U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 22, 1997

Joel Kribel

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah. I mean, any time you get through a match, you know, you're obviously going to be relieved if you came out on top, and it's nice to be back to the semifinals again, and I just have to go out and see if I can improve on last year.

JOEL KRIBEL: Well, Jace and I both struggled. It was kind of ugly out there for a while. I played pretty poorly for the first seven holes. Then I feel like from No. 8 on, I played pretty well, and, you know, I was one up through 7, and then I made some birdies and Jace struggled a little bit. And that was it.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah. You know, that's -- I feel bad for Jace. I know he didn't play as well as he was capable or as well as he would have liked, but that's the most difficult thing about this tournament being so long, everybody is going to have an off day, and you have to be lucky to get through it on your off day and get a victory.

JOEL KRIBEL: Let's see. Nothing spectacular. I made a couple good putts on 8 and 9 for birdies. And then on 10 through 13, it was just, you know, kind of kept the ball in play, didn't make any mistakes. And Jace made a couple bogeys. That's where it ended.

JOEL KRIBEL: 8 was probably about 20 feet, and 9 was 25 or 30.

JOEL KRIBEL: Probably on 12. You know, earlier in the week, I would have said that, you know, I thought it was over on about 10, but, you know, Ian Kennedy made a really good comeback against me when I was three up with five to go, so I wasn't going to take anything for granted this time. After I went, you know, I saw I was going to win No. 12, I felt pretty comfortable from there.

JOEL KRIBEL: Not really. I told somebody else I had a really good break before the Walker Cup of about three weeks, where I didn't have competition. I took time off and got refocused. That's enabled me to go out and play in two really long weeks like this without getting tired.

JOEL KRIBEL: I don't know. I have to check my drawer. I may have a couple more, but USGA gave us some pretty nice stuff back there at the Walker Cup, so I'll put it to use, I think.

JOEL KRIBEL: It will be tough, you know, playing those guys, because both Randy and Brad, I've become really good friends with at the Walker Cup. I knew them before the tournament, but everybody grew a lot closer at the Walker Cup and, you know, Brad was my teammate in one of the matches, so it will be difficult playing him. But we both understand the circumstances, and we're just going to go out and play as well as we can, try to give everybody a good show.

JOEL KRIBEL: I truly think we're very similar. We hit the ball -- we have the same ball flight -- we hit it about the same distance. So, I mean, I think he may swing it a little bit better than me. But, you know, I think our games are pretty comparable.

JOEL KRIBEL: I think I'm a lot more mature in terms of getting experience. You know, being back there in the semis last year playing against Tiger was a good experience for me. You know, and then I played in the U.S. Open, the Western Open and the Walker Cup, and, you know, playing in tournaments where -- that are that big, and you have that much pressure and gallery and everything, those experiences all help quite a bit. So I think in that respect, I won't be quite as awe struck as I was last year when I played against Tiger.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah. I mean, I could tell he was getting a little frustrated, but that happens with everybody -- you know, everybody at some point during this tournament, and you just have to try to persevere through the times when you're struggling with your game.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah, that was probably big for him. I kind of sensed that he got a little deflated after he missed that one.

JOEL KRIBEL: No. I talked to him last week during the Walker Cup. He called and, you know, to wish the guys good luck, which was a very nice gesture on his part. I haven't talked to him recently. I think he's busy in a hunt in the tournament he's playing in back at the World Series. So I haven't talked to him, I don't know, about a week and a half.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah, it does. I mean, because when he was here, there was -- back at Pumpkin Ridge last year, there was, you know, 15,000 people. I mean, there's not quite as many this year because he's such a big draw. And I'm sure most of those people are probably back at the World Series right now watching him. So it feels a little bit different, but I think it means just as much to everybody else who's playing here to go out and give it a shot.

JOEL KRIBEL: I hope not. I don't know. His game has gotten a lot better since last year, I think. So it's tough to say. But, you know, I think I'd put up a better fight on the back 9 anyhow than I did last year.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah, I think so. You know, this week as it goes on, it just -- it seems like it, you know, although while it may pass by quickly, when you play that much golf, it's going to be a really long week. And it's a grueling tournament when you have to play as many matches as we do to make it to the semis and to the finals, so any time you can get some holes off and go rest, I think that's a big advantage.

JOEL KRIBEL: Yeah, I thought for a while during that match that I was about to go home. You know, on the playoff hole, I wasn't looking in very good shape. But, you know, I kind of squeaked it out and just barely nipped it in at the very last putt. And, you know, that was kind of a wakeup call, you know, that I don't want to be in that position in every match, because, you know, somebody can make a long putt on you or something, and it's a lot more comfortable to get it done with a little bit earlier.

JOEL KRIBEL: I don't know. I'm not really a -- not really paying much attention to the stats, although I will go out and hit some balls after this because I don't feel like I struck it as good as I should have. The main thing is to get the win, and I'll go out tomorrow and try to hit it a little bit better.

JOEL KRIBEL: I think you can. I think if you look up at the scoreboard, if somebody shot even par, they're going to win most of the time. You know, but when you get down to the semis and the finals, you may have to play a little bit better to get through a match. If you shoot even, some of the guys who were down to the last few are obviously playing really well, and everybody is capable of shooting under par, so I'd like to get it into red numbers the next couple days.

JOEL KRIBEL: I've been thinking about it ever since it ended last year. You know, I'm not going to lie, you know, and say that it hasn't been on my mind because it has. It's nice to get a shot at redemption and, you know, be back in the same place I was last year.