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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 27, 2017

Charl Schwartzel

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. Nice start to the week so far.
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, great. Can't beat the weather, golf course is great.

Q. It's supposed to cool down a little bit.
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, I think it will be better. It's actually a bit hot.

Q. Back here at the Presidents Cup. Just first talk about the golf course and how the week's been going thus far?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, it's been phenomenal. The weather's been absolutely fantastic, the golf course is in the best shape you would ever get it in. Just being on the team environment with all the guys, it's great. We have been having such a good time and really good feelings for this week.

Q. You're starting to kind of become one of the veterans out there on the team. What's it like kind of bringing up these guys that are just starting out?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: It's great, but the guys I think the difference in our team this time around is there's a lot of the guys that are PGA veterans. They play out here week-in, week-out. They're used to the big stage, they're used to playing in America in front of big crowds. The only advice that we can really give them is sort of what's happened in the past, so we have had a few rookies come up and ask various questions and we also give some of our past experiences to help them wherever we can.

Q. (No Microphone.)
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: We played a few practice rounds, me and Hideki. And there's not much to say about Hideki, he's just an unbelievable golfer. The guy's had a phenomenal year and so have I, I've played really consistent, so we make up a really good match. I like the big stage and we have got a good match tomorrow, got Rickie, that's a guy that when he gets that putter going, he's hot. Obviously Justin Thomas don't have to talk too much about him, he's had a great year.

Q. Did you play here in playoff events?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I did.

Q. What was your impression of the golf course then?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Back then I did like it as well. I thought it was a good course. I like the way it always challenges you, there's always a little bit of wind. The greens have got a lot of contours, so you got to be accurate with your irons, you got to leave the ball in the right places, so it always makes you think. It's not just a straightforward course where you can hit it and you're going to be fine. You got to think around it. I think this time around it's just a much better conditioned golf course.

Q. Do you like the setup of the course?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: The new routing? I think it works for this week. There was nothing wrong with the way it was in the past, I thought, but that first hole is, that's a phenomenal starting hole, you're not going to get much better than that. It's going to cause a lot of drama right from the beginning. Then finishing with a par-3 where you've got 6- or 7-iron in, it's one of those where the way the green's shaped, you've got to be really accurate. It doesn't take so much of a bad shot to end up in a bad spot where you could almost give the hole away with a bogey or a really good shot you can make birdie. So there's a lot that can happen on that last hole, too.

Q. How tired are you right now of losing in this event?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: No, we are probably pretty sick and tired of it. I think this time it just feels, everyone on the team feels so much more up for it, the vibe from the very beginning and I think it's because we're a much younger team. The guys somehow just got, are so enthusiastic about it and that's really a big battle won. There's no hiding about it, the American team is just super strong, I mean it is what it is. But 18 hole match play and in the formats we're playing, it really is anyone's game. Anyone on the day in our team can beat any player in that team. And I think that's why there's a competition. That's why it can be exciting.

Q. Is the pairing with Hideki something you guys talked about earlier this year?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, you know, I mentioned to Nick a little bit, I spent a lot of time with him, that I think we would actually do really good together, because we both like to do our own thing. You get guys that are, that like to be really high-fiving and be out there, but I'm more, I like to do my own thing and Hideki the same. He just does his thing. I think that's why we could potentially be a really good team.

Q. Do you feel like -- have you talked to him much this week? He had a little bit of a down turn in the playoffs. Played pretty good in the TOUR Championship. Have you talked to him about that?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, I think, I don't think you can take too much a lot of times from the TOUR championships because it's one of those events where if you start off a little badly, it's a tough week to get back from. Hideki has had such an unbelievable year it doesn't take much -- we all know he's an unbelievable player and sometimes for a guy like him, he just needs that pressure and that important feeling of the moment and he's just going to rise to it. So we're not worried about Hideki.

Q. What do you think of the golf course and what have you learned over the last two days of practice on the course?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Well I think the golf course is going to be a really, it's really well setup for the formats we're playing. It's going to be dramatic. There's a lot of water hazards, the greens are so pure that if you are playing well, it feels like you can shoot 8-under no problem. Feels like if you're going to miss shots slightly, you're going to be severely penalized with water hazards. So there's going to be holes that are just going to be given away out here and I think you're going to have some really good matches where there's going to be lots of birdies made. And also the golf course lends itself to, with all the contours on the greens, there's a lot of slopes you can use, and on top of it it's just in fantastic shape. It's going to be a good week.

