanting to be there, wanting to play there, and never really, honestly, I didn't ever think I wasn't going to play there before I turned pro, but here we go.

Q. How quickly do you think you're going to buy a plane ticket to get town there for a practice round once that invitation hits the mailbox?

CLAY OGDEN: Probably pretty quick. I'm going to enjoy the time and I'm going to have as much fun at Augusta as possible, obviously try and play well, but I'm just going enjoy the moment.

Q. In today's match you're down four at the turn going into the morning 18, and you made that putt on 18; I think that was a crucial putt. Can you talk about carrying that momentum into lunch making an 18 footer on the last hole in the morning and what you did in the afternoon?

CLAY OGDEN: Sure. The putt on 18, I just told myself, you know, like there was an end of the day putt. You know, I had told myself, this is it, you've got to make this, you've got to clutch it up, you've done it all week, and I was lucky enough to have the right speed and the right line and it dropped for me. I think that was real big for me to get within one after being down four all day.

Then this afternoon, I came out, played pretty solid and I felt really good with my swing. I sent some really good iron shots and kept getting up and down when I missed the greens. I just honestly tried to trust it and my dad kept telling me, you know, I've got a little frustrated when I went down two, losing 8 and 9. My dad just said, "You know, just hang in there, you finished strong all week." He's like, "You're going to do it again." What do you know, I birdied 15, 16, 17, and I go up one and that was it.

Q. Talk about the shot on 16, I think, I mean, you hit it to two feet, I don't know how much your distance was, but where does that rank in the shots you fit in your golf career? Obviously that puts you up one and that was the key shot of the match?

CLAY OGDEN: Right. I mean, obviously there's a lot of crucial shots throughout the week. I hit a lot of fairly clutch shots in my third round match when I was down three with four to play. That shot was really needed and got me the lead when I had not had it all day long. It was probably one of the best shots I've ever hit under the circumstances. My dad, I was thinking about maybe hitting a little 9. He said, "I think it's a good wedge." I hit the good wedge and it worked out pretty well.

Q. What did you hit into the par 3, 11th when you made birdie?

CLAY OGDEN: I hit 9 iron. We had a little breeze back.

Q. And then 15, what did you hit?

CLAY OGDEN: 15, I hit a little three quarter 8 iron. I was just hoping it wouldn't hit a tree limb.

Q. Barely cleared that tree. On 18, you've got that little dicey chip, you guys were both pretty much in the same position, he chipped up to gimmie range, so he is already in with a par. How much pressure did you feel over that chip shot, or the two foot putt, because that wasn't quite a gimmie?

CLAY OGDEN: For such an easy chip, any other hole, any other circumstance, I'd pull the flag and I'd be trying to make that every single time. I was I'm not sure I've ever been that nervous. I'm just going, don't fluff it, just don't do something stupid. It's an easy shot. I just knew I had to just get it on the fringe and I had a little 2 footer there. Longest 2 footer I've ever had in my life.

Q. What went through your mind on that putt?

CLAY OGDEN: Just like eight feet. It seemed like it was forever. I'm going, "Just keep that blade square, you don't have to hit it very hard."

Q. Can you kind of go through, you've suddenly somebody in here yesterday said, you're now the answer to a trivia question. You've attained probably more celebrity status than any Pub Links winner, at least after they have won the Public Links, maybe they have gone on, a lot of them have gone on to have great careers. Right now, you mentioned on ESPN, you were on the Dan Patrick show, they called you Clay Aiken last night, can you just describe how you go from, you know, cloaked in anonymity three days ago to this?

CLAY OGDEN: Oh, it's hard to believe. I mean, every tournament I play in, it seems I don't really I struggled all college season. I kind of come into all of my tournaments without anybody even I'm not a name to look at.

But to be honest, obviously none of this would happen without Michelle here. So everybody is into what she was doing, everybody was kind of I think there were a lot of, well, obviously a lot of people hoping that she would keep going, and I'm pretty sure none of this would be going on without her playing in the tournament.

Q. (Inaudible.)

CLAY OGDEN: Yes, it is, a lot.

Q. Clay, the second best thing to Michelle winning has to be you winning, and I'm sure it's No. 1 to your dad, but in a way, you alluded to it, she's the best thing that happened to you. Can you just speak again to knocking her off and ultimately going onto win the whole thing; perfect script?

CLAY OGDEN: Like I said, without her in the tournament, I mean, sure, I could have probably won a few matches or maybe, obviously, could have won it. But she made it a lot bigger deal, got the crowd into it a little more. Honestly got me incredibly focused that third round match. I mean, I don't think I've ever been that focused, and I tried to carry that same focus into today because I knew it meant just as much.

