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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 16, 2013Brady WattBROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We now have our second U.S.Amateur semifinalist, Brady Watt of Australia, who was a winner 1‑up over Scottie Scheffler. Tough match. Give us your assessment of it. BRADY WATT: Well, pretty much down all day. I was a little bit off both ways with my shots, but I hung in there, kind of down the stretch, got it back to 1‑down and then holed a good putt on 15, and then a really good up‑and‑down on the last to close it out. Q. Let me ask you, just your approach onto 18, describe everything going up through that hole including the four‑footer that you needed to clinch the match. BRADY WATT: Well, the line of the first cut was pretty fair, but it was into the grain, and it kind of just squirted out to the right. I hit it pretty good but just hung it out to the right. The line on the chip was a good six inches of just thick as. But all I had to really do was just land it two feet in front of me. I was surprised to see it short, but the putt was middle right at best, and just stayed calm and rolled it in. Q. With that putt on 15, how close was it to the collar, and then can you just give us a read of the putt? BRADY WATT: Well, it was pretty much flat on the collar, and I took a couple practice swings right next to it trying to get a feel for the collar and stuff. It wasn't too bad. But it was probably three inches outside right, and yeah, the downhill putts here you get on line, they roll all the way down. It had a bit of pace, but it was a true line. Q. On that chip on 18, did you think you mis‑hit it because people in the crowd thought, oh, he stubbed it. BRADY WATT: The lie was terrible. He took the marker out and I couldn't find it pretty much. Lucky my caddie was standing there, because it was buried. It was like someone stepped on it, and it was unreal, the worst one I've seen all week. But I didn't really need to do much with it, just needed to really just pop it out. Q. When you see that how do you stay positive about it? BRADY WATT: Well, Scott's ball plugged in the bunker. You try and stay positive. It's pretty much a mystery out of that rough. You've just got to do your best to try and make some kind of contact. Q. You're good friends with your next opponent. You're actually staying at the same house? BRADY WATT: Yeah, we're staying five meters away pretty much, next bedroom, yeah. Q. Where is that house, right off the course? BRADY WATT: It's in Wellesley, I think. Q. So what's it going to be like staying there tonight with him? BRADY WATT: Well, we're going to the Red Sox game tonight, so we'll enjoy it before we have to do battle tomorrow. We're great mates, and we've had a lot of close tournaments together, and we really enjoy playing together. I think we get the best out of ourselves, and with the amount of people out there today, we're going to look forward to tomorrow to show everyone good shots. Q. Have you guys ever faced each other in match play? I heard out there that you've sort of gone against each other in tournament play before, but was it a match or was it stroke play, and who's got the better of each other? BRADY WATT: He's won the last‑‑ he beat me in the state amateur stroke play, and then he beat me in the match play, and then he beat me in a five‑hole playoff in the W Open. So I guess he owes me a couple. Q. You're into the semifinals, which I'm guessing is where you hoped you would be, but is it where you thought you would be? BRADY WATT: Well, my plan was to get deep into the week, get through to the match play and get as deep as you can into the week. Where I am right now I'm very pleased with. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Q. Can you just sort of talk about the reaction to what he did on No.7, if that was something that you kind of quickly put out of your mind or‑‑ BRADY WATT: How good was that? He had a hole‑in‑one. Being match play you kind of‑‑ like it's only one hole. I was probably going to make bogey. It's one of the purest shots I've seen. That was the shot you needed to hit, a float little cut in, and it was pretty exciting. Q. If you go on to win, would you consider yourself the second Australian this year to win a major? BRADY WATT: I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Still getting over today's round. When it happens, if it does happen, I'll do my best to make it happen, but I don't like to think about things before they happen, you know. Q. Not to beat a dead horse, but can you go over the times you've played Oliver in the past and perhaps how you've played? I didn't catch the last one that he beat you on the five‑hole playoff. BRADY WATT: It was like the Men's West Australian Open. Me and him both finished on top at 16‑under. We beat the pros by two or three shots. We had a few European players there like Brett Rumford, Scott Strange, and it was‑‑ we birdied the last two holes in regulation, and the next three we both birdied. I think it was four, actually, and then he parred the fifth one. It's always exciting