U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 19, 2023

John Marshall Butler

Cherry Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How disappointed are you?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: You know, to me, this doesn't really make a difference. It doesn't affect my future. I still believe I'll be the No. 1 player in the world. I still believe I'll be competing on the PGA TOUR, and I still believe that I'll be winning majors.

Yeah, right now it kind of stings, but it doesn't change anything. There have been a lot of really good players who haven't won this tournament, and yeah, it would have been great, but it's whatever.

Q. Obviously getting to the semifinals is still a great achievement, as you just said. Where does that take your game to? Does it take it to another level now?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: You know, I don't think so. I think I just -- I've had a lot of belief in my game and a lot of trust in my game for a while now, and just had a good mindset this week, and unfortunately it wasn't enough at the end.

Q. You're up three after 10 holes. What are you thinking at that point?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: I felt in control of the match. I felt in control of my golf swing. I had kind of let him back in, and I made some amateur mistakes for sure. Hitting it in the water on 12 and hitting it -- missing the green on 15, hitting it in hazard on 12 and 15. Hit it on the green on 15, and I have all the momentum. But unfortunately it didn't happen, and yeah.

Q. Talk about the second shot at 17. It looked like there was a lot of debate going on, how to play that.

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Yeah, we're just trying to get something up there in the fairway just short of that left bunker around 100, 120 yards, and the lie was kind of squirrelly, just a lot of people have been walking on the rough.

Yeah, I was committed to the shot and just shot out of there a little right, and unfortunately ended up in the bunker.

Q. What did you learn about yourself this week and this run you made?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: I think everything I already know. I already know that I'm one of the best players in the world. I already know that I'm really resilient.

Yeah, this game, I've failed so many times at this game, and it's taught me so much, and it's brought me a lot of joy, and it's brought me a lot of pain. But at the end of the day, it's just a game, and we've both got to go home and sleep in our beds, and it doesn't really matter at the end of the day.

Q. Talk about the energy from the crowd.

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: The crowd was great. I thought they were loud, which is exactly what I wanted. The crowd was awesome.

Q. Did you feel the crowd was behind you after what happened, kind of the night match the other night?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: Yeah, for sure. I love interacting with the fans. I love interacting with the kids out here because that's what it's all about, growing the game and really getting them to enjoy golf. They see a player that they're admiring or looking up to come and interact with them, it really makes a difference. As you can see right now, I've got a couple kids waiting for me to sign some autographs.

Yeah, that's really what it's all about at the end of the day. It's big into golf.

Q. When you go back to school, what will you tell your teammates about this experience?

JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER: I mean, we had four guys in the round of 32. I'm going to tell them it just wasn't my day, I guess.

We've got bigger things ahead of us at Auburn. We're probably going to have the deepest team in the country, and I believe we'll have the best team in the country and we'll have a chance to win a national championship.

This isn't the end for me or Auburn golf. You're going to see us very soon.