U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 19, 1999

David Gossett

DAVID GOSSETT: That's right. It's a beautiful day at Pebble Beach. I had a hard time turning it down. You get to play for free; why not play the most beautiful holes in the world.

DAVID GOSSETT: Yes, that, too, and -- yes. Also, I've only played this course three times, playing all the holes. So, fortunately, today I played well, and didn't have to play them in the round, but I wanted to get familiar with them.

DAVID GOSSETT: Yes, I was. Well, let me think -- no, I was not. 1st hole, I was up 2-up on Richard, and then this morning I was 3-up, after 3, I believe.

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, I got off to a quick start this morning. I played -- made a lot of birdies. It was an up-and-down match against Robert. I rolled in birdies on 3. He had trouble on the first two. I won the first. We halved the 2nd. I made birdie on 3. Then I rolled in a 50-footer on 4. Then he missed about a 5-footer; so that was crucial. On 6, I got -- I hit it -- laid up in the fairway, and hit a 3-iron to 20 feet and made a 20-footer to halve the hole for birdie, because he played the hole well. Then on 7, I had a sand wedge down the hill. It kicked right in the bunker, and he had a good shot 20 foot behind the hole, and I holed the bunker shot. He made it to top me. And then --

DAVID GOSSETT: 7, one of the most beautiful holes in golf. And it was calm today, and I missed the green, but I made a 2. 8, we played -- let's see, I believe I halved that. 9, I made birdie. I hit a shot in there to ten feet below the hole and made birdie there to go 5-up there. And then in the afternoon -- he made birdie on 12 -- 11 -- he made birdie on 11 to get it back to 4-up. I was 4-up. He missed a short putt on 13. So it was pretty much, that crucial putt on the 12th hole. He had a 6-footer to win two holes in a row.

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, I didn't feel like it was a total coast, because I was making really good putts, but, yes, it's nice to go out and not have to play 18 holes every time. 5-4, that's a little nicer on the nerves going into the back 9, I must admit, being 2-, 3- or 4-up.

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, Andy has been helpful. Andrew Martinez is on the bag this week. I met him during the FedEx St. Jude Classic that I played earlier in June. We were discussing my schedule for the season, and he mentioned he's from the San Francisco area, and he loves Pebble Beach and how he wanted to work this week. And I called him up and said, "Do you want to carry for me?" And he said he'd love to. He's been helpful, very experienced, as you know. He knows what to say and when to say it.

DAVID GOSSETT: He's not playing. He's going to play next week at Akron at the NEC.

DAVID GOSSETT: I don't know. Depends on how far we go. He said he's doing it for the love of the game. He loves it here at Pebble.

DAVID GOSSETT: In club selection and in what to say. In certain situations when the heat is on, just kind of -- well, for instance, yesterday, I was 3-down after 3. Walking off the 4th tee, I hit it in the fairway and I was saying: Yeah, that's a nice way to start, kind of sarcastically. And he turned around and his quip was: Hey, Chad played -- not the start we wanted, but if he can win three in a row, you can win three in a row; there's a lot of golf yet. Let's stick our nose and grind to it. I made birdie on 4 and birdie on 5, and birdie on 8 and birdie on 10. He's just positive, very positive. And the club selection, too, and the knowledge of this golf course, as well. He's been around many times. This is the first time I've seen it.

DAVID GOSSETT: Only a couple of times, but I can't think of one off the bat.

DAVID GOSSETT: How long do I have to answer this question? Phoenix, Arizona, but only lived there for three months. My dad was in the Air Force and got out. We went to Memphis, and I played a lot of baseball growing up. I got into the game around eight or nine. Played competitive little league, and started playing more seriously around 11, 12. And played basketball, as well. Played hockey for a year. But I decided golf was the sport for me at 15; was the first year I played, that was the only sport I played. And I went to Texas because I really like Austin. It's a great school academically. Coach Fields, John Fields, is the golf coach there's. He's been ten years at New Mexico. I like him. He's a good man. Good golf coach. Good courses, good facility and strong tradition there with -- the list goes on and on, Kite, Crenshaw, Estes, Leonard.

DAVID GOSSETT: No. Unfortunately, due to the NCAA rules, I wasn't allowed to speak to them. I wish I could have, but, no. Now I have afterwards, now that I signed.

DAVID GOSSETT: I believe it's about 80 miles. I'm not for sure.

DAVID GOSSETT: We've gotten to know each other over the last two years. We played in the State Am together. Three rounds together last year in the State Am. And spent a lot of time at the Western Amateur this year after missing the cut. Both of us missed the cut, and we were telling our stories about poor putting, putting on the green for two or three hours; talking it up. We played a lot of practice rounds together.

DAVID GOSSETT: Not surprised, but pleased. It hasn't been the summer I've wanted. I felt like I just really haven't gotten much out of -- I felt like the summer has been like my first round. It wasn't pretty, but I didn't get anything out of my round. Just missing a few shots here and there, is why I haven't done what I wanted this summer. I worked really hard this past week. I didn't play in the State Am; it was at the Honors Course, and I just wanted to be prepared for this tournament, mentally. Physically, I worked out and did some running. I'm not surprised, though, I've been hitting good golf shots.

DAVID GOSSETT: It was last week, and it was over on Thursday. And I flew out here Friday morning. I decided not to play. I just practiced at home and got prepared for this.

DAVID GOSSETT: I have. We played in a tournament north of LA at North Ranch Country Club, the 1st and 2nd of March, and I've been to San Diego with my family before.

DAVID GOSSETT: Yes.

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, we had an awesome day. My dad caddied for me on Saturday afternoon. We played at Pebble Beach. We teed off at 11:40. It was a beautiful day. It was warm -- not warm, but warm for out here, 65 degrees. Sunny, clear as can be, and it was an awesome day. The wind only blew 5 to 10 miles an hour. The course is in wonderful shape. The USGA has done a wonderful job, and the greens are firm and fast and firming up at the moment. I was just blown away by it. I didn't realize it was to undulating. The greens are built up, just things like on 3, left of that bunker really drops off. I never really saw that before. It's great. It's better than I thought it would be, which is nice.

DAVID GOSSETT: Tim, yes, I've known Tim -- similar story as Richard. I've known him a little longer than Richard. He lives in Germantown, same town. We don't play at the same club, but the first time we met and spent some time together was at a golf tournament, Northeast Am last summer. And just -- we've played golf a few times in Memphis, and spent some time together. Played practice rounds together at tournaments, and spent a lot of time with him. He's done well in the USGA, as you know, and Walker Cup Team this year. I know he would have liked to have done better yesterday and been in the match play a little longer. He's been helpful. We have fun together.

DAVID GOSSETT: Germantown is 35,000, I believe, and a suburb of Memphis.

DAVID GOSSETT: NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year.