U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 1998

Matt Kuchar

MATT KUCHAR: It was just a heck of a match. From the first hole to the 17th hole, it was a great shot after great shot, momentum changed quite a bit. I don't know what to say, other than it was great golf, great match, great camaraderie. It was a lot of fun.

MATT KUCHAR: Yes, he did. He birdied the second hole. I guess that was the first time I had been down in a match. So I'm sure Johnny Miller will say something about that, but it wasn't anything new. I had been down in matches last year. Every time you lose a hole it feels like you go down, even in the matches this year. Those lost holes, even if it was to go 5 up to 4 up, it still feels like you're down. And so it wasn't a big deal to lose the second, I was only one down, and we went from there.

MATT KUCHAR: 4, I holed out a bunker shot. It was a big shift in momentum. After a poor approach shot, I was in between a sand wedge and a 60 degree wedge, I went ahead and tried to back off the sand wedge to get it on the green, I saw Sergio go long, I figured let's get on the green, make a birdie, get a par, he probably won't get up-and-down, he was in a tough position. I felt comfortable with the bunker shot, and hit a tremendous dust bunker shot, it was in the whole way, trickle, trickle, trickle, it went in. And pop and I said game on, let's get going.

MATT KUCHAR: We each conceded about 7 footers.

MR. KUCHAR: Matt's putt was about 8 feet, but Sergio's was 7, the Matt's was a little longer an Sergio. Like Jerry Seinfeld would say, "Even-Steven".

MATT KUCHAR: It was a fair deal. I looked at it as good sportsmanship, he offered it, I thought it was fair. I said: All right, let's go to the next hole. This is going to be a good match. Regardless of what happens on this hole, all is swear, let's go to 6.

MATT KUCHAR: Drove in the left rough, just to get on the green, had about 20 feet. Sergio had a good putt from about 30 feet. I went ahead and made a good stroke, the putt went in and was one up, feeling pretty good at that point.

MATT KUCHAR: About 160, hit a 7-iron.

MATT KUCHAR: Just made -- he made a good 8-footer. It wasn't too impressive of a save, it was a regular save. I wasn't expecting him to make bogey there.

MATT KUCHAR: He hit a shot in there to about ten feet. And I missed the green a little long, left. Had a good chip up to about 3 feet and made par. And the next hole we each -- I pulled my approach or my -- I guess it's approach shot into the next par-3, hit it left of where I wanted to. I wanted to be middle of the green, it take a par, and par. It's not an easy hole, especially with the pin position. I pulled it a little, but knew I had the right club, I went right at the hole, hit a wonderful shot, it was about 6 feet away. He went ahead and followed it up with a shot that was just as impressive to about seven or eight feet. He missed there, and it looked like I had a chance to go 2 up. And if I made that I thought the match would probably be over, all the momentum would be on my side, with 2 up and 7 holes to go is a good lead, because I was playing well. And I just missed that, it was disappointing, I figured that could wrap it up with that putt there.

MR. KUCHAR: These greens are very subtle, and you read them, and if you read three inches of break, it usually breaks about an inch and a half. And that one broke twice what we read. And Matt hit a real good, firm, putt and it still broke twice of what we read.

MATT KUCHAR: I struggled getting off the tee on 12, in all my matches. I think I was in the right rough most of the time. And something popped in my head that when I was swing, and don't miss it right again, and sure enough I hit it left. Hit a pretty good shot out of the woods, I guess it caught a branch and kicked out, I was looking to getting it in the bunker, but left it in a difficult spot. He played a good shot, and we conceded birdie.

MATT KUCHAR: I don't know, I hit a 6-iron.

MATT KUCHAR: 14, I didn't think anybody would hit a driver there when I played the practice round. I was shocked to see him hit a driver, I didn't know if he could get to the green or what his plan was. It looked like he would leave it in the fairway with a tough chip up to the green. But he hits the ball a long way, and hit that one solid. It got up, almost into a green-side bunker, it was very close to the green, where I think people would miss an approach shot, would miss it about that distance away from the green. He had a fairly easy chip. I played the hole like I thought everybody would play that hole with a 3-iron and sand wedge. I was happy to take a par, especially with that pin position, it was on a knoll, very quick, very treacherous putt. I had it nicely to about a foot. And it was up to him to make it. He didn't have an easy 6 footer, but went ahead and knocked it in.

