Every player at the U.S. Amateur comes with the goal of winning. But when John Augenstein showed up at Pinehurst No. 2 in August, he came with another goal too: earning a place on the United States’ Walker Cup team. His runner-up finish in the U.S. Am got him on the team (not to mention exemptions into the 2020 Masters and U.S. Open), and in September, Augenstein not only helped lead the U.S. team to victory in the Walker Cup, but also clinched the Cup’s winning point with a 4-and-3 victory on Sunday. Now, after doubtlessly the wildest summer of his career, Augenstein is a senior at Vanderbilt, the world’s 12th-ranked amateur, and less than a year from turning pro.
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LYING FOUR: So how was the Walker Cup?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: The Walker Cup was unbelievable. It was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done in amateur golf. I know it’s weird to say, but it was better even than the U.S. Am. The U.S. Am was an amazing week for me, but just having that kind of camaraderie with the team — everybody on the team, we all knew each other and we were all friends. It was so much fun. Winning makes it a lot more fun, but still, the memories and experience from that week are second to none for me at the moment.
LYING FOUR: I read somewhere that, other than winning the U.S. Am, your goal at Pinehurst was making the Walker Cup team. What was it about the Walker Cup that you had such a taste for?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: I love match play, and I love being on a team. I love Vanderbilt Golf — there’s nothing that can make my experience here at Vanderbilt any better, and a lot of that’s due to the coaches. Having the chance to represent the United States on a team, in a format that I really like, was a big thing to me. Also, being able to say you were on a Walker Cup team is something that a lot of people can’t say. When you get on the team, it almost comes a little bit of a fraternity: you start hearing from guys that you’ve never heard from, and the connections you make from the people you meet from being a Walker Cupper are endless. It’s such a cool thing to be a part of it. I’m definitely honored and blessed to be a part of it.
LYING FOUR: I know you didn’t know at the time that you had the clinching point, but that must be pretty cool too.
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: Yeah, it was. On 13, which is a short par-3 at Royal Liverpool, they had a scoreboard set up. And we were doing well. It was kind of quiet, which makes you think we were doing well. And I look over, and I just see red — and our color was red on the board — and I’m not great at math, but I was adding a few of the points up. And I wasn’t sure by any means, because I didn’t really know who had already won, who was on the golf course, or any of that. But on 15 tee, after I’d won 14, I’m dormie — I’m four-up with four to play — and I did look at my caddie and say, “This might be the clinching point. I’m not sure, but it might.”
LYING FOUR: Oh, wow.
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: Yeah. And he said, “Go do it.” I hit a perfect drive and a nice, conservative shot that I had to hit, because he wasn’t in any position to beat me on that hole. Being able to make a three-footer and clinch the Walker Cup, it was incredible. Everybody that was already done ran onto the green to greet me — the captain and manager, Nathaniel Crosby and Rodney Zalzneck, were there. It was so unbelievable. I didn’t know it until they ran up and told me, “You clinched it.” It was an unbelievable feeling. I’ll never forget it.
LYING FOUR: What is it about match play that you like so much?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: I don’t know, I think it just mimics a lot of my personality. I’m very aggressive, and I play with a lot of emotion. I simply want to beat anybody that I’m playing with. I’m very competitive. It works in stroke play some, when I’m in contention — but in match play, the whole time I’m just trying to beat that other person. And I like my chances when I just have to beat one person. I think I do a really good job of hitting golf shots that are necessary. I’ve never been the guy who goes out in a match and says, “I’m gonna win 7 and 6.” If I win in 25 holes, or if I win in 12 holes, it just doesn’t matter to me — I’m just trying to win that point. So when I’m playing match play, I’m going to try to hit shots that are a little bit better than the person I’m playing against so I can keep that pressure on them at all times.
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LYING FOUR: You’ve had a little bit of time now to reflect on the U.S. Am. When you look back at that tournament, what are your prevailing memories from that week?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: My biggest memory was winning the semi-final match and it dawning on me that I was gonna play in the Masters and the U.S. Open the next year. Being an amateur and playing in the Masters and the U.S. Open is something that very few people have ever been able to do. It’s an honor to be able to have those opportunities. When I got done in that semi-final match and got done with all the interviews, I was sitting around with my caddie and reflecting on it, and I thought, “We’ve accomplished a lot this week, but nothing is over yet; I’ve still got 36 holes, and if I don’t bring my best, then I’m not gonna win.” And that was probably the most memorable thing of the week — just sitting back and thinking that we’d done something pretty cool but that we had some more to do.
