U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2025

June 14, 2025

Justin Hastings

Oakmont Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Can you talk about how you felt about your round today?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, kind of like the first two days. A lot of positives, a lot of good things I did. I think this place will always kind of have you walking off the 18 a little bit, you know, feeling hurt a little bit. I gave a few back on the back nine, just like the last couple days. I mean, I would like to clean that up tomorrow and hopefully move up a couple shots.

Q. Did it feel like the course firmed up as the rain drifted away and the sun came out?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: A little bit. It's still significantly softer than we have seen it all week. Even there on 18. The ball I hit in there was about pin high and it held the green. So that's definitely something to look forward the next little while, see if it gets back to where it was first two days.

Q. How do you feel knowing that in 24, 30 hours from now you're going to be up and getting that medal, how do you manage that?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, that's cool. I haven't done a whole lot of thinking about it. I think if you try to think about the things off the golf course while you're out there it will kick your butt pretty good. So I've been trying to stay as focused as I can. Yeah, I mean, that's a big goal I came in here with, so I'm pretty excited to have the opportunity to do that.

Q. When you talk to guys around here or at the Masters, what are their reactions when you say you're from the Cayman Islands?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: There's a few that have never heard of it, so that's always a funny one. There are a few that have heard of it in movies and say, Oh, it's the tax haven. And then the conversation goes, How did you get into golf, and I never have a good answer for them. There's only one golf course. I'm lucky enough to have a good support system down there, my coach, Tim, has been really amazing for me since I was 5, 16 years old. He's been running the national team for a while, and he's out here with me, so the two of us have kind of had a great time the last few years getting to where we are now.

Q. Is there anybody that you had an interaction with out here like that that you've met? Maybe who you played with today, I guess it was Jordan Smith, or anybody else that was curious about your story?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, I played with Laurie Canter yesterday and we got to talking about it kind of late in the second round. It's a lot of the same reaction, right, it's kind of like a little bit of shock, a little bit of surprise, and then it always turns into how did you get into golf. Yeah, I don't really have a good explanation, but here we are.

Q. Last night -- obviously you don't think about the low am when you're playing -- but last night when you realized the fact that you were the one, anything go through your mind, what was that feeling like?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: What was going through my mind was I was grateful that I wasn't out there in the pouring rain. I was pretty happy with the draw I got. No, yeah, I wish I could tell you I've been thinking about it more than I have. I'm sure it will hit me a little bit later on, but while we're in the middle here I'm trying to pick up as many strokes as I can.

Q. A pretournament interview, that's probably a first, right, pretournament national TV interview NBC?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Oh, yeah, yeah, that's a first. Kind of getting used today it.

Q. What's the plan after this?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: I'm staying amateur until the British Open -- at the Open, I should say. And then the plan is to turn pro immediately after that. I have PGA TOUR America status so I'll go straight to Ottawa.

Q. Considering that last year's low am happens to be here also, have you talked to him about his journey about after winning the low am at the Open last year?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Remind who that was.

Q. Not talking to Shipley yet?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Oh, no, I haven't. Neal and I don't know each other. So maybe that's something, maybe I'll reach out to him to talk to him, but, no, we haven't discussed anything.

Q. The past couple months where you've been preparing for major championships, what's that been like for you and is there something specific that you learned about yourself?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, sure, I've learned, I wouldn't say I've learned this now, but I've been reminded that when the lights are bright is when I play the best. I think that's something that I carry with me for a long time, it's something that I know deep within me is that when it matters I'm the most confident in myself. So on these big stages when the cameras are on and the people are out there watching I think that's just where I thrive. So I've just been reassured of that the last couple tournaments.

Q. How have you arrived at that? How did that become something that you have that confidence, where does that derive from?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, you work really hard to convince yourself of that, but it truly takes experience. It takes a certain amount of times of you coming through under the gun and clutching up. I think in the last, I call it four years I've had a fair amount of times where I've really came through when I needed to, and then if you can use that properly it almost turns into a snowball effect where you just keep believing more and more and more every time it happens.

Q. Do you almost adopt that as a persona, that that's who I am, I'm a clutch player?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, I mean, I try not to like throw it around and everything, but I have a lot of self confidence, for sure.

Q. Are you going to, when you do turn pro, will you still live in Cayman or do you expect to have a U.S. base?

JUSTIN HASTINGS: Yeah, kind of still in the middle of that decision. We're leaning towards a U.S. base. I think financially it would be too difficult to fly to every single golf tournament. You fly from the Cayman Islands you have to take multiple flights and stuff like that. So we're looking potentially at somewhere in Florida where I could settle down for a large part of the year, but yeah, we're still in the process of that.