U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 12, 2026

Ryder Cowan

Merion Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. High emotions; can you talk about that finish there on 17?

RYDER COWAN: Yeah, that was pretty special. I think that obviously it wasn't what I wanted on that first shot, but to be able to kind of hit the exact shot I was looking at and looking for on that second chip, and for it to end up going in, it was pretty special. Yeah, emotions were high. Miles is a great player. He's a great dude. He's a guy that you want to beat because he's so good. That was good.

Q. It's not often we see two top-10 WAGR players face off in the first round. After you made it through the playoff this morning, how did you react when you saw that matchup?

RYDER COWAN: Yeah, I mean, I love it because I love competition. I knew there was going to be a lot of people out here. I knew there was going to be cameras. It was going to be tough, and I love that. I was pretty excited. I was excited to play with him. I played with him a couple times, in a playoff for the U.S. Open and (indiscernible). But he's a good dude. He's fun to play with. It was good.

Q. Back-and-forth match, the short game really shined today, a couple up-and-downs there down the stretch. What did it take to get it done besides that today?

RYDER COWAN: Yeah, I felt like I hit it okay off the tee. I was finding fairways, and unfortunately my putting was not as good as I wanted it to be. I definitely missed a lot of putts.

But overall, I was pretty happy with how I played, how I just kind of strolled throughout the round.

Q. How would you characterize the degree of difficulty of the first chip and the second chip on 17?

RYDER COWAN: Well, the first one was -- I don't want to say impossible, but it was probably a 10 out of 10 difficulty. Literally my lie was terrible and I had a lot of grass behind the ball. I could barely get to it, and then I had to pretty much flop it up and land it on, and unfortunately I just went straight underneath it. The second one, it was still really hard because that green is straight downhill all the way, but I pretty much was trying to hit the same shot. Fortunately, I hit it different.

Q. Did you feel like the underdog in this match, and if so, when is the last time you felt like that?

RYDER COWAN: Yeah, no, 100 percent I did. I wouldn't say I felt like the underdog from the perspective of golf, but I felt like the underdog out there because you've got all these people -- Miles is -- I don't know what the word is, a figure for golf right now, and you've got all these people rooting for him. I'm just out there, I've got a couple people. In that aspect, I felt like I was the underdog.

Q. When did you start believing in yourself and your game truly? Was it before senior year? Was it before that? Was it in the last few months?

RYDER COWAN: I would say I've always believed in my game, but I've always had a tough time with my putting, and it's kind of separated me from being really good, which again, my putting was great today, but ever since I started working with Josh Gregory a year ago, my game has changed. It's opened up so many different aspects. I actually can hit the ball where I need to have it and have a 40-footer and be able to two-putt that.

But yeah, I feel like it's kind of opened it up.

Q. Did Josh work with you on chipping, too?

RYDER COWAN: Just putting.

Q. What's your confidence level right now and what have you learned about yourself as a golfer over the last couple months?

RYDER COWAN: There's definitely been a lot of spotlight, but my confidence is -- it's high, I would say. After U.S. Open, my confidence is high. I'm playing good golf.

Q. What have you learned about your golfer, maybe something you didn't know coming off of your junior season?

RYDER COWAN: I think that I've learned a lot just playing U.S. Open, and I played 3M, playing in these professional events. I didn't really know I've had patience, and I've always struggled with patience, but I feel like I've learned through this summer a lot of patience in my game golf.

Q. Have you played Miles head-to-head before?

RYDER COWAN: Not head-to-head. I've never played Miles head-to-head, but I did play him in a playoff at BallenIsles for U.S. Open. It was a three-for-two.

Q. What do you see in Miles maybe that other players at the top of their games don't have?

RYDER COWAN: Miles' wedges are so good, it's unreal. I'll give you an example. Today he kind of hit it right on 5, and that's a hard par-4, and I hit a good tee shot and I striped my second shot, and then he kind of chipped it out and wedged it to like this, and I hit it too, and I was like, all right, he had two feet for birdie, but I was like, I've got to -- no, his wedges are so good. But the thing I like about Miles is he's such a good kid too. I feel like emotions never really get to him. That's something that he has on others too. At such a young age, to be honest.

Q. The putt on 15, where did that rank in terms of what you were most proud of?

RYDER COWAN: That was up there. I really needed it because I hadn't really seen a putt go in all day. I made a nice par save on 14, and then 15, that par save, that helped. It helped with my momentum. But that was definitely up there.