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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

October 6, 2015

Jimmy Walker

Songdo IBD, Incheon City, Korea

Q. Now that you're on another team and a team event, does it feel different to be in the Presidents Cup than the Ryder Cup?
JIMMY WALKER: No, it really doesn't. We had a little match going out there today and it got down to the end and I told Andy, my caddie, afterwards that I kind of got that flood of emotion back that you can have in one of these. I know it's a practice round, but it was about finishing off a hole, finishing off that moment. That's what this whole thing is all about.

Q. What for you makes a good partner? What qualifications make a good partner for you?
JIMMY WALKER: I think a good partner is somebody that you enjoy, someone you get along with, someone you can have fun with, kid with, joke with, get serious with. Somebody you really need to be on the same page with, because at times -- it's just golf, but it feels pretty intense. It feels big. It feels bigger than normal golf. So I think that's what you should look for in a partner, someone that can help bring out the best in you.

Q. The strategy on most golf tees, can you talk about hole 14 and maybe what your strategy would be on that if they were to move the tees up even further?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, a lot of that just depends on when and where they put the tee. It just depends on the guy and how comfortable you're feeling at the time. If I've got the tee and I'm hitting a big drive on alternate shot and kind of one of those game-time decisions. Some guys are like just give me the 90-yard shot, that's all I need. I'm going to make birdie. It's a very matter of fact kind of thing.

Best ball, get it out on the fairway. Another guy can have a go at it kind of a thing. But I think what I learned last time was that having two putts on every hole is big.

Q. 14 in particular, you don't see anything -- I know I think the set-up guys thought that the green was a little difficult to set a hole location on for that hole. And maybe the option to even it up to 295. So if it's you on that tee and there is a left-to-right choice there and there is an aggressive line, a non-aggressive line?
JIMMY WALKER: I think the lay-up choice is always right. If you're going to lay-up, let's lay-up and take the back part of the fairway. I'd personally like to see them move it up. It's match play. It's fun around here, risk-reward. I think it's a good move to move it up.

Q. Any other holes that stand out to you as great match play holes? Maybe 18?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, 18, it's a good hole. It's going to come late in the rounds or the match is going to get there. It seems like some do, some Ryder Cups and Presidents Cup they get to they think more often than not. But as far as risk-reward, there are not a ton of holes out there. There are some holes that you can skirt the water and push it up there further, whether or not that's going to give me much of an advantage, I don't know. The par-5s are all very good. I think it's about quality of second shot into the green. Giving yourself an easy pitch because there are some spots where if you hit it into some places, left at 18 is not a good spot to be. The front bunkers are a nice place to be.

Q. How about here? Have you evaluated your avatar yet?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, I mean, everybody is so spot on, it's scary. I know my legs are bigger than that. I kind of think they whiffed on that. I think they had one template and went with it.

Q. You said one thing you learned from last year was the fact that you want to give yourself two putts and not hit Four-Ball. What else did you take away from last year that you could use for this year?
JIMMY WALKER: Never give up. Rickie and I played every match together except for the exception of Saturday afternoon which kind of snowballed out of control there. We got down in every match literally, and you never count yourself out. You never know what's going to happen. If something sparks you, you both get fired and you both start feeding off each other.

All it takes in match play is just you're getting strong, it's a window of hope. It's the turn of the tide. Match play seems to be so, I don't know what you want to call it. If you've got it, you've got it and you can roll with it. If you don't have it, it's about trying to just put that little chink in their armor and try to just keep wedging your way back into it.

So I think momentum is key in that place. I think that's what you've got to try to do is if you get it, keep it. Don't let up. You can be three up through the turn, and like the turn is a big point. You're going to another side, and sometimes psychologically, I think that can mess you up. Okay, it's a new side. Well, it's not. You've got to keep the pedal down and keep pressing hard. If you're down, you've got to somehow try to find a way to find a catalyst to get you back in it.

So that's what I learned. You're never out of it. You never know what's going to happen. If you can flip the tide, you can ride it in. It's all about momentum.

Q. What is one of the greatest lessons you've ever had in match play?
JIMMY WALKER: I can remember it was a par-5 and it was in match play two years ago at Dove Mountain. It's the first time I've played match play in a long time. I'm playing with Branden Grace, and it's the first time I felt like I watched him hit a shot, and kind of got in trouble. It wasn't at that point about trying to hit a great shot on to the green and try to make eagle. It was he's kind of in trouble. So if I just kind of hit it out to here and hit a nice safe shot over here and strategically put it here, probably going to make a birdie, like an easy birdie. Instead of gung-ho right for the green, middle of the green.

So that was one of the first times I can remember thinking this is different, this is different from stroke play. It's been a while. Just hadn't played match play. It worked out.

Q. Would have been a bad ending if you would have lost the hole?
JIMMY WALKER: I know.

Q. Lesson wasted?
JIMMY WALKER: What am I doing? I don't even know what I'm doing.

Q. Jordan made a comment about playing the Presidents Cup at Muirfield helped him when he made his Ryder Cup debut is the intensity. What's it like on the other side from having started in a Ryder Cup?
JIMMY WALKER: It's funny, we actually talked about it. We talked about a TOUR Championship. We played and he mentioned that. He said I'm glad, as we were playing, he said I'm glad I had a Presidents Cup before I played the Ryder Cup. Because I think if I had come into that arena last year I would have been a complete wreck.

