	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

AT&T NATIONAL

July 3, 2007

Jamie Lovemark

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We'd like to thank Jamie Lovemark for joining us for a few minutes at the media center at the AT&T National. You were extended a sponsor's exemption to the tournament and we were just discussing that this is your third PGA TOUR event as an amateur. You were extended an invitation to the Western Open with your Western Am victory, and you Monday-qualified for the Buick Invitational and now you're getting a sponsor's exemption. You've had a lot of success this summer already with your victory at the NCAAs and you lost in a playoff on the Nationwide Tour. Maybe just talk about playing out here a little bit and the adjustments and if you're having fun.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Well, it's a lot of fun. There's a lot of adjustments that have to be made coming from college, and especially the Nationwide event. The rough out here is much more -- it's much thicker and much taller than all of the college players are used to.
So strategy has to change a little bit. You can't just hit driver everywhere, and you've got to be careful where you go.

Q. I was with you in Columbus that day at Memorial, and since then, people are saying, well, we didn't think this guy will remain an amateur much longer. What are your thoughts on that?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: They are incorrect. I'll stay an amateur for a long time. My goal is to graduate. I don't know, there's so many different things that could happen. But I plan on staying at least a few more years.

Q. Any explanation for that? You're probably leaving a lot of money on the table doing that.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yeah, but if I keep playing as I'm playing now and keep getting better and better, the money will still be there; if not, it will be more money. But I'm not too worried about that.
I just want to make sure I'm good enough when I come out here to win. At this point I'd say there's no, I'm not good enough to win out here consistently, or at least even one time.
So the next couple of years of college will be good for me to improve both on and off the course, strategy and just my overall golf game.

Q. The obvious question is how do you feel about getting an invitation to play at a tournament that has Tiger Woods' name on it; what does that mean to you?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yeah, I thought I had no chance. Duke Butler contacted me a few weeks ago saying there was an outside chance I would get an exemption into here and I thought he was crazy.
But as things came, four days after the U.S. Open, ended up he gave me a call and said I was in. You know, I started to make travel plans and started to practice real hard and tried to tune up for this event, and I've done all I can do so far.

Q. Take it a step further, we've been following Tiger for a while, but you're in the generation in the Tiger Woods era; what impact does he make on the way you prepare, on the way you see yourself, the way you see your business?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Well, it seems like everyone follows what he does. When he started working out, everyone started working out. He's changed the way he's played the courses. The addition of the 5-wood is something new to most players and I even started using a 5-wood last year and it's helped so much.
Just the way he handles himself on the course has changed the way all TOUR players are, and even kids growing up. Everyone wants to watch Tiger play because he's probably the best of all time. So one of those guys come along maybe once every 100 years or 50 years or whatever.

Q. When you were with Jack on Sunday in Columbus, did you get any tips?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: No, he drove us to the course, Coach Zambri and I. It was about a 20 minute car ride to Scioto Country Club. We didn't talk too much about golf. We talked about course design. He was heading to Scioto to have a meeting for renovation of Scioto and just a lot of small talk. We didn't talk too much -- I didn't ask him too much about tips or anything. But he was a nice guy, seemed down-to-earth and like he carried about my career and where I was heading.

Q. Did you know the young man from Virginia Tech, Drew Weaver?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: I can't say I've met him, no, but obviously he's a great player --

Q. You probably played in tournaments with him.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: No, I've never actually played in the same pairing as him. I've never met him. I'm sure I've seen him before. But that's a great accomplishment to win British Amateur; an American has not won there from a long time. To win there, being from Virginia Tech with the shooting, it's an amazing feat to accomplish.

Q. The Nationwide Tour event you almost won, did you expect to do that well? What was your reaction when you found yourself in position to do that?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Well, first off, after I finished my round on Sunday, I was 16-under and the leaders were 16 or 17 or something like that, and it was blowing really hard. It was 25 to 35 miles an hour, somewhere in there. I thought when I finished, I had no chance to get a playoff. I thought the course was pretty easy. I shot 4-under on the back nine, and there was plenty of birdies out there if you can manage the wind.
And ended up, I tied. I thought when I finished, I thought I would have no chance. It all happened really fast. Just had to wait around for a while after I finished and kind of got cold but in the playoff it was fun, playing against a Ryder Cupper and one of the great players out here; Chris Riley.

Q. He's another friend of Tiger's.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: He's from San Diego, too. Me and Phil and Chris should get together and play a little match back home. It would be fun.

Q. Have you ever played with Chris Riley before?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: No. That was my first time.

Q. So you're the youngster of the threesome?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yes.

Q. Would you say you grew up emulating Chris? Was he one of the guys you looked up to?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: I never met him before the playoff actually. I played with him in a San Diego Golf Association tournament when I was 12, 13, 11, actually won that. I'm sure he doesn't know that.
Chris Riley is a big name back in San Diego and he does a lot for junior golf. It was fun to play him in the playoff.

Q. So you didn't say, "Oh, I know you, I won your golf tournament?"
JAMIE LOVEMARK: No. I showed on up the first tee, and as quick as I got there, we picked numbers out of a hat and teed off and went our separate ways.

Q. As I understand correctly, you're going back to Columbus?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yeah, next week all of the first-time Americans get an exemption to that. And I'll be there with seven or eight other collegiate players, and we'll have a blast hopefully one of us can play well, and maybe even win it, who knows.

Q. What would happen if you won?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Nationwide?

Q. Would you re-evaluate your situation?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: I would not. That would be another step closer to achieving my goal of being able to win out here consistently. If I were to win, I mean, I'd still go to college the following year. If I won my junior year in college, I might consider leaving. But I can't say it would change things. It's really hard to think about that actually. It seems today so farfetched, but it really shouldn't be, but it seems like a dream.

Q. When you were in Columbus the first time and I asked you about playing at a school that had all of these other great athletes and you brought up the idea -- there was the interview in Sports Illustrated that talked about in reference to playing in a big school like that with a tremendous athletic program; do you think with your accomplishments this summer that when you go back to campus, more people will know you?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: I don't think so. Our football team is obviously the best team in the country. Preseason we're ranked No. 1 and our basketball team made it to the Sweet 16 last year, and hopefully next year we can go to Final Four if not win.
Golf is such a small program that there's only five guys that travel. We don't give any money to the school. We don't make any money. You know, we talked to students about our golf team, the best -- the most common reply is, "My dad plays golf." They don't really talk about anything else other than that.
But I don't think things will change at all.

Q. Do you ever talk to Dave Stockton about that?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: About?

Q. Well, he played at Southern Cal.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yeah, I've talked to him, both Junior and Senior. He came out to a few fund-raisers this year and I talked to him, mostly about his short game. Obviously he has one of the best short games on TOUR. We never really talked about celebrity status at USC or anything like that if that's what you're asking.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: You have a pretty busy schedule for the NCAAs. Have you had a chance to get back to the West Coast?
JAMIE LOVEMARK: I was there for two weeks. I took two weeks off, went to the beach, enjoyed surfing, fishing, just hanging out. It was nice to take a few days off.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: So you have a couple tournaments, here and then on the Nationwide Tour.
JAMIE LOVEMARK: And then I'm going home. Coming out to the Western Am on the 21st (July) and then to the U.S. Am on the 20th (August) or so.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297