Q&A with Amory Davis

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Last weekend UVa golfer Amory Davis won the UNCG Bridgestone Golf Collegiate and tied the Cavalier tournament scoring mark of 11-under 205. Davis talks about the event and the team’s excellent play this fall.

Question: Do you remember the playoff game Michael Jordan had where everything he put up went in and at one point in looked at the TV cameras and gave a “can you believe this” type gesture. You said you made numerous putts over 20 feet this weekend to help you to the title. Did you experience a moment like that?

Davis: At times, I was thinking to myself, ‘This is kind of ridiculous.’ I felt bad for my playing companions because, if they were making putts like that, I would have felt it was ridiculous because it was so outrageous. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen someone make that many long putts. It was nice. The hole looked three times the normal size and every time I got on the green I felt like I was going to make it.

Question: Besides making a lot of long putts, you have to play very consistent over 54 holes to win a tournament. What other factors helped your performance?

Davis: My swing is really on point right now. It hasn’t been this good for a long time. My misses are just better than they have been. Everybody’s best shot is the same from Tiger Woods down to every single player on this team. Their best shot is their best shot. Sometimes it comes down to how your worst shots are. My bad shots were just better than other people’s bad shots.

Question: How important was it for the team to end the fall with another strong outing?

Davis: After having a pretty good fall, I know everybody on the team went into that last tournament really wanting to get a win. We wanted to put an exclamation point on the fall because there were a lot of really good schools there. We wanted to show we had in us another week where we could play well. It was important for us to help our ranking and to keep morale up going into the winter. Coming off a bad tournament, and having that taste in your mouth for the next four months, is never good. We fought pretty hard. I think we showed some people we are a good team.

Question: What will you work on the most this winter?

Davis: Right now it’s about how good I can get mentally between now and then; how well can I mentally prepare for the next tournament. I think my physical game it there. I’m going to continue to work on my game throughout the winter.

Question: Does this victory give you a boost in confidence?

Davis: It was nice. I knew I was good enough to do that. It is nice to know you can win on this level. It makes playing beyond a win easier, knowing that you can put yourself in that position and knowing you can take control in the final round is nice to know. There were a few tournaments this fall I was in a position to win or finish in the top five and I wasn’t able to do it. To do it for 54 holes was nice. To know I had the mental stamina for 54 holes to do that was the biggest boost in confidence.

Question: The team benefits a lot by having Dr. Bob Rotella work with the players. How did his teachings come into play this weekend?

Davis: Dr. Rotella talks a lot about staying in the moment and hitting every shot the same, whether it is your first shot or your last one, and not worrying about anything else that is going on. He talks about staying focused, even if you are 11-under, and that was important for me during that last round to make sure that I stayed within each shot.

Question: What did you think when you learned you tied the school scoring record?

Davis: The first thing I thought about was ‘I can’t believe I missed that 10-footer on the last hole. I could have had the record if I had made it.’ It was cool. Now it just makes me want to have my own record in the spring.