U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 22, 1997

Matt Kuchar

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Oh, God, just had a great time out there. It was so much fun, you know, to be playing golf, having a great time, playing a great guy. Just had a great match today.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: He had beat my teammate to be, Bryce Molder, in the first round. We talked a bit about that. You know, it was just the regular chitchat going on: Where you from? How you doing? Good shots.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I'm way surprised. Not in my dreams could I do this.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: This is beyond my belief. I met Johnny Miller this morning. We had a good chat, and who else did I meet? Dick Enberg and Roger Maltbie is out there. It was almost like Tin Cup. I felt I was out there. So Roger Maltbie is talking about the lie and whatnot. It was just pretty cool.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I watched, you know, but when it's time to get focused, you know, I'm playing golf.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I just hope this adds brownie points to next year's Walker Cup.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Through the first year at Georgia Tech, I, you know, made a name for myself. You know, I was freshman of the year for the ACC and made 13 All-American. I won two tournaments, and people started to recognize me around. So, you know, the other guys know me. You know, we're all good friends. I know all the four competitors, and so, you know, not being on the Walker Cup, the Walker Cup is just an extremely prestigious event. Not to make it is not a huge downfall. These other guys, they're great players, and they're great guys, too.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Not that well. We played at the NCAA in the first round or two, and so I've gotten to know him through that. He played great. He was a good guy, too.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: You know, I remember, you know, I was two down after two holes. That was kind of tough. But with 16 holes, I really didn't think it was very much, you know. And then all of a sudden on 3, I hit a great shot from the rough on 3, and I won with par. But I never got too down, you know. I never even got down at all. Two down, I didn't think it was a big thing. Just kept on playing. I made a lot of pars out there. Pars are good out here. Try to be on the fairway and the greens. These greens got slick overnight. It seems like they are extremely fast. My lag putting was incredible today, I have to say. Every hole I had a long putt, it was within 6 inches, I left it.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: I've played the U.S. Junior where I won one and then lost my second match. And I was medalist at Rolex Junior Classic, and I lost first round. And then I played in Cannon Cup and did well on Cannon Cup. That's it.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Was Cannon Cup '94? And I think it was the same year for U.S. Junior. It was in Fargo, whatever year that was.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Rolex had to be '94.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah. But we do it every Saturday morning at the club. We go out and you play. That's how you play at the club. You don't write down the strokes. It's just hole by hole, so I've gotten used to it just banging around back home. But this is so much more intense, you know. 18 holes is just, you know, still right now, I'm nervous.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: No, not at the club, not at the club. We've got some good guys back there. A lot of good guys back home. They're all rooting me on.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: You know, it's just a great experience to be here. The expectations, you know, I was just so pleased to make it to match play. And now, you know, to win four matches already is phenomenal to go on hopefully Sunday. I'll be on ABC for the next -- for tomorrow, at least for tomorrow, and that's pretty --

MATTHEW KUCHAR: That's what I said, NBC. And it will just be a lot of fun. You know, I'm just out here just for experience. I'm having a ball.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: They just told me about this when I came in. They said I played 16 holes, and 14 were, you know, won or lost. That's just an incredible stat, but I remember my coach telling me just to forget about match play and just go out there, keep your head down, play on, and they'll tell you when to stop.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, it stuck in my head. So I wasn't paying too much attention to the holes that were won or lost. I didn't know it was this back and forth all day.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Definitely. Yeah, it's pretty hard not to keep track of that. I remember the first couple matches, I was really trying to play like stroke play and couldn't do it. I just was so into what the other guy was doing and trying to play it, you know, a match-play game, and, you know, I played some great matches against -- who did I play first round? Alan Zimmerman. I was 4-under and won two and one. That was just a battle. I got lucky. The guy I played next. Who did I play next? James Young. We each played poor. Since I played poor, I was really lucky to come across a guy that was also struggling that day. And John Rollins and I had a phenomenal match, and had a good match with Gerwin today. It's been just a great experience. Match play is -- it's unenjoyable to a point where you're so nervous, you're almost sick out there. And, you know, you don't want to lose, and you're playing with good guys, and you hate to think that you're sending them home, but you don't want to go home either.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: You know, I really think that was very key. That shot, I mean, it looked like I was dead. I was in the trees, in the rough, and, you know, just pulled that out of nowhere, and to win that hole after he got a good break off the tee, you know, hit it in the woods and kicked back in the fairway, and then I hit it deep left rough, and to win that hole was I thought, you know, a pretty big turning point because I figured that he thought he was going three up after three, and that would be a pretty deep hole.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Bruce Hepler from Georgia Tech.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: It was tough to see that putt on -- what was it? -- 14 where Gerwin left, you know, like a 3- or 4-footer short. I don't know what happened there. It was like a decel or just a missed hit. You know, I almost conceded the putt, but I just kept trickling backwards to a point where I felt might as well make it. I think that hole was especially the turning point because I made a real good up-and-down, a great putt there, and then he missed a shorter one.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: My putt was about 5 feet. All right. We'll go 7.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: They won't bet me. They won't play with me anymore. They'll just come and watch, I guess.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: Yeah, I'm from Orlando originally. I guess I shouldn't have said they'll bet me. That's pretty bad in the USGA.

MATTHEW KUCHAR: She can delete it, can't she?