MODERATOR: 72, 2 over par.
SEAN KNAPP: I'll take 2 under par.
Q.
Sean, out of the 35 amateurs that started every day here on Thursday,
right now you've got the lowest score.
You've got to be excited about that.
SEAN KNAPP: It's huge.
My goal coming in here was just to make the cut. We're not afforded as amateurs any
remuneration from a money standpoint. It
was my goal to make the cut. There are
some rewards that come with that, and hopefully I'll be able to achieve it.
First step in that process was
making the cut, though.
Q.
So are you surprised? Are you
fairly sure you were going to do all this?
Or what is your ‑‑ what was your thought when you get to the point
where you finished out at 18?
SEAN KNAPP: I've played in 33 USGA events. It's not much out in this environment, but I
do have some experience, and I have played some good players over the years. And at the end of the day, I was fairly
certain that I could play well. Handling
all the ancillaries was another issue.
And anytime you're in a field this talented, it's not easy to ‑‑
for somebody of my capacity to resurrect your game and to say I'm going to be
competitive.
These guys are really good. That's just flat‑out it. The course is perfect. It's a little haunted in spots. And so to answer your question, I felt good
coming in. I've had a very successful
campaign at the state level in Pennsylvania.
How that transfers over this is anybody's guess, but I guess it does a
little bit.
Q.
How much tougher did the course play, playing in the afternoon today as
opposed to playing early yesterday.
SEAN KNAPP: That question would probably be better served
for those guys at 2:00. I got a good
break in that it was only 12:40 when I went out. It's still fairly early. I thought with the wind and everything, I
thought the pins were a little bit tougher.
The course was set up a little bit harder. I thought it was about a shot to a shot and a
half harder. But if you weren't on your
game, it could be more, if that makes any sense.
Q.
You opened your round with a birdie, and what was the feeling after
that? Did you feel like, you know ‑‑
SEAN KNAPP: Well, I had about a 15‑footer for eagle. And I really ‑‑ we talk about relying on
past experience, and I kind of knew it was going to get down to the point it
was out there for me in terms of making the cut, and I said, this would be so
huge.
Had a good putt and missed it, and
then I hit it three feet on the second hole and missed that. So as good a start as it was, I sort of had
some negative vibes coming into the third hole.
But I settled down and kind of got in a rhythm. First six holes were incredibly strong. Even though I made a bogey at 6, I made it
from like 120 yards. It wasn't the ball
striking.
I just didn't putt real well today,
but the first six holes were pretty good.
The second six holes were a little bit indifferent, and the last six
holes were real good as well.
Q.
You said that previously ‑‑ that your goal, when you first entered, was
to make the cut.
SEAN KNAPP: Right.
Q.
Now that you're in the field for the weekend, where do you go from here?
SEAN KNAPP: Well, one step at a time. There's some real benefits to being low
amateur in this thing, if I'm not wrong.
You come back, get an exemption back to the Senior Open, also get an
exemption into the U.S. Amateur, and I'm exempted in the Mid Am, so that
doesn't matter.
But those are big league deals, and
so that's going to be my goal going into the weekend. Now if I can improve on that, just to play
well, that will be fine.
Q.
Thanks.
SEAN
KNAPP: Thanks, guys. Appreciate