U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 1997

Don Padgett

DON PADGETT: My grandfather's Director of Golf at Pinehurst Resort. He's past President of the PGA. My dad, who's got a busy week this week, is at Firestone. They're having the Tour of the NEC World Series of Golf, so he's the general manager at Firestone. He told me if I made it a long way this week, he would ditch that and come over here and watch me.

DON PADGETT: Don Padgett II, and I'm the third.

DON PADGETT: Oh, you always have to work at it. My dad was -- grandfather was a good player. My dad was a great player, at times. My dad has really taught me everything pretty much. He's always been my teacher my whole life. And my grandfather has taught me a few things. Mostly more ways to think, not as much mechanics. My dad has pretty much taught me the swing and short game and putting and everything, so....

DON PADGETT: Started on the first hole. Kind of got off to a rough start, really. Bogeyed 2, bogeyed 5, birdied the 6th hole.

DON PADGETT: Hit a driver and a wedge about 6 feet, made it from there. Then I hit an errant drive on the 8th hole by the left bunker. Took bogey there. So really, I was 2-over after 8 holes, which was really not the start I'd want to have. Then I had a good string of birdies. Birdied at 9, 10 and 11. So that kind of got me going.

DON PADGETT: 9th hole, I hit a driver and a 3-iron to lay up there left of the lake, and had about 40 yards. Hit a 60-degree wedge about 4 feet, made that. 10th hole, hit a nice cut drive out there. Kind of a tight, tough-driving hole. Hit that there. Hit a 6-iron about 12 feet, knocked that one in. Then 11, hit a great drive right down the pipe, took a 3-wood, missed it just to the right of the green about pin-high and got that up-and-down too. So 13 was a birdie, short par 4. I stuck a sand wedge about 2 feet. 16 was another birdie. Tucked back right pin there, and I just kind of played for the middle of the green. And playing conservative paid off, rolled in about a 25-footer. Then 18, hit a pretty good shot. I thought it was going to be a little closer. It ended up being sucked back down the hill. Drained about a 30-footer on 18, so had a good, strong finish.

DON PADGETT: No. I plan on turning pro. I go to Indiana University. I'm done playing golf for them. My eligibility is up. I have one semester to graduate this fall, so I'll be done in December, and I plan on turning pro sometime this next winter, so that's the plan.

DON PADGETT: I had some fun this summer. I really have. Kind of brought it up to the next level. Just had a fair college spring. Had some good tournaments and some bad tournaments. But this summer, I really kind of took it up another notch and feel probably I'm playing my best golf I've ever played.

DON PADGETT: Just being more consistent. I could -- you know, I could always hit the shots, but it's just stepping up there and doing it over time. I've worked with a sports psychologist, too, and he's helped me quite a bit. He's got me thinking real positive, thinking good thoughts. There's a fine line between doing it and not, and it's real -- you have to be real meticulous, and so it comes and it goes, though, but I feel pretty good about it right now.

DON PADGETT: That's correct.

DON PADGETT: Right.

DON PADGETT: I'm a lot better player than I was two years ago, a lot more experienced. Last year I was playing okay. I lost in a playoff to come -- to go to Pumpkin Ridge, so it feels good to get a first round in here at Cog Hill.

DON PADGETT: Right.

DON PADGETT: Correct.

DON PADGETT: I had a bunch of 68s, right in there. 68.

DON PADGETT: It is. Dubsdread is a lot more difficult I think. Somebody said the scores on 2 were fairly comparable to those on Dubsdread or maybe just a little lower, which really surprises me. They're different. Dubsdread, you've got to hit driver most of the time. There's probably only a couple holes you don't. No. 2, you've got a lot more irons, 3-woods off the tee. You're kind of placing the ball, hitting some cut drivers. Most of your tee shots on Dubsdread, you're hitting full-bore drivers, releasing them, trying to get them out there. There's a lot of long golf holes out there. Par 3s are a lot tougher on Dubsdread for sure. That really surprised me on the scores, too. I thought they would be a lot higher on Dubsdread, as well.

DON PADGETT: No. I'll just go out and just do what I did today. You know, if you try to pick a target score before, you can kind of get yourself in trouble, if you get off to a bad start and you think you have to get back to par. You just have to play one shot at a time and just take what the course gives you. You don't really want to -- you know, I won't be overly aggressive. I'll just play like I did today and see what happens.

DON PADGETT: I lost in the second round match play.

DON PADGETT: Keith Orr from Kentucky.

DON PADGETT: Match play is fine. Yeah, I do enjoy it. It's kind of -- knowing what you have to do with the guy right there is always fun. You know, a lot of times in medal play, there's the guys in front of you or in back of you, you're not sure what they're doing. It's all right in front of you in match play. It's fun. All college year, we play medal play. In the amateur tournaments that do play match play, I have fun with in the summer because you don't see it very much.

DON PADGETT: Okay. Thank you.