U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 1997

Terry O'Laughlin

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Yeah, it was a long day, Brett. It was a grind. It was an 8-hole playoff, and I was a little bit disappointed that I shot 146 because I did double bogey the last hole on Dubsdread yesterday, and I knew what the cut was, and I made a mental error on the fairway bunker and hit the wrong shot. I should have just chipped out, took my five and got out of there at 145. But I ended up hitting a 9-iron into the water, so -- but I got a little bit of revenge. At least I got to make it to match play, and anything can happen in match play, so I'm excited to be here.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Yeah, I bogeyed a couple holes. So 11 really was my best chance right away. I probably had about a 6-foot putt there for birdie, just get out of there and get on with it. Missed that and then I made -- I 2-putted from about 35 feet on 12, and I hit a real good drive on 13. I had 9-iron into 13, pulled it left in the bunker, kind of on the up slope or on the down slope, rather, so I didn't have a shot and went across the green. I got that up-and-down for bogey. At that point, it was three for two, going to No. 14, the par 3. The first guy hit it about a foot, then both of us hit it on the right corner of the green, and then we both left it probably about 6 feet away. And I was first to putt, and I missed it. Then he hit about a 5-foot putt, missed that. Then I parred the par 5, and he parred it, and I ended up parring 16 to finally hit in. So it was a journey.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: You want me to go hole-by-hole?

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: On the deciding holes. Let's see here. It's been such a long day. No. 3, he made bogey, I made par, so I went one up. Then -- I'm blanking out. I've played so many holes. All I remember is I was two up through eight basically, and I had a 5-foot putt to go three up on 9. Then I did birdie 10 to go three up. Then he made a good birdie on 14, got it back to two. And then he missed a short putt for par on 15. From there, I thought I could make it through.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Not really. I don't think I was rooting against anybody. I just -- I knew that I could hit the shots, and really, you just need to make birdie. Basically, I had an opportunity on the 18th hole yesterday, and I played stupid. And, you know, I'm a good player. I've had some success the last couple years playing golf, but just to get into the match play, it's pretty difficult, so I really didn't wish any bad luck on anybody. I just -- you just need to make a birdie. If you can make a birdie, you're in, and you go from there. There's eight holes that you really need to make a birdie, and I didn't make one. That's why I kind of hung around. I bogeyed the right holes, because if I would have bogeyed the first three or four in the playoff, I would be out.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: I was just excited to be there. I wasn't tired. I'm a good match-play player,. I've won the Minnesota State Match Play the last couple years in Minnesota, and I made it to the finals of the Trans Miss last year and lost to John Grace in the final. Then I won a couple matches in the U.S. Mid Am last year. I think I have the largest margin of victory in the U.S. Mid Am. I think I beat somebody eight and seven. So I feel pretty comfortable playing match play, and I thought that, you know, the medalist has a lot more pressure than myself. I kind of freewheeled and hit my driver pretty good, got up a couple holes on the front nine and was able to hang on.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: For me, it is. For me, it is. If I get down a couple, I have a difficult time getting back in the match. But I am a pretty good front runner. I'm a real quick player. I play real fast. So it is important. It really is important for me to get ahead and stay ahead and then just stay on top of them and don't hit any bad shots. Once you get two or three up, you can't -- you just have to keep hitting greens and fairways out here and keep making pars.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Yeah, it was a long wait, but I guess now Ross Garlenault was saying I'll be the front runner, so that might be to my advantage, too. So we're going to be ahead of everybody else, so there won't be any wait for me from now on if I keep winning.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Well, not exactly. Usually I'm selling Post-it notes back in Minnesota.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: 1:38, I believe, was the time. What time is it now?

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Yeah, it wasn't too bad. But I think in the Trans Miss, my average match is probably about -- I think they timed about two hours and 25 minutes each match. We were playing, you know -- no, the time wasn't bad. I mean, you don't expect to play fast, especially in the last group like that.

TERRY O'LOUGHLIN: Well, I was just happy to get in, and I didn't know what to expect. You know, John Harris has helped me through. He's obviously a real good player and a Walker Cup player, but I've seen like Buddy Marucci and John Harris and these guys play. If I play well, you know, I can play with them. You know, if I just play well with them, I mean, I can beat players of that stature and well-known players that have done a lot in golf for many years, and John's kind of helped me through some of the learning experiences the last couple years because he's a good friend back in Minnesota. He's the legend.