Q. Were you aware on the last few holes what you needed?
NICK DUNLAP: I knew roughly. I was a train wreck. I'm not going to lie to you. I was arguably the most nervous I've ever been, to be honest.
I just didn't want the season to end. I've been having so much fun, and I was just -- I hit some really good shots, a good tee shot on 12, two really good ones on 16 and 17, and then got up there and smoked it on 18. However that would have shaked out, I would have been super proud of myself.
Q. Who was that that ran up and hugged you on the walk from 18?
NICK DUNLAP: That was my coach, Josh Gregory. I hired him since it's been Bay Hill, so been working with him three or four months now, and he's been a tremendous help, not only to my short game, my wedge game, but it gives me a structure out here that I desperately needed. He's a big part of this year.
Q. Can you talk through your emotions once you realized you'd locked it in?
NICK DUNLAP: Yeah, I wanted to ask as soon as I tapped in. I thought fifth was good enough. Hunter had said -- I think I was in fifth at some point throughout the round, T5, and I think he said I was projected 48th. I kind of like to know where I'm at, especially the last two holes. It was weird, I went from on 17, I tried to attack the pin. I thought I still had a chance to win the golf tournament. Then not getting up-and-down, and then I'm questioning if I'm inside the bubble or not. It was very stressful.
Q. I saw you take a big sigh when you found out you were safe. Describe that moment, hearing those words.
NICK DUNLAP: Yeah, just relief, honestly. A lot of hard work. I kind of knew what I needed to do for this week, just to kind of keep the season going. Like I said, I've been having so much fun, and it's another week to go try to learn and go try to play good.
Q. I know you had a lot to focus on those final holes, but you were the closest observer to Hideki's round. What was it like seeing him almost collapsing on 14 and 15 and then come back and finish the way he did?
NICK DUNLAP: Yeah, he just never seemed to let it get to him. It was really impressive. I told him walking off, 17 and 18 were super impressive. That's why he's got a green jacket and a ton of other things. It was definitely cool for me to watch. I kind of got a front row seat, which was neat. He deserves it; he was impressive all day.
Q. One year ago you were winning the U.S. Amateur. What are your emotions going back to just a year ago?
NICK DUNLAP: Yeah, it's a heck of a year. It was always in the back of my mind a small goal to get back to Denver for next week. We played Castle Pines when we went out there, four of us, for the Walker Cup before the U.S. Am, and it was just always -- after the Am, it was just kind of a goal to get back there, so it's nice I'll be flying out there tomorrow.
Q. What do you feel like you've gained and learned since -- how is the Nick Dunlap now different than the Nick Dunlap who showed up to Pebble?
NICK DUNLAP: Gosh, I don't even know where to start. From the results, it's not night and day but it is to me. Even throughout the year I was kind of struggling, but I still felt like I was getting better, I just wasn't getting the results that I felt like I was playing.
Yeah, these past couple weeks, it's been nice to see that kind of come to light. I've gotten a lot of -- especially driving and my 3-wood and my chipping, I've gotten that a lot better. Coming down the stretch, for that to show was really cool.
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