Beating her was, I mean, it's just like beating anybody else, but everybody else makes it a little bigger. She was just as tough to play. I just got on a hot streak and hit some great shots and my putter was way hot.

So then to just go on and win my next few matches, they were all a grind. I was down yesterday afternoon most of the day, and came through with some clutch shots. And then, well, what did I take the lead, on 34th hole today, and I was just able to hit the shots when I needed them. I don't know, I just kind of went along nice and smooth and then when I needed it, I hit it in there stiff or made a putt.

Q. What do you think you found out about yourself this week? Obviously you had success last year and you got to the quarterfinals, and you lost to Ryan Moore, who had probably the greatest amateur season in 75 years last year. What do you take from this go forward and what did you find out about your game that maybe you didn't have a week ago?

CLAY OGDEN: Well, I always knew that I could compete with the big the so called big names in amateur golf, but I never won, really, against them. So it gives me so much confidence knowing that I played as well as I did with the crowd there.

I played as well as I did when I needed it. It just, it really raises my confidence level a lot and I feel like I can trust my game down the stretch when I need it because it honestly hasn't ever come through like this day after day after day.

Q. Do you think you'll be a different player now, I mean, for whatever reason, would it be your swing or who you beat this week or winning the big enchilada, do you think you'll be a different player now?

CLAY OGDEN: I hope so. Hopefully I can carry the momentum and continue a stretch of good play. I think a few of the changes I've made with my golf swing will help, obviously. I think I learned a lot about my putting and chipping this week. I had a lot of really touchy chip shots, which I'm usually pretty good at. But putting is usually my, you know, my weak area a little bit. And I tried a little something new just trying to putt a little more weight on my front foot trying to set up and keep things really smooth and low to the ground with the putter. It just worked like a charm when I needed it.

Q. To get into match play as the 63rd golfer, do you think that may have helped to give you kind of a nothing to lose kind of a feeling?

CLAY OGDEN: Not really, only because I had to go out and play the No. 2 seed, and I was out here to win the same tournament everybody else was. So it didn't really give me an attitude of, like, you know, just relax.

But as poorly as I played in the second round, I just felt pretty fortunate just to get into match play.

Q. You were saying about what you learned as far as like your golf game, but this week, what did you learn about yourself?

CLAY OGDEN: Just got to stay patient. I learned that, you know, I've really been working hard on trying to handle myself a little better on the golf course, not getting so frustrated and so down after a few struggles.

I was really impressed with Retief the last round of the Open. I mean, the guy shoots, what did he shoot, 81, and he looked, he carried himself like a champion. I think more than anything else, people respect that or, you know, they like that just as much as somebody who plays well. I mean, if they are coming to watch, you don't want to be out there and not say anything to them, or you know, kind of just blow them off. So that's what I've been working hard on and just staying patient. I don't know, just that's, yeah.

Q. What's your first Masters memory like watching on TV? Is there one specific that you remember watching for the first time?

CLAY OGDEN: I think I was asked this questioned other day, and I'm going to give you a different answer. You might have asked me.

I'm going to say how Nick Faldo came back and beat Norman. (Laughter).

Q. What's the rest of your summer look like now? Obviously you're into the Amateur. Are there any other big events you plan to play or now want to play?

CLAY OGDEN: I'm going to go home and go to Phoenix and hang out with my family for the weekend, get a lesson or two, see if I can keep things going, and then I'm going to go play in the Pacific Coast Amateur in Bandon Dunes, Oregon with the Utah team. The day after I get home from there, the BYU golf team is going to Ireland for nine days, so we are going to go over there and just enjoy it.

Now I think two days after I get home from Ireland, I'll be flying to Merion.

Q. Where do you play in Ireland?

CLAY OGDEN: I don't know, we're playing eight or nine different courses but I don't know which ones.

Q. Twofold question. No. 1, the question about match play, on 16, you hit that shot, it was to me very reminiscent of some of your shots against Michelle. When she hit a good shot and you hit a better shot. In medal play, that's one thing, but in match play that's something else. Just describe that feeling of what it is to hit a shot like that in match play?

CLAY OGDEN: For one when your opponent knocks one in there pretty close, 15, 20 feet, and they are feeling pretty good about their shot, and then you step up and hit one inside of them, or, you know, right next to it, it gives you a serious amount of momentum and it is a serious blow to your opponent when they think maybe they have a good chance of winning a hole, and next thing they know, they have to make their put.

Q. Loaded question: Who is going to be on the bag at Augusta?

CLAY OGDEN: My dad of course. Of course.

Q. Good choice.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations and good luck at Merion this summer.

CLAY OGDEN: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Good luck with the Ireland trip, and obviously good luck with that invitation in the mail.

CLAY OGDEN: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.