U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 21, 1997

Robert Gerwin II

ROBERT GERWIN II: Yes, it's nice to be mid-Amateur.

ROBERT GERWIN II: I'm thinking, Lord, get me through this. This is my fifth U.S. Amateur, and my first time I qualified, I lost a playoff to get into match play. And the last four times, it's been a little harder to get through. I've played too hard. So I was really excited to get through match play this year.

ROBERT GERWIN II: I played Jason Gore, and yesterday I played very well in the match with Bryce and didn't make a bogey all day and won 20 holes. Today with Jason Gore in the morning, made some bogeys, wasn't playing all that well, just hung tough. But I made a 10-footer for par at 14 to win, to get within one. And then I birdied 15, and that brought us even, and it was a new match. Suddenly the momentum had switched and the door was ajar, so I was able to win that match. Today with Jason, we were just back and forth, back and forth. I had an opportunity to go two up on 15 and failed. But it worked out.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Quite honestly, we had -- we were on the clock today, and I had a slow time on the fourth hole on the par 3 when I switched clubs, I went from a 3-wood to a 3-iron on No. 6 and was called for a slow time, and suddenly that's in the back of my mind. On 7, I had a 9-iron -- I'm sitting over the ball thinking, he's up there in his cart looking at his watch going 41, 42, 43, and I'm just pulling the trigger, so I made a bogey there. And they put us back on the clock on 15, and I -- quite honestly, I just got up there a little fast and hit it and missed it. And, you know, that's the way it goes. Anyway, never considered myself a fast player, so, you know, I was sort of rushing a little bit and missed the putts.

ROBERT GERWIN II: They put us back on the clock on 15.

ROBERT GERWIN II: They came up to the tee and they put us on the clock. It was like, man, you're running up to the ball, you're getting your club out, getting the caddie, get over here and wash the ball, because you don't know when they're starting the clock. That's the thing. Are they starting the clock when they're saying it's my turn to putt? God, I just got up there and fixed my ball mark. You know, it really gets into your head. So unless you're doing it all the time, maybe it's not that big a deal. But it certainly got in my head today, so I was fortunate to get away with it. We have to play faster. You just have to speed up.

ROBERT GERWIN II: No, potentially, I've done very well regionally. I won State Am and the State Mid-Am last year. I've done some wonderful things. Potentially, no, I'm not surprised. But obviously, my record -- I made the second round of the U.S. Mid-Am last year, but my record in the U.S. Amateur has not been stellar, so to speak. But, you know, I have an opportunity.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Usually, it's my ball-striking, but I haven't really hit it all too well this week. I've been really just thinking better this week, I guess. My short game has been pretty sharp. But everything comes and goes. One day, it's your putting, one day it's your ball-striking. But overall, my ball-striking is a strength of mine.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Absolutely. Crowds were large and a little bit, I'd say, boisterous. I mean, they were getting in the way and talking. I mean, one guy wanted to have a conversation with me as I'm walking down the fairway. "Now, where do you play in Cincinnati? How old are you? Do you have a family?" And I just walked away. I mean, are you kidding me? So that was sort of humorous. Buddy, it's the 18th hole. Give me a break.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Well, at 17, I had wedge in my hand, and, again, I was behind the ball, and the wind came up, and I was afraid I was on the clock. And the wind came up, and I should have gone back to sand wedge. But I thought, oh, I'll hit a pitching wedge, and I pulled it a little bit and I went left and I made a bogey. As we go to 18, we're standing up on the tee, and when I played Bryce yesterday on 18, I hit a good drive down the middle and, you know, that opened up the door to win on 18. But Jason did not hit a good drive on 18, and I stood up, had a perfect opportunity, and I blocked it off into the right bunker and didn't accelerate my arms down through the ball and was hanging behind it, so he was left in the rough. I don't know if you were all out there and saw the ruling. He was in casual water, and it took a long time to determine an uncasual spot where he could play the ball. And so you could feel the tension building as we're all trying to get the spot right and Jason is wanting to get farther and farther over to the right so he can get a shot to the green. I said: Wait a minute. You said that spot was good. You have to make him go back there. So it was sort of interesting. Got a spot. He punched out. I just knocked it out of the bunker. I almost pulled the trigger and tried to knock it on the green from the bunker. I had 175 to the front edge downwind, and I realized how bad I hit it off the tee. I'm like, I'm not doing anything stupid like that. I punched it out into the fairway, and I hit a real good sand wedge into about 10 feet and had a putt that I really liked, felt good about, and left it on the high side. And he charged his figuring, I guess, that I was going to make my putt. He ran it by about 2 1/2, 3 feet. It was downhill to break off to the right putt, and any golfer knows you don't want one of those under pressure. It's very difficult. Jason is a super nice fellow. I was really fortunate to play with three really nice people in my first three rounds. Usually sometimes you play with people who aren't very nice, but they were very nice.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Absolutely. Absolutely. He had such -- he's had such a stellar year at the Junior Amateur, winning the Junior Am. You wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy. That's awful sad. So....

ROBERT GERWIN II: Well, I kept reminding myself that this is what it's all about. I mean, you can't not feel the nerves that are involved, and you keep reminding yourself before a shot and say this is why you play the game. This is why you try to get better at the game, so you can have an opportunity like this. And, you know, you've got to do the best you can.

ROBERT GERWIN II: I sell safety equipment supplies, industrial gear, gloves, safety glasses. Been doing it for about five years.

ROBERT GERWIN II: It's worked out great. In fact, the owner of our company was semifinalist in the U.S. Mid Amateur, so he's very supportive of my golf, and he's been -- he's favorable towards it.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Craig Scheibert. So he has always supported and allowed me to play whenever I need to. As long as I keep making him more money, that's okay. There might come a point and time when that's not the case.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Yeah, regionally. Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Kentucky area, Southern Ohio. Really anywhere I can.

ROBERT GERWIN II: This is my fifth U.S. Amateur and my first one was Cascades, and I lost in a playoff. Every year as I've qualified and gotten back, that's been in the back of my mind and maybe put a little too much pressure on myself and haven't done as well as I'd hoped. This year, I was -- when I got through the playoff and made it, I was so emotional, I couldn't even tell you. I mean, it was like a monkey was off me. It really was a nice feeling.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Yes, sir, U.S. Mid Am, I got the second round last year.

ROBERT GERWIN II: Oh, absolutely. The U.S. Mid Am last year up at Hartford Country Club in Connecticut. I got through there and did well, and there's a wall that you -- when you play golf that you -- sort of a ladder that you go up, and the wall was getting thicker and thicker on me. It was getting more and more difficult to get through that next level and break in the -- getting through to match play there and doing all right was a big help. In my second round match there, in fact, I lost one up on the last hole, so that was a fabulous experience. That's really helped me this week here. Because I've been there, done that sort of thing, so I've been able to manage, I guess.