	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 26, 2017

Rickie Fowler

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. Rickie, what does Phil Mickelson bring to the team?
RICKIE FOWLER: Phil brings a lot of wisdom, this being his 23rd team event. I think this is his 12th Presidents Cup. The reason I know that is because I saw 12 Cups on his golf bag earlier today. You know, when you start to have a decoration down there on the bottom of the belly of the bag, that's pretty good because I've got two. I remember last year I was in J.T.'s spot, I had one little solo trophy, like man, why is that thing so small, and you see Phil's and he's got 12 lined up.

He's just good. He's very good behind closed doors as far as when it comes to maybe what questions we might get asked here; Phil, how would you handle certain questions. He's great with understanding what it's like being on the team, pairings, how guys can match up, how they're performing out there, maybe guys that haven't played a whole lot of alternate-shot, especially since we have six rookies on the team, it's a new experience, so he's definitely a guy that guys look to as well as all of our captains.

Q. In Korea he showed up in pajama bottoms with flags all over them. Did he show up in anything last night?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, he actually had some kind of jogger/sweats, one side was the stars, one side was the stripes. So American flag pants. Phil is all in on the team events. It's fun to see. I think being on the teams with him and then being part of the task force leading into the Ryder Cup last year, seeing how much it really means to him and Tiger, and then being able to have him here playing and having Tiger as assistant captain, they're two guys that are kind of invaluable.

Q. This is your fifth team event?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yes.

Q. How much more comfortable are you now as opposed to your first one, and can you pass along anything to the six rookies?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think I can help a little bit. I would say more so on logistics and kind of what goes on and what to expect, not necessarily on the golf course. These guys know how to play. They know what to do, what to expect out there. But more dealing with going through the city, some of the dinners, how casual we might be dressing for a team dinner, hanging out. But yeah, I'm kind of like a middle -- kind of sticking in the middle somewhere right now. Not exactly a vet, but I'm not a rookie.

Q. Given all you guys are firing on all cylinders, coming into this point right now where every guy is playing well just coming off the TOUR Championship, obviously, what do you think the international team thinks where you're at right now as far as strength-wise?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, they're definitely not looking at us as a team that they can't beat or anything like that. They've got a strong team themselves, and by no means are we looking past them thinking that we are necessarily favored to win this. I mean, when it comes down to match play, the favorite doesn't always win. Golf is a funny sport. We've got our work cut out for us. We need to go out there and play well. Yeah, we are a very talented team. We've had a lot of success this year top to bottom. But it all comes down to this week. Doesn't matter what we did the last 10, 11 months. We've got to show up and play some golf this week, and like I said, we're playing the Internationals this week. The International Team, they're ready to take that chance of getting a win because they pushed us right until the end two years ago.

Q. What do you think about the course setup?
RICKIE FOWLER: The course is great. I mean, it's fun to play for stroke play. I think it sets up almost even better for match play with how the greens are sectioned off. There's a couple risk-reward holes, and you can get aggressive with some of the pin locations and get rewarded for some good shots. You're going to have to hit it close to some pins to make birdies. There's some hole locations it's going to be tough to make long putts to, so I think at times it's going to reward some aggressive play out there, which is great for match play and Presidents Cup.

Q. Hole No. 12, the drivable par-4, what do you think is going to be your play? Are you going to go for it?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, best ball, definitely. Alternate-shot is going to be kind of a different look, depending on who's teeing off, where the pin is at, what the wind is doing. Best ball I feel like you almost have the first guy go, see what happens there. If you need to lay up, you lay up. First guy hits a decent shot, the second guy can go, and then you have two balls up by the green. But yeah, strategy becomes a lot different when you're looking at best ball versus alternate-shot. Things can be a lot more conservative in alternate-shot just because you're really playing for -- to keep moving forward. You can't really afford big mistakes. You don't want to give away holes. The more holes you can stay in, play a solid round of golf, the better off you'll be in that.

Q. Last question, the shoes.
RICKIE FOWLER: Hey, I'm on Team USA, so got my stars and stripes.

Q. The first tee shot sets up to be make nerve-racking, a lot of energy, maybe loud. What do you see that spot being like?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think it's going to be great. I like what they've done with kind of the semi-horseshoe, similar to what we've seen at some Ryder Cups, especially the Ryder Cups overseas. We've seen plenty of energy in those, so it's going to be fun and interesting to see how crazy we can get this New York crowd and how many people we can get out here. I think this will be kind of a glimpse to what we may see at Bethpage. I'm looking forward to it.

