U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 1997

Jason Allred

JASON ALLRED: I was four and three.

JASON ALLRED: All right. No. 1, he hit his second shot first, and he hit it up there to about, I don't know, 8 feet. So he hit a real good shot, a long iron in there. I hit an 8-iron, hit it to 12 feet. I made my birdie putt, and he barely missed his. Got off to a good start. We both hit good shots. Then No. 4, I was still one up. I hit my drive way right behind some trees, had to chip out. Hit a good third shot, it was over the green. I had some work left to make bogey. He was in the front bunker in two, and then he hit it way long, over the green, and ended up making -- he had about an 8-footer for double bogey. So he kind of gave me one there, which was nice, to get a little bigger lead. And then No. 5, he missed about a 4-foot putt for par, so he kind of gave me another hole there. So I was three up. And then No. 6, that par 3, I hit a good tee shot to about 15 feet, and he left himself about 20 feet for par, and he missed his putt, so kind of got another one there with par. We both weren't playing too great, but it was kind of nice to be four up after all that. And then No. 7, par 4, I hooked my drive into the trees and hit a good punch shot out there on the back of the green, and he was right in the fairway and hooked it left of the green, and he ended up making a double bogey there, so kind of gave me another one. I was a little bit surprised, you know, playing with a person that's been on the Walker Cup all those years, to get a few gifts. But I'll take it, you know. And then I made bogey on No. 8, and he made good par, so I was back to four up. And then No. 9, I had about a 12-foot putt for birdie, and he had about a 50-footer for par, and he barely missed his. So I had to 2-putt to win the hole. I hit my first putt 4 feet by and missed it coming back. So that kind of gave him some momentum. Even though I was four up. It gave him some life. It was a terrible mistake on my part. And then No. 10, I hit my approach shot first to 12 feet, and then he hit his on the green to 30 feet or so, and he made his putt, and I missed. So just like that, I was back to three up. I didn't really know what was going on. The wheels were kind of coming off a little bit. No. 11, I made a good 5-foot putt for par to tie the hole, and that kind of got me settled down a little bit. And then that par 3, he hit it first in the bunker, and I followed him right in the bunker, so kind of gave him another chance. I missed my par putt. He had a 5-footer to cut it to two up, and he lipped out, so kind of -- he lipped another one there. No. 13 was a tough par 4, and he hit his approach shot first in that front bank, short of the green, and I hit mine long in the bunker, so it was still my play. And I hit an explosion out there, and it trickled down and went in the hole. I was kind of fortunate. I wasn't playing very well and to make a birdie in the hole like that, I was really lucky. That put me back to four up with five to go. It kind of made me relax a little bit. I hit a good tee shot on the next par 3, but it went long, just terrible spot to leave it, and he made a good shot out of the bunker to actually hit the pin and ended up an inch away. So I made bogey there. So it's back to three up with four to go. Then he had the advantage on the next hole at par 5, No. 15. I hit my drive in the rough, second shot in the rough, just had to chip out. I had 70 yards on my fourth shot. I hit it up there and made it 6 feet. He missed the green on his third shot and chipped up to 15 feet or so, so he missed his putt, so I had that five- or six-footer to win and got it in there somehow. I don't know. So it wasn't pretty, but I was fortunate to get by a player as good as George Marucci.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, that was a big, big turn in the match, but it was probably about 50 feet or so. Probably 25 feet of green to work with, and I was still off the green by 25 feet or so.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, it definitely helps the more you play match play, especially USGA match play, where there's quite a bit of pressure. All the matches are important. I know a couple years ago after I 3-putted No. 9, I might have gotten a little frustrated or rattled a little. So playing before helped me settle back down and get over that.