MATT KUCHAR: That was a big birdie on 15. He went long with a 7-iron. I went ahead and hit a 7-iron, up there about 5 feet. He hit in a fantastic chip shot. I figured he'd hit his chip shot about 10 feet past, and I could lag up my birdie putt. But he hit the -- but I made the putt and thought, all right, Matt, you're going to win the match. This is it. With his birdie on 14, my birdie on 15, we're all square, and momentum was going my way with that birdie. We go to 16 and I pipe it down the middle, hit the best shot I've ever hit there.

MR. KUCHAR: That was about 300 yard drive.

MATT KUCHAR: That was the first time I out drove Sergio. He missed it right, in the rough, maybe slowed him down, but I was ahead of him for the first time all day. He hit a marvelous shot out of the rough there. It was just incredible. He left it in a perfect place, a little below, a little left of the hole. I went ahead and followed it with a good wedge shot, barely inside of his, however it was a little long of the hole, a downhill slider. He hit a great putt. When you can go ahead and get the putt in you put a lot of pressure on his opponent. He had probably 8 feet, I probably had 7 feet. When you make your putt, you put a lot of pressure on the opponent, and he did that. He made a good putt, it was up to me to make it. I was excited to have the opportunity to try to top him, to go birdie, birdie. I just made a good birdie on the last hole. And I hit a poor putt. I tried to get myself back in the frame of Augusta. That's what I came out with this morning. Go back to Augusta, these greens are fast, try and get the rhythm you had at the Masters. And the putt, this is a similar putt like you had at the Masters, and I missed it, I hit a poor putt. I would like that opportunity again, but it was a good opportunity, it's things you play golf for. It's those opportunities that we all like to have, and they're great to make, and kind of heart breaking to miss.

MATT KUCHAR: 122, wedge. Go to 17. He plays the golf course a little differently than I do. He was very aggressive on 17, as he was on the par-5, 4th, kind of cuts the corners right, can do things off the tee which most kids, including myself, can't do. He hit an incredible drive on 17, up over the trees.

MATT KUCHAR: It hit the tree?

MATT KUCHAR: That was nice of the tree to -- you need those breaks to win. And he got the breaks, he won. I figured his drive up there, he hit a solid drive, high, I figured it was over the tree. When he hit it I knew it was in the fairway. He smoked it.

MR. KUCHAR: We could hear the applause back on the tee.

MATT KUCHAR: He played a little cut off of there, but I hit a straight ball through the fairway. It was a tough position. You can't make four very often from where I put myself off the tee. It was an extremely difficult driving hole. I drove it right through the fairway and the rough. Played a marvelous shot to get it in the green-side bunker, but didn't have an easy up-and-down.

MATT KUCHAR: About 200 yards, I hit a 5-iron.

MATT KUCHAR: I hit it under and around and all that good stuff.

MATT KUCHAR: It was average, I could do better. I wasn't disappointed. It was a difficult bunker shot. I was trying to go back to that bunker shot on 4, just try and make that one. I knew I had to land it fairly short, because the ball would roll a long way, which it did, I landed short, I just missed it left. I don't know if I pulled it or what I did. I missed the bunker shot a little left, and it broke further left than I thought. But that's not a bad bunker shot from where I was.

MATT KUCHAR: After the match?

MATT KUCHAR: It was a great match all the way to that point. I knew the match was over. I didn't know what to do except to congratulate Sergio for playing great golf. I played tremendously today, he just one upped me today. He played fantastic. It was a battle the whole way. I'd hit a good shot and he'd top me, he'd hit a good shot and I'd topped him. I appreciated his good play. It was exciting for me to be in that situation, to have thousands of people out there following us and to be in that kind of competition, where it's matchplay, it's grueling, there's tons of pressure, and we're firing at pins and rolling birdies in. It was a great match. If I was to lose, that's how I want to go out is gun go like that.

