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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 19, 2015Kyle MuellerOlympia Fields, Illinois Q. We've got Kyle Mueller, who was a 1-up winner over medalist Brett Coletta today. You started out strongly, had a 2-up lead through 5, got it to 3-up through 11. What went right for you? KYLE MUELLER: Yeah, I was just hitting the ball well, hitting fairways, and I guess you have to do that out here. I didn't really make too many putts. I got a little lucky early on. Brett made a couple bogeys early on, but I think pars out there are pretty good right now in the wind. That's what I did, I just found ways to make pars. Q. Any close calls in that playoff this morning just to get in? KYLE MUELLER: Oh, it was a long day. I ended up actually doubling my last hole to get into the playoff, so I was a little bummed about that. And then I just -- I made three pars and then birdied 18 I think it was. So I didn't really make any mistakes, but it was a grind. I think there was six of us for two spots and then three of us for two spots. It went all the way down to the end for me. Q. Was it tough watching some of these guys make their birdies and take their spots and fewer guys -- KYLE MUELLER: It definitely was, especially because I knew -- I three-putted the last to make double, and I knew I kind of threw away a spot there, so it was kind of tough to really focus, and then it definitely was. I think my first go-around on 18 I was greenside in two and didn't get up-and-down for birdie and ended up having to go back to 10, and I think three other guys made birdie, and it was definitely tough to see them go eat lunch while I was still on the course, but it was good. Q. You didn't have much time to turn around, but do you know the history of the Amateur where a lot of times the 1 seed has gone down? KYLE MUELLER: My mom was actually telling me about that. She was talking to Holly Saunders actually, and she said that last week at the Women's Am I think the 1 seed was early -- she lost early on. Once you get to match play, anything can happen. Stroke play doesn't matter. And it doesn't really matter what seed you are, really. Once you get to match play anything can happen. Q. What do you was the most critical part of the match where you felt like you had control? KYLE MUELLER: I really never felt like I had -- I mean, I had a lead but I wasn't making putts, so that was kind of frustrating me. I really didn't feel good about it until 18, so hopefully tomorrow I can make some putts and get a nice early lead. Q. What's your experience with match play? KYLE MUELLER: The only match play I've played in was the big ten Match Play in I think it was the first tournament in the spring last year, and I ended up going 4-0 in all my matches, so I guess I have some experience but not a ton. Q. This is your first U.S. Amateur. What were your expectations coming in, and what have you found the experience to be now that you've gotten this far? KYLE MUELLER: I really didn't have too many expectations, just another tournament. I wanted to make match play and I felt like if I could make match play, I mean, who knows. I feel like I'm a pretty good match player. I love it. Really anything can happen, and it's kind of cliché, but you really do have to take it one shot at a time and one hole at a time. That's what I tried to feed off of, and it seemed to work. Q. You did a lot of waiting today. You had to wait because the playoff was so big. You even waited on your second shots on the last hole and then you hit that shot around the tree onto the green. What was the mental part of today? KYLE MUELLER: I mean, it was just a long day. But I'm very used to it from high school golf and even college golf you have some real slow rounds, so I think we're all pretty used to it. It's kind of annoying waiting on every shot, but we all know it's going to happen. We're all used to it. Q. When you're going well, what's the best part of your game? KYLE MUELLER: Driving. Driving the ball. That's definitely -- when I'm putting, it's good, but I think you've got to drive the ball well out here, and I did that today. Q. Do you feel like you can take advantage as somebody that's probably not as recognizable as some of the guys here? KYLE MUELLER: Definitely. Q. And be able to maybe sneak up on some people based on just playing great? KYLE MUELLER: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think I know for me early on my ignorance kind of helped. I didn't really know that -- I don't know if that's the right word, but I didn't really know the big-name players going into match play in the spring, and I think you just kind of got to treat every player the same. Who cares what rankings mean out here? Q. A lot of kids come south to play college golf. You went the other direction. How did that happen? KYLE MUELLER: To be honest, I never thought I'd end up there. Both my parents were at Michigan State so I had some ties up at Michigan. They're not too happy about that. But I got a letter from them, went up there and loved it. It all kind of worked out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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