JASON ALLRED: It was funny. I called last night to get my tee time. They said I was playing George Marucci Jr. I knew I would have to play well, and I actually didn't play my best, but he kind of -- I think he's a little bit tired after the Walker Cup. He's had a couple long weeks, so, I don't know, he's a really, really nice guy, and he just -- I was fortunate to get by him.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah. I mean, I won a couple holes with bogey even. So I didn't -- it was almost coming too easy, you know, and maybe I relaxed a little mentally and let him back in it. Hopefully tomorrow I can bear down a little more if I do get out to a lead.

JASON ALLRED: That was the first time, yeah. Actually, I wasn't really even introduced to him there, so.....

JASON ALLRED: I think that was Jay Sigel, yeah.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, that's the first time I had really seen him. Today on the first tee was the first time we'd really met. He's a really, really nice guy.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, I met his father.

JASON ALLRED: Uh-huh, and other tournaments before. I forget where -- the first time I met him.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah. I actually hit my approach shot down past the hole. There's not much green behind the hole. So just 12 to 15 feet, I'd say, and I knew I just had to 2-putt to go five up. That's a pretty good lead in match play after nine. I kind of got careless a little bit. Usually I walk around the hole when I'm putting to kind of see the slope. And from behind the ball, it looked like it was a little more uphill than it was, so I hit a little harder than I wanted to, but I didn't think I would hit it 5 feet by. When I got back on the other side, I could see that it was more level than I thought. So just kind of a mental mistake there.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, that -- I just had 100 yards in on my third shot, and I missed the green right and chipped up to maybe 6 feet. Didn't hit a very good chip. So the last few holes, I had been all over the place. I was definitely letting him back in the match. He barely missed his birdie putt. So I had to make that to stay three up. In match play, it seems like three up is a lot different than two up, especially with a guy like Buddy Marucci. My little brother Kyle, he's caddying for me. He gave me a good read there, so I tried to hit -- make an aggressive stroke. I had been a little tentative all day. So I hit a good solid putt, and it went in.

JASON ALLRED: He's 14.

JASON ALLRED: He's actually almost as big as I am. He's a big guy.

JASON ALLRED: It's been fun. My family actually took like a week-long river trip together, so I didn't really see anyone after that. So I had some time to kind of think about it and enjoy it without having to play any more golf. That was a nice time, you know, to kind of relax and get refreshed. It's hard to concentrate much after that experience. But then I went home for a couple days, and it was, you know, amazing to see how much support I had from everyone that watched it, and it meant a lot to people, you know, around my club. So it was neat to see, and I don't deserve all the praise that they give me, but it was fun to go back home.

JASON ALLRED: We went to the Selway River in Idaho.

JASON ALLRED: Selway, S-E-L-W-A-Y.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, my older brother told me I had to hard-shell kayak, so he drug me down that one, too. But it's fun after you play a month or so of tournaments straight to kind of take a break like that and get back together with your family. So that's important for us.

JASON ALLRED: I had them ship it to my home course, and when I was there, it hadn't gotten there yet, so I'm not sure. Maybe it's because of the UPS strike.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah, I'm kind of glad to see that. He's a good player, real good player.

JASON ALLRED: Yeah. That was another thing that was, you know, was kind of neat. After winning, I got home and there -- I mean, over a hundred or so pieces of mail. So, I mean, it kind of makes you feel good after an accomplishment like that when so many people are rooting for you and giving their support. And I actually haven't gotten much from Philadelphia yet except from the Ruders. I stayed with them. They were great.

JASON ALLRED: My first goal was kind of to make match play. You know, I thought that would be a good kind of target to shoot for. And I was happy with the scores I shot in qualifying. I mean, these aren't easy golf courses at all. I've been struggling a little off the tee, so keep keeping it in the fairway was important those first couple rounds. Once I was in match play, I guess just enjoying myself. I'm at a great tournament and great golf course. The USGA obviously runs the best tournaments in the world, I think, that I've played in, and so really just, you know, to try my best and have a good time. And, I don't know, if it works out, maybe I'll get a few matches at the end of this tournament.