Obviously us being hometown and country favorites, but I'm looking forward to -- hopefully the fans are fair and cheer for good golf. Yeah, they're going to cheer for the U.S. probably louder and more often, but just appreciate the good golf that everyone is going to get to see this week.

Q. On that first tee shot, it's not easy, either, the location of it, but that fairway is not easy to hit, either.
RICKIE FOWLER: No, they've definitely picked one of the harder tee shots on the golf course to start out the round. If I'm a spectator, I'm going to make sure that I'm not standing around 260 to 300 up the right side. With water left, I mean, you hit a good shot, you're going to end up in the fairway, but there's going to be quite a few balls that may tail right, and like I said, if you're a spectator, don't stand at 260 to 300.

Q. Can you just talk about what Tiger brings to the team and how much he's been working with you guys?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think for me, getting to see the inside -- I talked about this earlier with Phil and Tiger when I was on that task force leading up to last year's Ryder Cup, seeing what these team events really mean to those guys, not something that I think maybe the media or the public had really seen beforehand. Their enthusiasm, how much they go in depth on players and formats and how things can play out and these pods and all kinds of stuff. I mean, Tiger probably has spent over the last few years between the Ryder Cup and here, more time on all the guys on the team as far as his homework and research and what he's doing and looking into everything. He spend more time on that than he did homework at Stanford. There's no question about that. Both him and Phil, they're die-hards. They love this game. They love the guys on the team. They want to see us all succeed. So it's cool. It's cool to be playing alongside Phil when you know that he's that passionate about it, and then, like I said, playing for a guy like Tiger when you know he's that passionate about it, too.

Q. What do you think the international team's biggest assets are, and conversely, what do you think your team -- what's the biggest challenge for you guys this week?
RICKIE FOWLER: I'll go with our team first. I think the biggest challenge -- I mean, I feel like we've all, top to bottom, had a very good year. We've all been playing great. We've had a lot of wins on the team. But that doesn't matter anymore. It just comes down to this week. Not letting expectations get too high, sticking to your game plan, just go out and play golf like we have been all year, and we'll be okay.

The international side, they've got a lot of fire power. They're ready to come out and get things done, being in a good position two years ago to kind of push us all the way to the end. I know they're excited to get back out and get the matches going and kind of start up where they left off. Like I said, they're ready to go, and I think guys as a team are just kind of managing the expectations, because yes, we have been playing really well, but that doesn't matter anymore.

Q. Do you see the crowds this week being as partisan as maybe last year?
RICKIE FOWLER: I'm not sure really what to expect, how big a crowds we'll get out for this weekend. I'm hoping we get big crowds. New York is an amazing sports city year-round from football to baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer. I mean, they've got it all going on. There's always something going on in the city, whether it's entertainment, but especially sports. For us to be able to have this event here right by the city and for us to be able to stay in the city, there's going to be plenty of energy. I'm hoping that we get the fan turnout that we think we can. My hope is that -- I talked about it earlier, that the fans will just respect good golf. I know as the U.S. Team we're probably going to get some louder cheers, more cheers, but at the end of the day, yeah, respect good golf. You're going to see a lot of it this week, and hopefully we can just make them cheer a little louder on Sunday, but we've got our work cut out for us.

Q. A lot of these events have been played in New York. Has there ever been a time that something has been said outside the ropes that's made you laugh?
RICKIE FOWLER: Made me laugh? Every once in a while we'll get maybe something original, but for the most part, I feel like all of us as players have heard just about everything. Once you're out here for a few years, a guy like Phil, he's definitely heard everything. Every once in a while you get something original and kind of laugh, but typically don't try and, I guess, acknowledge is too much just because I think it may egg that on a little bit more ^ check, and this is a little bit different being in a team event versus a normal tournament. For me at a normal tournament, I might be just focusing on what I'm trying to do and take care of business. Here if we're up in a match, I'm going to be trying to get my partner to stay hyped up, have some fun, make sure the fans are as into it as we are, but like I said, at the same time, making sure that they're not hating on anyone. I don't want to see any of that this week.

Q. You've represented your country many times before in this, the Ryder Cup. I wonder if you could talk us through how you feel when you hear the National Anthem played and how you act in that moment.
RICKIE FOWLER: I would say one of the coolest experiences was being able to hear that down at the Olympics. I mean, it's pretty amazing, and to be able to go and represent your country, that was probably one of the biggest stages you can, obviously in sports anywhere, is to be there for that. I mean, it gives you chills, still gives me chills thinking about it. I mean, being able to think back why we have our flag, what it stands for, and to be able to kind of pay respect and honor the people that gave us that opportunity to do so.

