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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 28, 2017

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. Once again winners for the American Team, no matter which team competition it is. What is it about you two that you mesh so well in this system?
JORDAN SPIETH: We just want to beat each other. When we're playing alternate-shot, we want to be the ones to make the putt, not our own teammate -- obviously we're rooting for each other but it's kind of a competition within itself that for whatever reason works for us.

Q. What is it about the first day that gets your emotions so raw to get out here and calm yourself down to be able to play excellent golf?
PATRICK REED: It's easy to get going. Driving by the Statue of Liberty, you have the National Anthem right before I play; usually when I get to go on to that first tee, I'm hyped up, and this guy brings me down. He's really calm and let's me ease into it.

Q. What what is it about the partnership that's so comfortable?
JORDAN SPIETH: I think it comes down to on the greens. We've been very, very solid together. We believe each other is going to make it. We get confident in our reads and we put aggressive putts on it because we're okay with leaving our partner something coming back.

We do make quite a few putts together. That's what ended up being the case today. We went from 4-up to 2-up and they had a little bit of momentum, and then we had a little flip on No. 11 and we won 11, 12, 14 to close this match out. It was really with the putter.

Q. You knew when you were warming up today that it was going to be difficult conditions. How tough was it to choose the right club and judge the breeze?
PATRICK REED: It's a challenge but we're used to playing in wind like this. You know, we've played in it before, and really, you get through the first couple holes, you kind of figure out how far the golf ball is going. Biggest thing is not putting your partner in really bad spots on a day like today because pars are good enough to win holes.

For me, it feels a little easier because I don't hit a lot of fairways, so when I'm playing for the fairways, I'm like, all right, this is pretty easy. If this guy, with how well he's hitting the ball, I feel really confident he can go at anything, and us together, I feel like on the greens, we're almost unstoppable.

Q. I don't know what the tipping point in the match was, maybe the 40-footer for par on 11 was critical?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, other than the flip on 11, this was a pretty boring day for us, but boring is what we needed today. We really only hit, I want to say, two shots that we shouldn't hit today. We both had an iron shot that we'd like over again.

But on a day like today, even our missed fairways were in the correct spots and we were able to get it up near or around the green when we couldn't get it up-and-down, and our short games kind of showed off.

Q. Impressive victory, something you're used to doing is winning when you play together. 4-up on the front nine, and your opponents made a quick run back at you to turn it to two. How were you able to close the match out?
JORDAN SPIETH: We had a nice flip on 11. We were in trouble and we could have made our third bogey in four holes with the birdie in there, which was unlike the rest of the match. We were playing pretty solid golf.

Then I dropped a bomb on 11 and they missed their par putt and it went from potentially being 1-up to being 3-up, and then Patrick hit an awesome chip, which was a lot harder than it looked on 12th, the drivable hole, and we still won there. We were really solid on the greens. We didn't make many mistakes from inside of ten feet, and in this wind, that was key.

Q. Interesting you brought up the wind. Considering how familiar you guys are with each other's game, these tougher conditions, was that an advantage for you guys, considering you were playing against two rookies?
PATRICK REED: I don't think so. When it's windy like this, with how comfortable we are around the greens and on the greens, it just seemed like if we got ourselves in a bad spot we were able it figure out how to get it up-and-down and save par. You know, it's just kind of one of those things in match play, especially with it windy and conditions like this. Everyone thinks you need a lot of birdies to win, but when you're playing alternate-shot and it's blowing like this, pars get it done.

We hit the ball pretty well as a whole, but our short games definitely shined for us today.

Q. On the first tee, not every day you have three former Presidents watching you?
PATRICK REED: I hit it left and got lucky it didn't go in the hazard. No, it was awesome. Any time you can come and play for your country and have the Presidents, former Presidents come out and watch you play and hit that first tee shot, it gives you goosebumps and gets you ready for the day.

Q. What did you say to them and what did they say to you?
PATRICK REED: I said, "Hi, how you doing? It's been a while." The usual hello, how you doing and how proud they are that we're here representing our country.

JORDAN SPIETH: It's very rare that you get three Presidents one place, very rare. Should feel lucky for that. They are all avid golfers and have done a lot for the game of golf, too. It's pretty awesome to have them there.

I've gotten to play a bit of golf with the W, and he absolutely loves it. He's a nut for it, and the other two are known to do it, as well. Cool of them to show up. I know it's the Presidents Cup, but they certainly have pretty busy schedules.

Q. Can you talk about the putt on 11? That was probably the turning point of the match.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was a double-breaker. I had to start it about a foot out left and just -- it's all about the pace, right. They hit a chip that was in a little bit of trouble, and they were going to have a pretty tricky putt. I thought, you know, we get off this green still 2-up by just hitting a nice putt down there, and then we're going to be okay. We got through our little stretch of not so good golf.

As it was coasting down, it took the break that I saw on it, with about five, six feet to go and just got outside the right edge to take the next turn left, which was a double breaker.

As it took that turn, I put my putter up and kind of looked away and then I went up so early to make sure it went in, but it was a really cool putt. It was the difference in our match.

Q. I was watching Tiger watch you guys. Does that ever normalize, like the greatest golfer of your generation watching you hit these shots? He's right over there. It's like you're performing in front of the maestro.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, he's become a mentor at this point to us. He's a peer and a mentor and somebody who we feel like we have an advantage when he's around us.

It's fantastic. He knows; he knows he affects the people that are around him when they are not used to playing with him, and so he knows it's an advantage having him around. We'll take anything we can get there.

Q. Combined for one fairway in the first six holes. Was it the conditions?
JORDAN SPIETH: It was obviously the conditions; it was so difficult. We only had a few bad shots as a group. I think we shot even or 1-under today, actually finishing everything out, too. That was a tremendous score. That would have been a great individual score on a day like today in the tournament, and it was going to win most every match, playing a really, really solid team.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 28, 2017

Jordan Spieth

Patrick Reed