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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 26, 2017

Adam Hadwin

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. What's it been like so far?
ADAM HADWIN: It's been great. You know, I think we're really coming together as a team. Really enjoying each other's company. Enjoying New York City. It was great to get out and play the golf course finally with some of the other guys, and you know, played some alternate-shot and figure out how that might work on the golf course, because it's much different than us going out and teeing it up ourselves.

It's been a great experience so far and I'm sure the next 5 1/2 days are going to get even better.

Q. What's the loot bag been like for Jessica? Is she happy?
ADAM HADWIN: You know what, it's been great. I think some of the toys they got us this year, and she might like a little more electronic side of things, but it's great.

Obviously we get spoiled every week, and this week is a step above that. They treat us so well. You know, all the clothing, some of the gifts, and then just places we get to go, where we get to eat, and all that. So it's been great.

Q. Internationals obviously on a six-time losing streak. Only won once. How do you turn that around?
ADAM HADWIN: Just play good golf. We've got the best players in the world on both teams. Obviously they have got a strong team. But we've got a strong team, as well. I mean, you're talking about the best players in the world, guys that play on the PGA TOUR consistently. Guys that can win every week. It's just a matter of controlling nerves, going out and coming together as a team and believing in ourselves and making a few more putts than they do.

Q. How do you come together? What are you doing in the team room that's going to bond -- how are you going to bond when you are from different cultures, backgrounds and languages?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, certainly makes it a little more difficult but I think sport brings us all together. I think that's what's pretty cool about golf but all sports. We're playing ping-pong in the team room and we have an arcade game we are racing against each other.

Any little bit of time we can get, maybe just spending some time with somebody we don't normally spend time with; you know, sit with Hideki or Si at dinner or Jhon or Emiliano. Guys that we may not spend a whole lot of time with on the PGA TOUR but we are all part of the same team. Sit with them and their wives and get to know them a little bit better. Just sort of recognize we are all on the same team and we are all in it together.

Q. Are you talking about possible teammates of who you are going it pair up? Do you have a good idea?
ADAM HADWIN: I mean, yeah. Obviously we went off in the foursome today. I was playing with Jason Day, Marc Leishman and partnered with Anirban Lahiri. Whether that's an indication of what's to come on Thursday, Friday, I don't know. But obviously they put us together for a reason, I'm sure, in these practice rounds.

The captains and the assistants were out there scoping it out and seeing how everything is going. We'll see. I mean, I think that's -- I'll leave that up to the captains but any job is to get along with everybody and have fun with everybody and see how our games match up.

Q. Speaking of captains, how cool is it to have Mike Weir as part of the guys?
ADAM HADWIN: It's great. I think his captain's announcement was only a couple weeks either side of my win earlier this year.

You know, whether it was I won first and then he was announced; I mean, it was all very close. It was very important for me to make this team and give him some Canadian company this week. You know, he's great. He's a great guy to lean on. He's been such a great ambassador for golf in Canada. For me to be able to ask him and kind of go side-by-side with him is great.

Q. What do you think of the golf course?
ADAM HADWIN: I think it's great. I think conditions are perfect. You know, greens were quick today. It offers up a little bit of everything. You can make a bunch of birdies if you're hitting it well; and with a lot of the run-offs around the greens, you've got to be sort of pinpoint with your irons, otherwise you've got some tough up-and-downs.

You know, you could see guys go out, shoot, 7-, 8-under even maybe in foursomes, or a couple over, pretty easily.

Q. Foursomes has been the weak link for the International Team over the years. Have you talked about that?
ADAM HADWIN: No more than we've talked about anything else. We played an alternate-shot game today. I've not been on previous teams before and I'm not sure what they played. If that was sort of any indication of the importance they are putting on it, maybe.

It's such a tough format, you really have to come together as a team. It's sort of a format where you feel bad for letting your partner down sometimes with a bad shot. I think that can really get a team into trouble when you start feeling like that too many times. Just go out there and try and pick each other up. When you try and hit the next shot, just recover and you move on as a team.

