U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 1997

Matt Kuchar

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Absolutely cloud nine. It's phenomenal. The whole experience, you know, no matter what happened, I was out there just having a great time. And to win, you know, I played phenomenal golf. And then Joel started out a little sluggish, but he came on extremely strong. And to finish like that was beyond my beliefs. I get a kick out of just signing autographs and doing all these great things, being on TV. The whole experience is beyond my belief. It's everything I could want it to be.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I'm pretty sure it will. You know, I don't know what to expect, though. I don't think there can be any more than this what I've gotten this week. I'm here having a bunch of reporters fire questions at me, I'm sitting up on a couch with you, you know, we have a USGA background. I mean, this is big time. This week has been just so much fun. And what will happen in the future, you know, is probably what dreams are made of. I just can't wait to get there.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: If I bet a buck on me, I would have won a ton of money, let me tell you that.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, I went from such extreme highs to lows out there. The emotions were just rushing, you know. I remember I was, what? 7 up going into 9?

MATTHEW KUCHAR: And he made birdie there and birdie on 10, and, you know, I just kept making pars. And I figured pars would be real good. And all of a sudden, you know, it was down to five, and then I made my first bogey on 12 and it was down to four. And then I 3-putted, what? 13, all of a sudden, it's down to three. And, oh, God, you know, all of a sudden, I started thinking about it, and, you know, I just kept telling myself that pars would be real good, except I just kept hoping, you know, that Joel would keep making pars or Joel would make a couple mistakes, but Joel played great. And, God, when I hit that tee shot left on, what, 15 and then I was two down with three to go, I finally regrouped myself on 16 tee, and, you know, got pretty pumped up. I was pretty pumped up on 14 green, and then lost it again on 15 when I hit the drive left. And, you know, got control of myself on 16 and, you know, hit a phenomenal drive, phenomenal second shot. To come through like that on 16 and on 17, you know, it was tough for me to regain composure, but I was praying out there, and the Lord was just looking over me today.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: You know, just play smart. He kept reminding me about my tempo, you know, if I could keep a good tempo out there and not try and rush anything, I knew things would go well. You know, we don't converse a whole lot out there, but we know what each other is thinking, and he knows that I've been in situations. I've played golf for -- I don't know how many years, but, you know, I've been there, and I've handled myself pretty well, and he knows I'll make it through, and we kind of just read each other's mind. There's not a whole lot spoken. We read each other's minds and our actions.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Check out his hair.

PETER KUCHAR: It got tough to swallow out there, I'll admit that.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, I tell you, I'm glad I wasn't in his shoes. I'm glad I was the one to pull the trigger. I don't know if I could have bared to have him pull the trigger.

PETER KUCHAR: The way I play.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Didn't I start a couple down? I lost one, and then what happened? -- you have my score cards.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, this afternoon. Yeah, you know, this course is tough. I didn't expect Joel to, you know, make so many bogeys. He missed a couple of short putts. But when I played the front 9 without a bogey, I think I made nine straight pars, and out here, the last day, the last 18, par in this course is darn good.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, I hit a real good 6-iron on 12. That was to a tucked pin. Then, you know, all those came with great putts. You know, I hit a 6-iron on 12, hit a 5-iron on 13, and, you know, putted that one in from the rough basically. And then on 14, par 3, I hit a 7-iron. I just made, you know, putts. God, it must have been just demoralizing. I felt like I was doing what I did to Randy Leen again. I just was almost out of my mind for a minute.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah. You know, that's part of match play and the momentum you gain. Match play is all about momentum, and I had it going on, you know, the first round. I had the momentum. And then the second round, I had it, but all of a sudden on the back 9 or starting on 9, the second 18, you know, he gained it, and I was just fighting his momentum.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I'm glad to have it over with. The past couple days, you know, it's been hard for me to eat, you know. I just -- I must have lost 10 pounds this week. You know, the adrenaline, the nerves, you know, especially the last day or two, I remember last night going out to dinner and just barely being able to eat a thing. This morning was the same way. It's just nerve-racking. My stomach churns out there. It's -- match play is just so mentally -- it's such a mental challenge out there in match play. You're just fighting. You're trying to gain momentum. You're trying not to lose momentum. You know, you want to say it's stroke play, but when you're in this format, you just can't play it like stroke play.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I was having trouble following those orders.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, God, it's incredible. I remember my dad and I talking early in the week, and he was a big tennis player, and he told me the story one time after he won a real big tennis tournament, the pro comes up to him and says, "You know what's great about winning these tournaments?" And my father kind of shakes it off, says, "You know, no, what's so great?" And he goes, "You never have to lose." And this is kind of the same way, the same feeling. You know, it's -- you just hate to lose. And this week, you know, I never had to do that. There's only one guy out of 6,000 or something entries, and there's one guy who never had to lose. And I happen to be that guy. It's incredible.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, I think I kind of impressed myself this week. Yeah, you know, after winning a couple college tournaments, I won my first one, and you get this confidence that carries on with you. And I went to another tournament. It was the Furman Intercollegiate, and there were 100-some participants. That was probably the biggest field. It wasn't the strongest of fields, but it was real big with a hundred and some participants, and I went in there and, you know, was two back in the lead or something going into the final day, and I just -- I used the momentum, the confidence that I had from winning my first tournament, and it just carried over. And you could just see it. I could feel it in the way I walked and the way I played, you know, the confidence that I had from winning that tournament. Then I won another one. And now the confidence that I have after winning this U.S. Amateur will be just off the charts.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, God. Everybody this week has just been telling me to enjoy the moment, and that's what I'll be doing. I remember, you know, we played there last year, and a bunch of my buddies after the round, you know, we just had the grandest time playing. We had so much fun playing, and then afterwards we go in and have cheeseburgers and talk about the round. And then we go and we just kind of take our own tour. No one is leading us. We go to all the different houses they have, and we see The Masters trophy, and we go up into the champion's locker room and everybody is just dreaming. And then behind like the champion's locker room, you see this door, and there's stairs going up. And we go up these stairs, and it's the Crow's Nest, and we sit up there, and we're telling stories how cool it would be, what if we made it here? I fulfilled those. I can't believe it. I'm going to be up there.