MATT KUCHAR: No, ma'am, that didn't have any effect. For a minute, there, I thought of Johnny Miller when I stepped up on that 14th hole. I could hear Johnny Miller commenting on, all right, Matt's never been here before, he doesn't know what to do. (Laughter.) And I could picture him after Sergio makes birdie. He says: See, see, I'm right, see what I'm saying? And then I make birdie on 15, and Johnny goes, well, maybe he does know this golf course. (Laughter.) I played it in a practice round and in competition in stroke-play. I knew the holes.

MATT KUCHAR: I just followed my marshals there.

MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, you guys can say that, maybe.

MATT KUCHAR: I didn't think of that at all. I felt a good natured manner. He asked me if we wanted to half the hole. And I said: Let's go, let's half it, that was fine with me. He was putting good, I was putting pretty decently. But I wasn't over confident. That's a fair trade, let's go on to the next hole.

MATT KUCHAR: I'd never had it happen to me before. Of course it definitely surprised me. I had no idea that -- I had heard of it happening before, I maybe had seen it happen before, but I never expected it to happen. So it did surprise me. But I guess it was in a good way. I think it was the right thing to do. I'm kind of glad we did it.

MATT KUCHAR: No.

MATT KUCHAR: You go with the situation.

MR. KUCHAR: The putts were so even, it really was a fair trade.

MATT KUCHAR: You just look at the situations you're in out there on the holes. And kind of go with what you've got out there.

MATT KUCHAR: I had trouble reading it. I couldn't tell whether it was a right edge putt or a dead straight putt. I went ahead and played it straight, and it was looking good all the way to the last two feet. The last two feet it slithered a little left, and I guess maybe that's when I started clapping. That's when I knew it was over, I missed the putt.

MATT KUCHAR: Yes.

MATT KUCHAR: I had the right read, I hit a poor putt.

MATT KUCHAR: 12 feet.

MATT KUCHAR: No, no, I can't really remember -- yeah, I can, I played Robert Godwin last year Friday at the U.S. Amateur in Chicago. Maybe 50 people were out there, Pop?

MR. KUCHAR: Yeah. And it was funny, because we got to the 16th -- no, 15th fairway, it was a par-5 at Cog Hill, and standing -- it's a long walk from the tee down a big gully and back up to the fairway, and we got back up to the fairway and there was Roger Maltby, and it was the first time I'd seen him all week. And I said this is big time, because Maltby is here. And this week we saw these guys every day. It was very flattering to us.

MATT KUCHAR: But I think this was the match of the tournament. The gallery was huge, biggest gallery I'd seen in an amateur, in my final match last year wasn't that big. There was a lot of electricity out there, the crowd was very supportive of both Sergio and I. They were happy to see great shots, happy to see great play. It was exciting golf. It was exciting to have the crowds right in the fairways with you. It felt more like a Sunday. It was quite a battle. I think it was the match of the tournament.

MATT KUCHAR: Maybe, sure.

MATT KUCHAR: When will it sink in --

MATT KUCHAR: I think I knew the difficulty that would come in trying to defend the title. I wanted it bad, I wanted to win again very badly. I knew what it was like to win the U.S. Amateur. And I had trained pretty hard, got myself ready for this tournament, really wanted to win. I had the taste and I wanted it badly. But to go out like this, it's going to happen. I was talking to Bryce Molder who just lost and I was saying, you're just not going to play good every day. I remember last year I had a bad day, but luckily I ran into a guy that also had a bad day. Luck has it that I went on and won. This year I played good every day, but hopefully you don't run into a buzz saw. But I did. He played better than me. I ran into El Nino, I guess (laughter.) Not much you can do about it. So I know my reign is over, I'll step down, but hopefully I'll be able to represent the USGA in a good manner and represent the game of golf very well.

MR. KUCHAR: I think people still look at him as a champion. (Applause.)