Q. Talking to a lot of other guys, the first time they play in a Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, they talk about the pressure on the first tee. How much pressure do you think you'll feel on Thursday?
ADAM HADWIN: It's a great question. You'll probably have to ask me after I tee it up; assuming I tee it up. I was actually hoping we were going to have a big crowd today so I could kind of sense it and get a feel of what it might be like when the stands were empty. We'll see. Maybe there will be some more people tomorrow and I can get an idea. If not, you know, I kind of think back maybe to the first Masters this year, that tee is lined for 30, 40 yards and you can't really get away with much there. I survived that tee shot, so we'll see what happens.

Q. More vocal here an Augusta National?
ADAM HADWIN: Maybe slightly but they are cheering for us.

Q. It was great moment at the Canadian Open when Graham DeLaet chipped in to beat Spieth. Have you spoken to him at all?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, we texted a little bit, when it was official that I made the team. I reached out to him, and, you know, any words of wisdom he might have.

Graham is another great ambassador for Canadian golf. He's been great with me since I came out in 2010. I played well there at St. George's. A few words of advice from him, and trying to soak as much up from all these veterans that I can.

Q. What's your game condition like?
ADAM HADWIN: It's okay. That's about it. That's about as good as I can strive it right now.

You know, I grinded my butt off at East Lake last week. I just didn't do it's but it's so close. I guess everybody could say that in this game. It's such a fine line between shooting 65 and 75 out here some days.

Q. Do you think this format will let you get away with things you might not normally?
ADAM HADWIN: I think in foursomes play, you might maybe tend to be a little bit more conservative which never helps when you're trying to free things up. But certainly in a better-ball format, I think having a partner in that kind of thing can free things up. The one thing that's been so good with my game throughout sort of the last three years is my putting. It's held me in there so much.

I know if I can really -- all I need to do is keep the ball in play, and I'm going to have a chance. That's my main focus is just drill that in, find a few more fairways, and once I get on the greens, I know that I can compete with the best in the world for sure.

Q. What are you expecting from the crowds this week?
ADAM HADWIN: You know, I've begun to try and block out the New York noise. Just trying to sleep at nights, hearing traffic noise. I'm just pretending that's the gallery in my backswing. It is a very international city, so hopefully we get quite a bit of international support. But I imagine it's going to be heavily U.S. favored.

I'm going in with the worst of expectations of what could possibly happen to be prepared and hoping for the best.

Q. You talked about the fourball matches. Who would you want to be paired with the most this week? Who are you asking for?
ADAM HADWIN: To be honest, I'm not asking for anybody. It's a terrible answer, I know, for you guys in the media. We have got such a great team and they are all great guys. I just want to go out and do my part for this team. That's really it. If I can just play a little bit better golf than I have over the past couple weeks and contribute a few points, and hopefully bring back a cup for the Internationals, that's the goal.

Q. Talking about Graham's chip-in a few years ago. Is there a moment that sticks out for you over the years?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, the few for me, certainly what Graham did there at Muirfield, holing the bunker to chip-in and with the reaction, and then Mike Weir beating Tiger at Royal Montreal. I think that was a big moment for Canadian golf, as well.

Obviously Graham was part of the last team, and hopefully I can create some momentum and magic this week.

Q. Looks like there could be as many as four players -- how does that make you feel?
ADAM HADWIN: I feel like I've been saying for years, just give it a few more years. We're going to have more and more guys get out here. They are doing great things in PGA TOUR Canada and the Web.com and you're seeing the fruits of that labor. We have some great things happening on the PGA TOUR. Mac and myself had a great year this year. Nick improved. Graham is still playing well. And now to have, you know, just a bunch more talented Canadians come up, it just keeps getting better every year. You know, I hope one of these years, ten or 12 hopefully.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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