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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2011

Patrick Cantlay

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Q. How are you holding up fatigue-wise?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm really tired, yeah. I felt it on the back nine. But you know, it's such a great experience to be here, and it's been an amazing week. I'm really excited and adrenaline kind of kept me in it.

Q. Now that it's official, what do you think about the meaning of getting low amateur?
PATRICK CANTLAY: It means so much because there's so much history. Obviously it's my first U.S. Open, so it means a lot to me that I was able to compete well in my first one. You know, it's just exciting and it makes me feel good. It hasn't really digested yet, but it feels great.

Q. Any memory you'll take away from the week?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Just the whole week was so awesome. There were so many high points that I can't really pick out just one. But so many from the first tee shot to the last bunker shot right there, and the whole week was just so awesome.

Q. What are you going to do for next week?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm going to rest tonight and all day tomorrow, and then get ready and try and play as good as I can in Hartford.

Q. How was the reception on 18 in that big amphitheater? Russell Henley said that was his big memory.
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, the fans have been so awesome all week. They've been excellent, very supportive. I haven't heard one negative thing out there, and I just can't thank all of them enough.

Q. Did you feel like a rock star there on 18?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, a little bit, yeah. I don't know what a rock star really feels like.

Q. Playing all this golf, are you ready for a break, or do you get more excited because you've done so many cool things like meet Jack Nicklaus, low amateur here?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Golf is pretty cool. It takes you to some cool spots. I'm just going to keep having fun and try and play as good I can. Words can't describe how much fun this week has been.

Q. Were you wondering at all how Russell was doing out there today?
PATRICK CANTLAY: You know, I was pulling for Russell because Russell is a good friend of mine. I wasn't really worried too much about what he was doing. It doesn't really affect anything that I'm doing.

Q. The Open is known as such a hard test, guys shoot some ridiculous high numbers. Were you intimidated coming in or excited about the opportunity?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I was excited. I really like tough golf courses; the longer the rough and the faster the greens, the more I like it. I was looking forward to it and thought that I could compete early in the week.

Q. What was the coolest shot that you played today?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Not today, but I holed a bunker shot yesterday. That was a once in a lifetime experience.

Q. What was the difficulty level in that shot, good lie, bad lie?
PATRICK CANTLAY: It was a great lie. It was kind of a tough shot. It was maybe like a 7 difficulty and I got a little lucky.

Q. Did you get to see any ESPN highlights throughout this week?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, my friends made me watch it.

Q. Your reaction to that?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I thought it was cool. I thought it was awesome that they put me on there.

Q. Anything you'll put in your back pocket going out of here?
PATRICK CANTLAY: A lot of confidence and a lot of experience. I learned a lot this week, and probably the most I've ever learned in a tournament this week. I'm just going to be -- I'm going to feel older and wiser than my years going into every event I play, and I'm going to know every tournament I go to I can compete with everyone in the field.

Q. What do you think about being at the ceremony with Rory afterwards?
PATRICK CANTLAY: It's going to be cool. Rory has played awesome and seems like a really, really nice guy. I haven't met him before. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. Can you just run through your shots on 18?
PATRICK CANTLAY: My drive, I hung it out to the right a little bit and got a nice kick, went back into the fairway. I had 225 to the flagstick and I hit a 5-iron and I blistered it and hung that out a little to the right, and it went into the bunker. Really nice lie in the bunker and hit a great bunker shot out to like two feet.

Q. Can you describe the scene at the 18th?
PATRICK CANTLAY: The scene at the 18th has been wonderful every day. It's probably the best finishing hole I've ever played. Very picturesque and very difficult. All the fans were great, the grandstands there. They cheered me on the whole way up the fairway, and I really enjoyed it.

Q. Thoughts of what you need to work on in amateur golf before you turn pro?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I can work on everything. My attitude can improve. I get down on myself sometimes. And definitely my short game can improve. I think that's the weakest part of my game, and I think this week showed it. I had some spots where I could have gotten up-and-down and I unfortunately didn't. But you know, I think everything can improve just with your mental aspect and with the more experience you get.

Q. Does your father help coach you?
PATRICK CANTLAY: He introduced me to the game and kind of gave me a kick in the butt to get me started and really has been very supportive. He's the reason why I play golf, I think, because he just got me started and has been so supportive all the years and never said no or you can't do that. He's been awesome.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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