I said, yeah, I can kind of see that. But I mean, for his age, he's so composed and to think he'd been doing it for 20 years the way he's been playing. But I felt like I had been there, done it all, seen it all. Yeah, that was a little different. But I felt like I've been down a lot of the roads of golf and this was just one more thing for me to do.

I actually felt pretty calm playing there last year. It was surprising. I didn't know what to expect when I played there. But definitely take a lot of memories and feelings and experiences into this week. So it's funny that he mentioned that.

Q. Were you surprised more about the aftermath of what happens if you guys lose a Ryder Cup than nervousness and all that that they talk about going into one?
JIMMY WALKER: I honestly didn't think about the aftermath too much. I mean, it was a bummer to see how it kind of all spiralled out of control a little bit. But I know we all went out and played as hard as we could. We didn't go out there to try to lose it. We went out and grinded and just got beat.

I think we all had our heads hung pretty high because we went out and we competed. That's what it was all about was putting up a good show, a good fight, and I know we tried. It just didn't work out. So I came out of there with a lot of personal experiences just for me that were highly positive. So for me, even though we lost, I took a lot of great things out of that week.

Q. Have you seen, even though it's only been a couple days, have you seen a difference in Phil this week than from last year?
JIMMY WALKER: Phil was great last year. He was very positive going into the week. I see the exact same things last year that I've seen so far this year out of him. He's very happy, he's grateful, he's honored to be on our team because this is the first team he didn't make. I think he feels like in a sense he got voted in, and he really, deeply appreciates that, I can tell.

I know he wanted to make it on his own merit, but he's happy he's here. I know he's been working hard. He looks good.

Q. You talk last night?
JIMMY WALKER: To Phil? Yeah, we all talked.

Q. Did he speak to the team?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, he did.

Q. Amy too?
JIMMY WALKER: Not really.

Q. Just agreed with everything?
JIMMY WALKER: Don't we all with him? I'm just kidding.

Q. How about the pants? I heard he had some flag pants on.
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, I asked him if he was cooking because it looked like something a chef would wear, American flag pants. It was great.

Q. Could you pull that off?
JIMMY WALKER: It looked like pajamas. Anybody could pull it off. In public probably not. I think he had a short walk from the elevator down.

Q. What makes Phil a good guy for the team?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, I mean, 20-some-odd straight cups, so that's awesome. His experience is huge. He's playing with Chris Kirk today, and he's telling him things throughout. The history of his playing, his little tidbits here, something that might help Chris down the road in the next couple days. So I think that's what really helps.

He's a very positive guy, he wants to win. He's competitive as all hell. He wants to win, so I think that's what he's bringing. That's good. That's what we need.

Q. Are the fans a distraction at all today?
JIMMY WALKER: In the beginning you think this is unbelievable. But really after while it just becomes white noise and it's not a big deal. It's not where you're at home where one can really stand out. Here it's just constant.

I never once today was thrown off by the clicks. They were going off a lot. You noticed it more when you were standing. But when you got into the shot, it was literally white noise. So it was fine. It was fun. I thought it was all right.

Q. Is there a difference in keeping the winning streak going versus the Ryder Cup trying to end a losing streak?
JIMMY WALKER: I don't know. This is my first one. So for me it's about winning one. The streak, yeah, I think these guys have been on the team and they may feel a little sense of that. Even though it is our team and it is the U.S. Team, I haven't been a part of it.

So keeping a streak going, I don't know. I haven't even thought about that. I want to go out and play my matches, win my points. Hopefully the other guys do too. The end goal is to win. But to get there, you have to do a lot of things right. I think we're looking good.

Q. Does it feel different at all team room-wise at this point in the Ryder Cup week or similar?
JIMMY WALKER: A little bit. I mean, it's a lot different because we're in a different place in a different part of the world. There was a lot more space to do stuff much the Ryder Cup last year. We're in a beautiful spot. The hotel is amazing. Everything's tighter, more confined, and it's maybe a little more close-knit. Everybody's more together. There is not as much room to spread out. So we are all closer together for sure.

But everybody's been pumped, and positive, and we're all talking. It's fun to talk to Chris about -- this is his first time in a team event. How's it going. How do you feel? Does it feel good? He had a lot of good stuff to say.

Q. What is the best thing about match play and this team match play format where you obviously don't play most of the year?
JIMMY WALKER: Well, we say that, but I go home and we play match play games all the time with friends. So it's still the same thing. We play matches throughout the year, little games on Tuesday. So it's -- I think we've been doing a lot more of it. It feels good. You get out there, get the emotions going and you need to make putts. It's fun. Feeding off your partner and getting each other going and picking each other up when you need to. It's fun.

Q. Describe the challenge of the golf course?
JIMMY WALKER: The challenge of the golf course is setting yourself up on the greens. It seems to be a lot of second shot driven. So I think it's about giving yourself the best chance to make birdie, especially on -- because you can have some serious little breakers here on the golf course. So you want to be very conscientious of where you're leaving the golf ball on the green.

Q. Do you change the way you play because it's match play or is it the same sort of strategy as stroke play?
JIMMY WALKER: Best ball is more kind of stroke play. But match play gets completely different on an individual level, but at the same time it just can change, everything can change in a heartbeat. Your opponents has bad shots, it eases up. Sometimes a par is looking really good, and you don't have to press so hard. Sometimes you know what you've got to do, so, yeah, it's different.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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