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THE RYDER CUPOctober 1, 2016Darren ClarkeMinneapolis, Minnesota, USA Q. How important was it for Sergio and Rafa to come back the way they did? DARREN CLARKE: Yeah, massive, huge. To have that heart and to have that belief and to have that team thing. I mean, the two guys are just so pumped up for it. They worked hard. Every other pairing are trying to do the same thing. Every team member is trying to do the same thing. Certainly from their point of view, just to push it that further for the team is fantastic. Q. Thoughts on your pairings for the afternoon? DARREN CLARKE: Strong. You look down the list at the guys that are down there, they are obviously very experienced players, the majority of them. They are right there and they want to play. A lot of them, it's four matches in a row, but they are ready to go. Q. Five of your guys play five matches and you've done that yourself; is it a calculated risk? DARREN CLARKE: It's something that I spoke to all of them about before and they were all comfortable to do so if asked to do so, and that's what they have done. Q. How much has the mood changed for you? DARREN CLARKE: Yeah, obviously yesterday morning was not the start that we were looking, but you know, there was 24 more points to play for. You know, it was the Americans obviously played very, very well yesterday morning. We weren't firing on all cylinders. Yesterday afternoon the guys stood up to the plate and went out and I thought played fantastically well. Again today, they have gone out this morning, they fought hard, and it was unbelievable match play, ebbs and flows going all over the place. They hung in there, and Sergio and Rafa to get that half-point and coming back from what seemed impossible was a huge boost again. There's still a long, long way to go, with these this afternoon, and then all those singles tomorrow. But it's good. It's exciting. Q. You talked about the ebbs and flows. More so than perhaps any other event in this sport, there's momentum at The Ryder Cup. DARREN CLARKE: There is. There is. Q. Unlike at any other event in this sport. Having said that, how do you get the guys to step back, calm down and play the golf you know they can play, as opposed to having their heartbeat out of their chest? DARREN CLARKE: That's something we're stressing. We have six guys that have played Ryder Cups before and they all know that. It's something that gets you going like no other tournament does. You get excited and you get looking forward to it and it's a mixture of nerves and trepidation of how you're going to go out and play. For the most part, the experienced guys take the young guys under their wing and explain to them, and it's all preparation and buildup to this week, and they get here and they understand a little bit more. But believe me, there is nothing in our sport that compares to standing on that tee in a Ryder Cup. That blows everything else away, majors included. You know, the guys took to it really well and they have been focused on their task. Certainly as a captain, I'm unbelievably proud of them, the way they have managed to fight their way back to get themselves to this point. Q. From this point yesterday to where you stand now, how impressed and how proud are you of the character of this team? DARREN CLARKE: Massively proud. They have fought and showed true grit. From this time yesterday, it's been a long road back, but we're just trying to get -- the message was try and win each session, try and win some points back and thus far we've managed to do it. Q. How important are the experienced guys on this team and the vice captains getting the rookies to this point? DARREN CLARKE: We all have done, everybody on this team, from my point of view, as a collective, nobody is more important than anybody else. Yes, no doubt, Rory, Henrik, JR, Sergio, Lee, Martin, all the senior guys; but in terms of the whole thing, everybody's exactly the same. That's what we are in the team room. Nobody's more important than anybody else. And the likes of Andy Sullivan who is sitting out this afternoon. He's absolutely gutted and I went in and gave him a big hug and said, I'm sorry, Sully, but he understands, it's all about the team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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