U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 1996

Robert Floyd

BRETT AVERY: Robert, a few comments about your round.

ROBERT FLOYD: We both played pretty well. We started off hot. I think I was, I don't know, one under through 6 and I was one down. And I don't know, I played well pretty much the whole day. I had a couple bad tee shots that cost me. The one on 14 really hurt. I had been hitting a 9-iron, 8-iron, even 10 wedge all week, and unfortunately I didn't hit a good drive there. And we both hit good shots on 15. I hit an awful putt. And Steve played good. You've got to hand it to him. He was here last year and he fought back. And he's playing in The Masters and he's playing in the finals.

ROBERT FLOYD: Yeah. He takes a penalty shot and hits a 3 and has a chip shot out of the fairway. And left center of the fairway with a perfect yardage. I had 180 to the hole, I think 186 to the back of the green, which was a perfect 6-iron. I don't know if I never got into the shot or never got focused, but did the wrong thing at the wrong time. You could hit it on the front of the green with a 4 and send it to the green.

ROBERT FLOYD: I'm in a tough situation, because I'm over there, and the ball looks like I might get it out. And if I don't play it out I've got to go back and hit from the fairway again. And yeah, I could have made a 5 from the fairway, but I thought the ball wouldn't come out and I'd leave myself a chip to make four. And unfortunately that didn't happen. And the next shot was like the third shot. And I obviously barely moved it and hit it way too hard.

ROBERT FLOYD: I hit a great shot out of the bunker, and followed it up with a pretty good shot. I don't think I'd seen Steve miss a putt from that distance ever. And No. 2 I hit it in the bunker, I didn't have a hard bunker shot. There's not a lot of sand in that bunker, but that's how you like your longer bunker shots. I tried to make the chip, obviously. It's real fast coming down there.

ROBERT FLOYD: Yeah, obviously the person who has the lead coming down the last five or six holes has the advantage. And unfortunately I never had the lead in this match. I was even and at 13. And all you have to do on 14 is get it on the fairway, and it putts the pressure back on him. And unfortunately I wasn't able to do that.

ROBERT FLOYD: That's what you have to do in order to win. I can't say much about that. He beat me. The last hole cost me. It was a tight match and I didn't make the putts when I had to make them. I had chances to go up and couldn't capitalize on them. And when you don't capitalize with a player the caliber of Steve, he's going to make you make the shots and he did.

ROBERT FLOYD: 15 was at the most 12 feet.

ROBERT FLOYD: Yeah, because you're trying to be competitive and you're trying to go out and win. On the other hand you guys are great friends. It's hard to have the competitive fire against a friend. I don't think that was the problem today. I tried to remain focused and tried not to talk to him a lot. And that's hard when you're friends out there and you've got to turn the other shoulder and not talk to them.

ROBERT FLOYD: No, not particularly, just to go out and have fun and enjoy the moment.