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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 22, 2003

David Oh

OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA

CRAIG SMITH: David, the more that this week goes on, I think you've got the reputation as the giant killer. First Trip Kuehne, now Bill Haas; something you've earned.

DAVID OH: Yeah, going into each round every one, I know they're great players. I know they're really solid players. Because of that I sort of came out and tried not to play against them too much because they're both long hitters and they could really, anyone like that is left, they could overpower the golf course. So I just came out and decided to hit fairways and greens like I've been doing all week and that's what I did today.

CRAIG SMITH: Sure has benefited you, because I think if you look over the last couple rounds that you've had you've been, with concessions, either even par or under par, which is quite an accomplishment on this golf course.

DAVID OH: Yeah. I don't know. I'm not really thinking about score; I'm just thinking about par, par. I don't know, when I shot 2-under against Trip, I really didn't know that I had five birdies. I was just going, okay, well, I'm playing well. After I finished they said, "Do you know you shot 2-under?" I said, "Oh, I guess that sounds about right," but I wasn't really sure.

Q. Yesterday you came up to what was conceded as the toughest hole on this golf course, 17, and you drove it.

DAVID OH: Yes.

Q. Put it over in the corner to the left.

DAVID OH: Yes.

Q. So when you got to the green you were actually putting for an eagle.

DAVID OH: Yes.

Q. Tell us about that.

DAVID OH: During the practice round I saw it and I've been hitting it well coming into this tournament. I was playing with my team mate, Chris, and Peter Tomasulo, and I was saying that I'm going to hit driver. I guess, if you wanted to you could. But they were laying up. They said they were going to lay up. So I hit driver in the practice round. I hit it really well. I think I was maybe a foot or two short of the green. So I guess coming in I just had a good image of the hole and what I had done before. I didn't really think about anything else; I just stepped up and just swung away and luckily it hit the green.

Q. Well, it had to be more than luck because actually you pulled that driver out after you had been taking the tee shots what, with 3-wood or iron?

DAVID OH: On what hole?

Q. On any of the others.

DAVID OH: On the shorter ones, yeah, I guess. I think for me 17, it just sets up good. Because I feel like if anything you can miss a little left and you have a good angle to the green. You can roll it up. And I've been chipping really well out of the rough this past week. So I'm not really scared of going after that hole and being somewhere around the green.

Q. Did you see this coming? Are you surprised with how you're performing?

DAVID OH: Yeah, I am. I'm not going to lie. I'm surprised. I said this before, I knew I could have got here, I know my game when it's on -- everyone can say that, when they're game is on they can come here. For me, for that happening right now, it's too great to describe for words for me right now.

Q. Is there a particular thing that's really going well for you that's given you that kind of confidence?

DAVID OH: I'm just hitting a lot of greens. Just hitting it around the greens, even if I'm in the rough. I am able to roll it up on the green from the rough. Either this or get a pretty decent lie out of the rough and hit it on the green. I just feel like I can just swing hard and I can still get on the green or near the green and make par.

Q. Do you know your opponent tomorrow? Do you have any impressions of him at this point?

DAVID OH: Nick Flanagan; I don't really know him. I've seen him at tournaments this summer. He came from Australia with like five, six other guys. And I've actually played with of couple of the other guys; I just haven't played with Nick. I know he's a good player. He's on the Australian team. Again I'm just going to try and play my game.

Q. Would you have gone for 17 yesterday if Trip hadn't gone for it first?

DAVID OH: I think so. Like I said before, I'm not really scared of that hole.

Q. Did you go for it today?

DAVID OH: Yes, I did. So if the pin's back right, I try to sort of ease off the driver. So if anything I'm a little short so I can have a good angle. If it's up front left, you just bomb it away and even if you go over or right you have a pretty -- it's not too difficult, I don't think.

Q. Where did you drive it today?

DAVID OH: Just left up to the green.

Q. Missed the green.

DAVID OH: Yeah, just past the left, so yeah.

Q. Now, 14, you tried to knock it on or just try to hit driver in the neck?

DAVID OH: I just try to hit driver in the neck.

Q. You don't figure you're going to get there with driver?

DAVID OH: If I get a really, really good drive and if maybe I hit a sprinkler head I'll hit the green. I've been hitting my driver well all week, so I was like, let's go for it.

Q. Any great recoveries like yesterday against Trip where you had a couple in the ditch or anything like that today?

DAVID OH: I think probably 16. Bill brought it back to -- he was one down after -- I just missed like a five -, six-footer on 15. He hit it just on the front edge of the green on 16. I hit mine left in the rough. He put his putt, he putted it past maybe about six feet, seven feet. I hit a really good blast over from the rough. I hit a really good chip shot to maybe like 10 feet and he ended up missing and I made mine. So I went two up with two to play.