Q. Not every match is going to get to 18 but what do you think of a par-3 on the 18th hole?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I think it's a great par three if matches get to it. Because the way the green's shaped it doesn't take much to hit it really close and it doesn't take much to make a really soft bogey. Because of the angle of the green, you always have to be aggressive but you always have to have the exact right club. So if you're going to pull it off, you're 1-down, you're going to pull it off, there's a very good chance you're going to win the hole. But vice-versa, if you're up, you can still hit a sort of decent shot, but you just get your angle wrong, you're going to sit with a really up-and-down. So I think you're going to see a lot of changes on that last hole, if they do get there.

Q. What do you think it's going to take you guys to beat the U.S.?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Just every player on our team has got to play probably the best golf they have played for the year. The U.S. team is obviously they -- they're great. They're a great team. They're all confident. I think the one thing in our favor a lot of them played at the TOUR Championships, more than us, we had a lot more guys rested, we are more, we are fresher coming in here and if we can get off to a good start and just affect their confidence a little bit, game's on.

Q. Do you have any their own why you guys have struggled so much?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I was walking out on the course today and I was watching the results of the foursomes of our whole team and we just keep losing in it. And I think a part of it is because we have got, Monday is like the first day we really start playing sort of together. So you're trying to get parings in one day we got Tuesday to play. And then you've got America, the American team play every year, they got Ryder Cup, so they got a lot more trial and error to see really who does well and comfortable with each other. Because the biggest thing with that foursomes is you got to be super comfortable with the guy you're playing with. You cannot be uncomfortable or feel like you are hitting bad shots or that you're letting the guy down or the guy can't be intimidated for some reason with his partner, you must be really comfortable. Our team, just because we're so, so many different nationalities, it sometimes makes it difficult. But I don't have another explanation for why.

Q. You guys had some interesting visitors during the team photos with the juniors out there. Talk about the opportunity they have playing in a Junior Presidents Cup and what it was like interacting with them?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I can just imagine what those guys are going through when they were playing last week, earlier this week. What an experience for them. What a way to get a feeling for what these team events are like and on such big stages. I think maybe with this starting it's great for golf, I think you'll see those generation players when they come on to TOUR and come through I think you're going to see a lot of guys that are rookies that will do a lot better than rookies now days.

Q. I guess it says something to the health of junior golf in South Africa, three guys make the team out of 12?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, that's amazing. There's a good, there's a really good bunch of players coming out of there now. We had a bit of a gap there where we struggled a bit, but it looks like there's some real good potential.

Q. On a slightly different topic, but obviously related, IOC approved golf in the Olympic games through 2024, your thoughts on that and having opted not to go to Rio, do you think come Tokyo 2020 there will be a different vibe, a different feeling, a different desire?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, for sure. I think that Rio, well for me certainly it was the, there was that virus that you could have picked up, because we were trying for more children, so that was mainly my only decision why I didn't go. But there's no such things at this stage in Japan. So if I make the team I'll be there.

Q. Do you think, how good is it for some people said, oh, maybe golf shouldn't be in the Olympics. Now we know that we're extending through Paris 2024, how important do you think it is for the sport not just for countries like South African a the U.S. but nontraditional countries?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: The more you can expose the game, the better for everyone that's involved in the game. There's no better, no bigger party than the Olympics. So if you can be a part of that I think it's a great deal.

Q. What do you think about playing with Hideki?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I'm looking forward to it. We played the last few days.

Q. How was it?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, we had so much fun. Hideki's such a good golfer that I think anyone on the team can really play with him, so but we matched well and yeah, I think both of us are looking forward to playing tomorrow. He's an unbelievable golfer.

Q. What about the communication between the two of you? Is there a lot of hand gestures? How does that work?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: No, I think for us that he's why we would be a good pairing is that both of us prefer to almost not talk, to just do our own thing and in that way we can play our game the way we play every week. Where if you have a guy that wants to be more interactive, I think it can put Hideki off or vice versa. So for us, this works because I like to do my thing and Hideki likes to do his thing. And that way we play our best.

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