when you get to play together. Q. I read this week that you're a professional cleaner. Can you give us a little more details about what you do? BRADY WATT: I started three years ago back home at the BankWest Tower, and I started cleaning office buildings, doing toilets, cleaning office spaces. It's all nighttime work, so I have all day to practice. I think that was a really big thing in my life, to get some money, have a bit of focus, and then I can practice on my golf and everything. I haven't really been working since I've been away so much, but it's a casual‑based job, so I can kind of float in. I have a really good supervisor, so it's great. Q. What town do you work in? BRADY WATT: Perth, so it's the BankWest Tower. Q. Is it your own company? BRADY WATT: No, I work for a company. Q. How long are your days when you practice golf and then you clean at night? BRADY WATT: Well, I work 4:30 to 9:30 at night, so it pretty much fits in with everything. Q. Five days a week? BRADY WATT: Yeah. Q. Just having two Aussies into the semifinals, what does it say about the state of Australian amateur golf? BRADY WATT: The state or the country? Q. Well, the state meaning the condition. BRADY WATT: Well, we're definitely on the right track. Brad James and his team do a great job. There's so many good players coming through right now, and they're coming through a lot younger, and it's‑‑ we're on the right track. Q. Do you have sort of a timeline or any plans to turn pro at a certain time, and might this week affect those? BRADY WATT: Well, obviously this week does affect a lot of things, but depending on how results go, my plan is just to take it one week at a time. I have an idea of what I need to do to be able to turn pro, but when I'm ready with my family and coach and everything, pretty much every aspect, then I'll go. Q. Just looking back at the match, the 18‑hole match, what worked for you today? I know you said you were behind, but where did you think things turned? Was there a putt on‑‑ oh, the two‑putt on 13, you were 2‑down, sort of behind the hole on 13 and made about a five‑footer maybe? BRADY WATT: I holed a lot of clutch five‑footers out there today. The one on the last was probably about the seventh or eighth. But I needed to stay solid. This course is only getting tougher. Just got to stick to your guns and be calm about it. Q. Are you aware of or do you know Nick Flanagan at all? BRADY WATT: No, I know of him, like I saw he added us, like me and Goss into like a Twitter update. I know of him. I know what he's done, yeah. Q. So you know he's on the trophy? BRADY WATT: Yeah. Q. Because he came through the same program similar to what you're doing, I think, now. BRADY WATT: I believe so, yeah. Q. The whole idea of coming to the United States and playing during the summer, is that something that you guys get excited about? How do you approach that, and what do you see, because this is near the end of the trip now, right? BRADY WATT: Yep. Pretty much we get‑‑ the one best thing about it is we get one full year of summer, so that's a plus in itself. You are very excited to come over here because you know you get looked after well at every tournament. Every tournament is a new memory, and this one's just the same. Q. Does it matter to you‑‑ what's more important, winning this event or what comes with winning this event? BRADY WATT: I haven't really thought about that, just concentrating on playing the best I can, and whatever comes from there comes from there. Q. How would you have characterized your summer before this week, and now obviously with what you've been doing here? Did you feel like this was a very successful summer for you in terms of coming over here and getting that experience? BRADY WATT: Yeah, for sure, I've gathered a lot of experience and I've learned a lot from week to week. It's nice to do so well so far. I've still got a weekend to go. I thought I've had a good U.S. summer so far. I've learned a lot. I played in Europe before, missed two cuts, but I learned a lot from it. It's nice to come abroad with Golf Australia helping, and it's great to get this kind of exposure, and I've learned a lot. Q. With so much on the line tomorrow, would you prefer to play someone that you're friendly with, or would you prefer not to? BRADY WATT: I don't really have a preference. People say they'd rather hate someone or be friendly with them. It's just another person that holds the same size for them as it does for me. It's great that we're friends. It's great for our association back home. We're all a bit crazed at the moment. It's great to fly the West Australia flag and the Australian flag. Q. Brad thought maybe the first 10 or 11 holes it would be quite casual out there between you and Oliver but then it might get serious. Is that the way you see it playing out? BRADY WATT: I'll have to talk to him tonight what we're going to do, but we're going for it. That'll be the mentality I'm sure. THE MODERATOR: Brady, thanks so much. Congratulations. BRADY WATT: No worries. Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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