Q. Did you iron that shirt this morning?

DAVID OH: Actually, I do it the night before.

Q. You really feel that that is the little quirk that you got to go through?

DAVID OH: Yeah. Yeah. I guess sometimes if I'm feeling really lazy or I don't really care, then I won't. But it's just too big for me not to do that. Just in case.

Q. Did you do that while you were in college too?

DAVID OH: Yeah. In college.

Q. Did the other guys like also give you their shirts and say, "Well, since you're doing the ironing...."?

DAVID OH: They would ask but other guys, they wouldn't really care. They would be just like, "You're going to iron?" And I say, "Yeah, do you want me to iron your shirt?" And they're like, "Nah, don't worry about it."

Q. When did you start?

DAVID OH: Maybe first year of college or the year before.

Q. Is there any particular reason why?

DAVID OH: I figured if you're not playing well you might as well look good.

Q. How would you characterize your collegiate career?

DAVID OH: It's been very up-and-down. I would have good tournaments and then I would have like a really bad tournament. I would have good rounds and I would shoot 67 and then I would come back with like a 76, 77. I think in college I really learned how to grind because I guess coming up before college I also used to just played 18 holes and even if you played bad you can practice and go work on the range.

When you're in college you're playing 36 holes in the day and you're up at like 5:30, and you're not done until like 6:30 and by then you can't practice. You just got to go eat and go to sleep because you got to wake up at 5:30 the next day.

Q. Do you feel like you lived up to your potential there?

DAVID OH: College-wise, no. But I guess before going into college I didn't really know if I wanted to go pro or not. So I really wanted to get a good degree. So I did pick USC. So it wasn't until maybe like end of sophomore year that I really decided that I wanted to go pro. If someone would have asked me if I would go to school again, most likely, but there's still that possibility that I might go to an ASU or a completely golf-oriented school.

CRAIG SMITH: What did you major in?

DAVID OH: Marketing. Business marketing.

Q. You said yesterday you still have four or five classes to go?

DAVID OH: Yeah, I have like five classes to go.

Q. Be done in December?

DAVID OH: No, I think I'm going to extend that to a full year.

Q. You're an academic all-American?

DAVID OH: Yeah, I was this past year. I'm not sure how that worked out. Because I wasn't at the ceremony at the NCAA and then I checked my grades after I got back and I was above 3.2. And I guess they didn't take into account my last semester, so I think I should be.

Q. Talk about the golf course for us. Are there a couple of holes out there that you feel you can be aggressive on tomorrow that you would want to be aggressive on and where are they?

DAVID OH: Your first question, the golf course is unbelievable. I never really played a course this good, except for Oakland Hills last year at the previous U.S. Amateur. This is amazing. These greens are so fast, fairways are so nice. I'm used to putting on fairways or greens that are like the fairways out here. I think for me right now this is a course that sets up really good for me. I feel like I can really hit my driver hard and I'll still be okay.

So I guess my favorite hole is hole 12, I always try to hit it pretty hard on the tee there. Because it is 620 yard par-5. I like 14. I like 17 too.

Q. How far was your birdie at 14?

DAVID OH: Maybe like eight feet.

Q. How do you feel about your putter?

DAVID OH: I'm not really sure. It seemed like yesterday against Trip I putted pretty well. In the afternoon it sort of let me down. And today it let me down. I'm making a lot of short putts with it but I'm not really making a lot of like 20-footers, 15 -, 20-, 25-footers. You can't complain though. I'm going to keep it in the bag.

Q. Have you made anything higher than birdie on 17 this week?

DAVID OH: Well, today I made par.

Q. Is it all about pace? Your pace seems to be pretty good on your putting; you never really are far from the hole.

DAVID OH: I guess before coming into this I worked with a metronome just trying to work on my speed and my rhythm, so I really think that paid off well for me so far this week.

CRAIG SMITH: That's a pretty big smile; does golf ever give you a big frown too.

DAVID OH: Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's golf. You got to just take the highs and the lows. Hopefully I can be somewhere in between; not be too excited, not be too sad. But I don't know. It's hard not to be happy right now.

Q. Will your family be here for the weekend?

DAVID OH: Yeah, my parents are here and actually I think one of my friends. He works in San Francisco. I think he's going to fly out tomorrow morning to come out and watch. So that would be really great if he does.

Q. Brother and sister?

DAVID OH: No, just my brother. Actually he's working. He couldn't get any time off. He's back at home.

Q. But your dad and mom are here?

DAVID OH: Yeah, my mom and dad are here.

CRAIG SMITH: Thank you, David.

End of FastScripts....

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