PETER KUCHAR: You're not a very nice man.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Playing with those guys will be a thrill. You know, Justin is one of my Hogan boys, and, you know, I love his game, the way he gets around the course. And, you know, just a short game, that's phenomenal. And Ernie is pretty smooth out there. His swing is pretty solid. I've always felt, you know, that I would grow up and have his build. That's the guy who I've always looked up to and respected and almost want to be like in a sense.

PETER KUCHAR: I'm 47, and my tennis background is not equally as successful, but I was captain of my team at Stetson which is not like being captain at Georgia Tech, certainly. And in 1988, I was ranked No. 1 in Florida in 35 and over in doubles, and it -- I learned how to compete. And through that competitiveness, I raised Matt, and it's -- you just can't -- I can't share with you enough joy to have a son that thinks like you, acts like you, has the same sense of humor, but is better in every sense: bigger, stronger, smarter. What a thrill.

PETER KUCHAR: I told you just before that what was going through my mind was the Boston Red Sox gagging. I'm serious, because Joel is coming back, coming back, coming back. I said: Don't do this to me, because honestly, I've never -- being a big sports fan, I never really had the team and had that elation of winning it, and now I know what it's like to be there. And other than probably Matt being born, this was the happiest day of my life. And I shouldn't say that very loud if my wife was here, other than my wedding, but it's got to be one of the three happiest moments of my life. And just to see him play, and the way he composed himself. They say you can tell if a golfer has got it if his swing holds up under pressure. And I saw him hold up under pressure not just today but all week long.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I didn't see him so much today, but I remember the past days, you know, I drained a couple no-brainers, and I remember seeing him and I was hoping he would relax a little. Because I never try and get too high or low emotionally. I can't do the Tiger Woods, you know, running around pumping your fist up and down. You know, I can make a smile and a wave, but, you know, that's as far as I like to go. You know, he's great. It's great to see him, you know, do that stuff. And that's just him. He loves it.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I've gotten used to those.

PETER KUCHAR: About 60.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah. I think I struggled all the way up into the 5th this morning.

PETER KUCHAR: That's very observant, by the way.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Making that putt, I would have struggled, you know. I think that second shot on the 5th, actually, I had the crowd. All of a sudden, I hit it on the green, and the crowd got behind me, and I just knew it was my time. All right, Matt, let's go. The crowd around me -- it was great with the crowd just cheering me on. And then, you know, I left that first putt about 8 feet short or so. And, you know, if I missed that, it would have been pretty upsetting, but to make that right in the center was just a real good feeling.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: No. What did I hit? A 4-wood. I was in the rough. I hit a 4-wood.

PETER KUCHAR: It was a 4-wood second shot.

PETER KUCHAR: 228, I believe, uphill.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, God, I had Mark and his wife. Mark came back again. He was here I think Friday, and he came back with his wife today. I had -- that's my dad's brother. My other dad's brother Greg came in from Ashland, North Carolina. I had my coach

come in from Georgia Tech, Bruce Heppler. Who else did we have come in? We had some guys from Tech.

PETER KUCHAR: Amy Clements (phonetic) from Louisville.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, a relative, Amy Clements from Louisville came in. Bryce's dad was here. Yeah, that was nice of him to come, Bryce shot, what, 137, and then lost first round. And to have him, you know, on my team for next year and the following three years is going to be phenomenal.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, God. Yeah, what was I, 7 up with 10 to go? God, I was thinking, you know, I went for 9 in two, and I was thinking, you know, my bunker game is pretty good. I'll make birdie here. I'll go 8 up with 9 to go, and I figured I'd have it in the bag. Then Joel wins 9, and then Joel wins 10 with birdies. And all of a sudden, it became a race.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Driver.

PETER KUCHAR: It wasn't like he was trying to coast. I'll tell you Joel hit some great shots. 9, he made a great putt, 10 he made a great putt, 11 he made a great putt to save par. Almost birdies 12. Joel lifted his game immeasurably.