LYING FOUR: That tournament seems like it would be a torture chamber. What is it like having to play that much golf, against that many great players, on that tough of a golf course?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: It definitely takes a toll on you. I was pretty exhausted when the week was over. I don’t know. When I’m in those positions, I’ve always gotten what Coach and I call “locked in.” I get to a place where there’s nothing that can bother me, and there’s nothing that’s going on except what I’m trying to do, which is to beat the guy I’m playing against. I felt locked in all week. I think it helped me, because I never really got too high or too low. It allowed me to stay calm for most of the week. It’s a grind; it’s the hardest golf tournament in amateur golf to try to win. There’s so much golf, and there’s so much that can happen on that golf course. Pinehurst is so hard. My caddie and I just believed that our process about Pinehurst No. 2 was better than everybody else’s; I don’t know if it was, but that’s what I believed. So we kept sticking to that process. It’s not a golf course where you have to go out and make seven or eight birdies to win the match. If you make three or four birdies and one bogey, and you shoot two- or one-under, whatever, then you’re gonna win almost every match. That’s what we thought about, and that helped me stay in the moment the whole time and not worry about too much else.
LYING FOUR: Is it a tournament that you can take lessons away from, or are you playing so much golf that it’s all kind of a blur?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: That’s a good question. I do think some of it was a blur. I look back, and it feels like it was forever ago now. I haven’t really thought about it that much, to be honest. I’m not one of those guys that dwells on wins or losses. There are certain times I forget who I faced: at the end of the week, I’d forgotten who I beat in the first round. It just goes by, and you play so much golf that holes run together and shots run together. People have asked me, “What was the best shot you hit all week?” And I couldn’t really tell you. There are a few shots that in that finals match and semi-finals match that I remembered, but it was because they’d just happened. You’re right, it is a little bit of a blur, but it was a very special week that I do learn a lot from. And it’ll be better for me going forward.
LYING FOUR: Have you had much time to think about the Masters?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: Yeah, I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. It hasn’t set in yet. It’s still a good bit away, so I haven’t thought about what that’s gonna feel like at the Masters in the first round. It’s a dream come true to play in the Masters, and I’m so honored to have the opportunity. I’m really excited about getting down there and playing some practice rounds — as many as they’ll let me come down and play. That’ll be fun, and I think it’ll set in once I do that.
LYING FOUR: Have you been there before?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: I’ve been there once, but never to play.
LYING FOUR: What’s your plan between now and the end of NCAAs next year? What do you need to improve on before it’s time to turn pro?
JOHN AUGENSTEIN: There’s a million things that I’ve gotta improve on. Mentally, I’ve got to do a better job of locking in to each golf tournament. Sometimes, whether I want to admit this or not, there are times when I — not that I lose interest, because I’m always competitive, but I feel like there are times when my focus isn’t as high as it needs to be. And so I’ll walk away from tournaments finishing sixth, seventh, or eighth, and feeling like I didn’t play very well — but it really wasn’t physical, it was just that mentally I made bad decisions, or I didn’t think a shot all the way through, or I didn’t have a great plan for the golf course. I’ve gotta do a better job of getting plans for golf courses and really sticking to processes when I’m there. I’ve gotta do a better job of peaking at the right time and making sure that my practice is reflecting tournaments. I’ve always been good at practicing and being efficient at what I’m doing, but I’m the guy who wants to be great at all times — I want to be great in practice, and great on the golf course in practice rounds, and also great in tournaments. And that’s not really feasible, because when you’re playing tournaments, that’s when you want to be playing your best. So I’ve got to do a better job of building up to tournaments. And then physically, I just need to continue getting better at everything. I’ve always been a good irons player, a good wedge, and a good chipper. I don’t look at my game as having any weaknesses per se, but everything has got to be better: I’ve got to wedge it more consistently great. I don’t know that it’s really attainable, but in my mind, I feel like it is. I’ve gotta putt more consistently from 10 to 15 feet. I make a lot of putts inside eight feet — well above average — but I don’t putt as consistently from 10 to 15 feet. I’ve gotta do a better job of that. And then, adjusting to life in professional golf and the PGA Tour, it’s just going to be important to keep my team close and talk to them as much as I possibly can about what I know works.
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All photos: credit Vanderbilt University
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