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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 2005

Dillon Dougherty

ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA

PETE KOWALSKI: Dillon, thanks for coming in. Congratulations on your great run, and I guess everything was looking good after 18 holes and then things kind of got short circuited. How about your thoughts about to start.

DILLON DOUGHERTY: I mean, I knew after 18, Edoardo had been playing well all week, and I knew he was going to play much better than he played in the morning, or at least I planned on it.

So I went and warmed up and I felt really prepared to play a good round. I played pretty solid and he just played unbelievably.

PETE KOWALSKI: I guess that was the next question. You didn't play poorly; you played well, but you ran into somebody who was playing much better. What's your reaction to the way his putter caught on fire there on the second 18?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: A lot of times that's just what it comes down to, who makes the putts, and a lot of the putts he made, I was inside him, and I ended up missing.

So, I mean, you don't expect in the U.S. Am final in the last 18 holes for a guy to make that many putts, and I doubt it happens very regularly. So after a while, I just felt like every one was going in and pretty much almost every one almost did.

PETE KOWALSKI: I'll give you media folks an historical note. The only other person from Northwestern who has reached the U.S. Amateur final is a gentleman by the name of Chick Evans; so Dillon is in great company. If you can react to the fact that you have that Northwestern legacy with Chick Evans?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Yeah, I guess Chick won it here, the Amateur. He was a great, great man. He did a lot for the game of golf, so to kind of be in that same, with him, it feels pretty special.

PETE KOWALSKI: For the record, so you know, Chick Evans did participate in more U.S. Amateurs than anyone in USGA history. He played in 50 U.S. Amateurs. We'll go to questions.

Q. First of all, congratulations on how far you got this week.

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Thank you.

Q. The question I had was on No. 11 when he hit that long putt, you just kind of bowed your head, shaking your head, what was going through your head at that point?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: In the afternoon on 11 when I missed? I was just amazed and a little, not really frustrated, well a little bit frustrated because he didn't really give me many opportunities. I kept hoping for an opportunity, for him to just make par when I had a good chance at looking at birdie and he would make it. So after he made that on 11, I didn't feel like it was over, but I felt like, man, this is getting a little ridiculous.

Q. After the morning rain, did the course play as easy as it had all week?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Probably. The morning rain made it play a lot longer. Especially when we were playing in the rain early on, it played just tremendously long, and it made the rough the rough was tougher just because the rough was wet.

But there were a lot of shots, you could hold the green or you could get close to the pin where earlier in the week the ball was bounding a little bit. So that made it difficult.

But then again, there are a lot of wedges where it was hard to keep it from spinning too much. But I would say for sure, the greens being soft made it play a lot easier.

Q. After you won the Yip match, you said that making an occasional birdie was okay, but just playing par and playing steady, did you implore that philosophy this morning, and at what point in the afternoon double that you had to go another way?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Well, definitely after the morning 18, I definitely thought if I was one out and even through 15, then that probably would have been over in my favor. You know, especially all week, par has been really good. But I think it was about 11 when he knocked that in. I felt like, I've got to make four birdies or something coming in. I've got to start just trying to birdie every hole because he's been birdieing every hole so that right around there I kind of realized that it's going to be a little different. Pars probably weren't going to get the job done.

Q. At the break you were 3 up. How difficult is it to be 3 up and to stop that momentum?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Well, kind of especially in college golf, we play a lot of 36 hole days where we just play a continuous day, and I kind of like that because you get in the rhythm and you just keep going. We stopped, we stopped for an hour and 15 minutes and that's a little hard because I just want to keep going.

But, then again, I went and hit balls. I was all ready. I stepped up on the first tee and felt like I still had the momentum. I felt pretty good.

Q. Coming into this week, you weren't on a whole lot of radar screens, what about your mindset was different this week, or just about the way you were swinging the golf club, what made this so different?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: I've been playing well this summer. So coming into this week, you know, the few weeks before I really wanted to come in and play well. I felt like, you know, this is one of the the first Amateur I've played in obviously, but it was one of the first times I could have been prepared to come into the week and really play well. I really wanted to take advantage of it.

I don't know, swing wise or anything, I've been hitting it well and I've hit it the same this week as I've been hitting it the last month or two, so that wasn't any different. But mentally I was prepared to play well and I expected to play well.

Q. Do you relish the fact that now people are going to look at you a little differently when you step up to the first tee in college matches and whatnot next year?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: A little bit, yeah. I'm looking forward to going back with my teammates, and just having our team show up to events and have other players say, well, Northwestern has got U.S. Am finalists and Western Am finalists; these guys are good.

Q. A lot of guys talk about trying to find a way to learn how to go low. Your scoring averages in college are a lot higher than what you did out here today. Do you take anything from this or learn anything from this that you say, wow, I could do that, and have that somehow repeat itself when you go back to Northwestern next year?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: What I think I will take, a combination of the whole summer is the consistency I've played with all summer and out here. That's kind of always been the weakness is just the consistency of my ball striking. You know, sometimes I'll hit it great and sometimes I won't but all summer I've hit it really well, and besides the last six holes yesterday, all week I've really been consistent and I think that will give me a lot of confidence just knowing that I came to the U.S. Am and for really nine days, including the practice rounds, just hit a lot, a lot of good shots.

PETE KOWALSKI: Could you tell us which of your teammates and what folks from Northwestern came to watch?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Let's see, we had Coach Pat Goss came in. We had associate A.D. that came in and then we had, let's see, Dave Merko was here yesterday and stayed with me last night. Scott Webber came in; Kyle Moore came in. Am I forgetting anyone, Dad? I think that's it.

Q. Just another quick question, how much did it mean to you to have your dad on the bag this week?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: It meant a lot, and I told him right when I right when I qualified and he was coming, we were going to have a great week no matter what. The week could not have been any better. Losing today doesn't change anything. It was a special week for us. We had a blast. We're going to have a good time tonight.

Q. Is he going to Augusta and the U.S. Open, too?

DILLON DOUGHERTY: Yes, he is. He doesn't really have a choice.

PETE KOWALSKI: Dillon, you've got the silver medal around your neck, you should be very proud and we appreciate you coming in. Congratulations.

End of FastScripts.

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