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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 27, 2017

Daniel Berger

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. Tell us about the chemistry between you guys.
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, we go back a long ways. Obviously being from south Florida he was a little bit older than I was playing high school golf, but got to spend a year with him at Florida State and those were the good times and obviously the last couple years on TOUR, so we're very friendly, we hang out back at home, we play golf together and it's just like just another round.

Q. When you play at home and you play against each other or are you guys usually paired up against two other guys?
DANIEL BERGER: No, usually play against each other. But we have played a lot in the last I would say four weeks, five weeks, the playoffs we played every playoff event together, so I got to spend a lot of time with him and we have similar personalities, we're very competitive, and it's a good partner for me.

Q. (No Microphone.)
DANIEL BERGER: For sure. I think that he wants to win really bad, I want to win really bad, but at the same time our expectations are low, we don't try too hard, we just do what we can do and if that's good enough, then that's good enough.

Q. You probably don't play alternate shot at home.
DANIEL BERGER: We do not play alternate shot, we have had the last couple days to work on that and we were playing well, we took down Jordan and Patrick, which apparently doesn't mean much because they have never won a practice round match, but we played good, so that's what matters.

Q. Was that today or yesterday.
DANIEL BERGER: That was yesterday and today.

Q. You took them down both days?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, but that doesn't matter, apparently, so, to me I was like, hey, man, we beat them, but they don't think it matters.

Q. How about growing up having tennis as a background for you. Does that help you in the match play mentality?
DANIEL BERGER: I haven't played a ton of match play, so I can't really answer that, but I don't think it really changes anything. I think the biggest thing will just be more of the team aspect and being around other guys and having other guys support you and that's pretty cool.

Q. (No Microphone.)
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, we, I played with Louis a bunch of times, I hang out with Branden a lot. Obviously they have played well the last Presidents Cup. And it's golf, it doesn't matter where we are, whoever plays the best golf's going to win. So we're just going to go out there and have some fun and do our thing.

Q. Scale of 1 to 10 how jacked up are you?
DANIEL BERGER: I'm a 10. I was ready to go at the TOUR Championship. I felt like this almost over shadowed it a little bit because I was so pumped up for the Presidents Cup. But I came in the last couple weeks having some good time and preparation with my coach, Jeff Leishman, and he's not here this week, but I feel really prepared, like I've done everything I need to do and now it's just about going out there and having fun.

Q. What's been your favorite moment from the week?
DANIEL BERGER: Just the team bonding. A lot of the times when we're at tournaments everyone has their family out, you're done with your round you go to dinner at this time, they go to dinner at that time. But it's more of a, it's a team. We hang out every day and there's not one guy that I wouldn't want to hang out on this team. Like every single person is a great guy and all their wives and girlfriend are great people and we just have a great time together.

Q. What's it like having Tiger our here this week?
DANIEL BERGER: I have hung out with him a little bit my rookie year when he was still playing. I've got to know him obviously we have the same agents in Mark Steinberg. He's been really, really positive this week, he's been really into the role of assistant captain and he's the greatest player of all time so when he talks you listen. He has great information, so I'm listening to every bit that he has.

Q. (No Microphone.)
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, for sure, Tiger is Tiger, but I was never necessarily one of those guys that watched a bunch of golf growing up. I watched a bunch of other sports. So obviously he's one of the greatest athletes of all time, but there's a presence when you're around him, you can feel like something in the air and it's just cool to be a part of that.

Q. You guys are both Florida State guys.
DANIEL BERGER: Yup.

Q. Quite a bit different in age or a little bit different in age, so how much interaction was there at school?
DANIEL BERGER: We spent a whole year together, so like when you're college teammates with someone you did everything together, essentially. You're with each other at practice every day, you're with each other at tutoring, you're with each other off the golf course when you're going out, so essentially we spent the whole year together.

Q. (No Microphone.)
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, especially this, obviously we went to college together, but at the same time we have been, I've been on TOUR for three years now and he's been on TOUR for four or five or whatever, so we have crossed paths a bunch of times. We live 10 minutes from each other. We play at the same golf courses. We're very friendly.

Q. Is this a good course for you?
DANIEL BERGER: I think every course is a good course for me, but this course, it sets up nicely. I think the holes that I'm going to tee off on work in my favor and the holes that he's going to tee off on work in his favor. So it's just a good group and I feel good about our games and how we're going to play tomorrow.

Q. What do you think of the par three on the 18th hole? Maybe a lot of matches won't make it to 18.
DANIEL BERGER: Well there is a chance that the matches go to the 18th, but I think it's great. It can be an exciting finish, you can hit one good shot and you can win the match right there. So it's going to be exciting and the whole golf course is really amazing, the superintendent and the staff here have done a great job. It's in pristine condition, the greens are fantastic, you really can't ask for a better venue to host a Presidents Cup.

Q. What do you think of their team?
DANIEL BERGER: In terms of what?

Q. In terms of what they represent today with their players?
DANIEL BERGER: They're our opponents and if you look at who is on their team you have former world No. 1, you have Major champions, you have Mark Leishman who won a week and a half ago, so whoever says that this is going to be easy is lying because we're going to have to play very good golf to win and if we don't do that, then we'll lose. So that's pretty much cut and dried. We play well, we win. If we don't, we lose. So I don't care what anyone says, that's just how it's going to be.

Q. Charl Schwartzel said that a lot of your guys have been playing a lot lately because of the TOUR finals. That could be an advantage for them because they have the chance to rest.
DANIEL BERGER: Absolutely. That's a huge advantage to have a couple weeks off. I look at it as, for me personally, I would rather come into this week having played golf than not having played golf. We were on a very big stage last week at the TOUR Championship with a lot on the line, and I think that for me personally I would rather come off of that week into a big week like this than just be sitting at home during your practice and your workouts and stuff like that. So, you can look at it both ways, but I think that it's an advantage for us having all played.

Q. Talk about what you think it would be like for the Junior Presidents Cup players to interact with you guys and just have that opportunity to do that.
DANIEL BERGER: It's really cool. I wish that when I was playing through that stage of my career that I would have had a chance to do something like that, but it wasn't that many years ago that I was doing that, so I'm just very astonished at how good these guys are at how young of an age they are.

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