U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 1999

Hunter Haas

HUNTER HAAS: Well, I started playing well a couple of months ago. Coming off of missing Nationals, wasn't hitting the ball like I wanted to hit it for a while, but I finally found a little groove. I started playing well. I went down to Dallas, or Ft. Worth, excuse me, and played an old course called Star Hollow. Played with an old mentor of mine, and I shot the course record. And a week later I had the APL qualifying; so I go back to Norman, Oklahoma and play my qualifying there. That's pretty much my home course, and tied the course record, and ended up shooting 11-under. Pretty much beat everybody by about a few shots. And I went up there with a high level of confidence. And my goals -- I set my goals real high going into it. I always do, but when I don't succeed, I realize that the reality is what it is, and everybody doesn't always accomplish what they want to accomplish. And I started winning my matches, and it just snowballed. I didn't think anybody could beat me out there. There wasn't a person out there that was going to play as well as I was or make as many birdies as I was. It was a birdie shootout; so I ended up winning out there, and that was a great experience. My parents showed up for that. And I was really excited. It's hard to explain. I'm not one to get too emotional or show my emotions that well, but it was very special week. I've always looked at USGA events as the championships, true championships, and I've valued it very highly. And after that I was like: Well, I've got two more tournaments. Have to go to the Porter Cup, and I like that course in Niagara Falls Country Club. I played there well last year. I was in contention in three or four rounds, and I just ended up slipping a little bit. So my confidence level going into that tournament was -- it was just there. I was going to play well. I wasn't going to slip. I wasn't going to be -- just play well one week, and slip the next week. I wanted to back it up. So I started making pars and pars and pars, a few birdies, and the next thing I know, I'm leading. And coming down the stretch, I got tired, and the week before was kind of kicking in, and I pulled it off. I got in the playoff and really beared down and ground it out.

HUNTER HAAS: Right.

HUNTER HAAS: I'd say there was a little pressure on me coming in here. I've got a lot of family here. And I've won my last two tournaments, and people might think: Well, he's the favorite, blah, blah, blah. And it doesn't matter, in match play it's going to come out what's going to come out. I could lose to a player that is not as good a player as me, but everybody in this field of 64 is going to have a chance. And I went in today with just a good attitude. The last week, or coming up here, I wasn't hitting the ball like I really wanted to. I wasn't hitting it that great. But over the past few days, I've kind of got it in a little better groove than what it was in the practice rounds. But my short game has really saved me, in the qualifying. And today, I think it did, too. It saved me a few shots. And that's the key out here at Pebble. You can hit it in the fairway all day, and you can hit a lot of greens, but if you get into the stuff, you're going to have to chip out, it's so thick. And around the greens -- I was telling my caddy: I'd rather hit it into the stuff off the tee and have to chip out and hit a wedge on and have a 10-footer for par than hitting it in the thick stuff around the greens and take a chance of blading it over the green. Then you're back to square one. You understand what I'm saying? If you think about that and you just play conservatively, it will help you out.

HUNTER HAAS: I did. I haven't been taking a whole lot of chances. My caddy helped me out on a few shots. He told me what to hit, and I was like: Well, I don't know. And he was like: Trust me, it's uphill; it's into the wind; it's got to be this club. And I took it, and sure enough, it was the right club. Might have put me in the bunker if I used the one I wanted to use.

HUNTER HAAS: I think so. And the guy I played today, he made some great putts coming down on the front 9. And coming in he got into the cabbage or poa annua or whatever -- it's cabbage to me -- and that's where he fell apart.

HUNTER HAAS: Well, no, I haven't. And my impressions are it's very nice. What you see on TV is not what you see in person. It's truly an amazing view and layout. What they did with No. 5, I never saw the original hole, but it makes it even more lengthy, going out on the coast. Every hole going out, you've got water on your right or a cliff or something. And I really enjoyed Spyglass. I've always wanted to go and play Spyglass, and Pebble Beach was there. And Pebble Beach is pretty special, it's a nice track.

HUNTER HAAS: Yeah, it will help me out a lot. But the hard part for me is going to be focusing on one shot at a time and not putting myself already into that next match. And once you do that and falter a little bit, it's going to jump up and bite you. I think if I keep my mindset in line and focused, I think I'll do well. I know around the greens I'm pretty good, and I'll get some practice in this afternoon, and I think I'll be ready for tomorrow.

HUNTER HAAS: It was south of Ft. Worth, Star Hollow.

HUNTER HAAS: Star Hollow. It's a nine-hole course.

HUNTER HAAS: How do I like them?

HUNTER HAAS: Right. A little slower. No, actually the speed doesn't bother me. It's just the firmness sometimes, because a lot of times, I'll hit shots on the greens that won't have as much spin as a guy with a high flight shot. But then again, if the wind here picks up, my flight pattern, it's going to be a little lower. But the guys, they're going to be hitting it up in the air, and it's going to be going -- they're not easy. You have to really think about what you're doing. You have to think about where you're going to place the ball. And then you've got to work your shot to that. We saw the Open at Pinehurst, and this is just like it. You've got to lay your shot where you want it to be, and have a good putt at it.