Q. Some of the football players felt differently over the weekend; how did you feel when you saw that, the action and the protests they were making?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I think the same reason we have our flag, our freedom, the people that fought for our fight to be able to do that, those guys have their right and freedom of speech to do what they want. I don't necessarily think it's the right time to do it, it's our National Anthem, it's our country's flag, so it's a special time to, I guess, in a way pay respect and remember what a great country we get to live in, but it is free speech. You can do what you want. But I just think it may be better at a different time.

Q. Has the team discussed how you guys collectively feel about it?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, I think we're going to go about it, from what I've heard, is what we all normally do, stand, take our hat off, hand over our heart, and look forward to this match and event we get to play here. Especially being here with the backdrop of the city and the Statue of Liberty, it's pretty cool. There's no better backdrop for an event like this.

Q. Tiger has been sort of isolated from everybody, you and Justin have practiced with him, but in terms of having that camaraderie, he really hasn't. How much do you think it will help him this week to be back in the fold? I mean, we're talking about how he'll be helping you, but it seems like he'll get a lot, maybe even more out of it.
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, no, I think he's going to love -- already has, but going to love being around all the guys this week, being able to hang out. Yeah, Justin and I have been able to spend a little bit of time with him back in Jupiter, from going to the house, practicing a little bit, to going to dinner and hanging. Yeah, he hasn't been on the road a whole lot, so he hasn't been able to hang with the boys. I know we're all excited that he's here. He's a great asset to the team. He's obviously someone we look to for advice when needed, but yeah, no, we're happy to have him, and I know he's excited to be here, as well.

Q. I don't know if this is asked before, but can you talk about the first hole and how daunting of a tee shot that is to start off the Presidents Cup?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, we talked about it. It's -- I mean, they picked one of the hardest tee shots on the golf course as the first tee shot. I mentioned earlier, I said, if I'm a fan, I'm not standing at -- I said 260, even maybe 250, someone might take one less club off, 250 to 300 on the right side, don't stand there. There's water left, and I feel like there will be a handful of balls peeling off right, just to make sure they're safe. It's not necessarily a narrow fairway, it's just that the water is right there, and that wouldn't be the best of ways to start, so don't stand on the right.

Q. What club do you think most guys are going to be taking off that?
RICKIE FOWLER: It's going to depend on the wind. I know as the next couple days go on, the wind is going to start to come out of the north, which will make that hole play a little bit downwind, and I think you'll see guys hit anywhere from 2-iron to driver. I would say most common maybe 3-wood or so.

Q. What do you make of the -- you've played here before this, just the rerouting. They have the actual 18th pretty much always in play and 14th, and with the par-3 ender on 18, if you go to 18 holes, what do you make of that? Do you like that setup?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think it's a good setup with having now the 10th hole, the short par-3. It's a great hole to have in the middle of the round. The drivable par-4, which is now 12. It's nice to have that earlier rather than it being -- what would that be, 16 normally? And then 18, a great hole. A picturesque finish for a normal round of golf, but for that to be 14, a majority of the matches are going to go there for the most part. So I think having that stretch, now No. 10 to 14, that five-hole stretch is going to create a cool backdrop for a lot of matches coming kind of down to their conclusion.

Q. You referenced Tiger the other day or just a moment ago. He seemed to really relish the Ryder Cup experience. Talk about what kind of stuff he brought to the table for you guys with that.
RICKIE FOWLER: I think one of the -- some of the coolest stuff is seeing from him -- and I mentioned both him and Phil since I was part of the task force with them, but was the excitement, their enthusiasm, their commitment to it, seeing it behind closed doors, what it really means to them versus kind of I feel like what the fans maybe see or what the media may see, just from the outside looking in. But to see their dedication to the team and the guys on the team and how much they love it, these weeks to Phil, from what he's said, these are the most fun and the weeks he looks forward to the most throughout the years.

Q. You know when you were younger there was a perception that the U.S. didn't really care that much about the Ryder Cup. There was a perception when there was a lot of losing. Fans probably looked to guys like Tiger thinking that it wasn't something that was important to him.
RICKIE FOWLER: I think they were just trying to find excuses. I feel like -- the Ryder Cup especially with the history and obviously being around longer, it's always been a big deal, and the guys that have played in ones before I came around, they hate losing. They didn't like being on that side. No, and what's weird is they looked at that as the U.S. not being close enough, and then I think we were starting to get hated on for being too close and spending too much time together talking about guys like myself, Jordan, Justin. They talked about 15 years ago that there wasn't enough camaraderie on the PGA TOUR. Now there's too much. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297