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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

October 1, 2017

The International Team

Jersey City, New Jersey

MARK WILLIAMS: Let's get underway. We'd like to welcome the International Team into the media center interview room. Let's start off with some comments from Captain Price.

If you could just make some comments on the day today and the tournament overall. You must be pretty satisfied with your team today, particularly.

NICK PRICE: You know, first of all, I just want to tell you what an absolute privilege and honor it was to lead these 12 players and the other four captains this week, and also to have been associated with them for the last year and a half.

This team had more buzz going for it at the start of this week than any other team I've ever been on. They were really into it; we all were. The five captains, we got together over the last eight, ten months, and we really put our heads together. We thought we had a great game plan, but unfortunately it just didn't pan out for us.

These guys tried their tails off. The Americans just had so much momentum, and every time we looked like we were going to get some momentum, they would cut us short. You know, kudos to them. We take our hats off to them. They played some phenomenal golf, as did these guys sitting up here.

It was an amazing week. It's tough to be on the receiving end of another loss for all of us. But the one thing that we always take out of these weeks is a friendship and a bonding amongst all the guys, which is irreplaceable. To me, it's one of the most important things. And we got four new rookies this year: Si-Woo, Jhonattan, Adam, and Emiliano. These guys got a taste of what this event is like, and even though we had our noses rubbed in it this week, that hasn't deterred their spirit.

You saw today the quality of golf that these guys showed, but also the passion for the competitiveness and the will to succeed. It was a terrific day for us today. You know, to win seven and a half -- what was the session? Yeah 7 1/2, 4 1/2, it speaks volumes for these guys. Again, I'm so proud and privileged to have led them.

Q. Do you foresee any format changes before the 2019 matches at Royal Melbourne, given your input prior and where things stand today? Do you see anything possibly changing?
NICK PRICE: I've always made my feelings pretty clear on that. You know, I think I'm going to pass the B.A. ton on. That's up to the powers to be.

You know, you can always blame and point fingers and say this and that and whatever. But to be honest, I think we were outplayed this week. But I think that's manage that needs to be addressed, maybe in the future.

Q. Maybe some of the players can answer this question, but with Nick Price having his last day as captain, have you given any thought to anything special?
NICK PRICE: Don't give them any ideas.

BRANDEN GRACE: Later he'll find out.

Q. I know you're saying you're going to pass the B.A. ton, so I'll direct this to Ernie who most likely will be involved next time. What do you see, if anything, that needs to be done to make this better for you guys?
ERNIE ELS: Well --

ADAM SCOTT: Win.

ERNIE ELS: I don't know who is going to be captain next, but it's directed at me. I mean, I've got to echo what Nick said. You know, these guys played tough golf. They played a very tough team. It's a tough loss. But they showed some serious character today. It was almost gone yesterday and they showed some really great character.

To answer your question, yeah, I think we can go back to the drawing board with the TOUR. Obviously playing for less points, I still say would benefit us. You know, we're playing a very deep American side, and I think less points for us.

We play these team events every second year, and the U.S. Team plays every year. So they are a little bit more, I don't want to say prepared, but they kind of -- there's not as big surprises, you know, in their team. They have had their pairings playing.

I think to put pairings together with a very diverse group as we have, is our challenge. So I think less matches, less points, will be definitely beneficial to us, but we'll wait and see, see where we go with the TOUR.

Q. If you do have something to say on that, other than obviously the points, is there something else that you see in hindsight? You've had three now.
NICK PRICE: No, there's nothing one-off, but I think there's a lot of little things that could change that would make a big difference. You know, pairing selection; a lot is to be said about putting games in an envelope, because otherwise a person can read what you're trying to do. Case in point, if you're behind going into the singles, you want to stack your singles and top-load them. As soon as you put down two guys' names, the opposing captain knows exactly what you're doing.

I think there's a lot more tactics when there's more secrecy to it. I think when you think about it, this has been a great event. The only thing that's sort of been lacking is the sheer competitiveness that we really need to try and find to make this -- to take it to the next level. We all love playing in it. It's just a question, you know, how do we make it a little bit more competitive.

Q. After your round, you said in your interview that the American Team has that team chemistry. You've played on a lot of these teams. How do you get that on your side?
ADAM SCOTT: I think we had the team chemistry. But you know, they have the advantage of playing a team event every year, and I think playing as a team more often is beneficial when it comes to this event. That's the hardest task for us, new guys in and out every two years with less and less experience in this kind of format is hard. We struggled in the team aspect of the matches this week. But we also played maybe the most on-form United States Team that I can remember.

Even with their six rookies, but those six rookies played so amazing to make this U.S. Team this year. So the team chemistry is not a question. This team, like Nick said, had the best chemistry of any team that I've been on at the start of the week.

I think we were more invested in this. That was a point made by Korea from Nick; everybody was more invested in this. But I think we went up against one of the best teams that's been put forward, and I think we have to do even more before we play again in two years.

Q. Do you see yourself disappointed, frustrated? And outside of the points things everybody keeps talking about, there has to be something else that can get you guys more towards the right direction. Do you have any idea what that might be?
ADAM SCOTT: How do I feel, did you say, at the start of that? Well, I'm disappointed that we didn't win.

But I've always taken some great personal experiences out of every Presidents Cup, and I will again this week. You know, these events have always spurred me on to do good things, and playing under a pressure environment is something that you don't always get; even if you work hard at your game and every one of these guys can probably take something away from being in a tight match somewhere this week and use that down the road when they are on the big stage. This is what this event is. It puts you on the big stage.

You know, I don't know exactly what it is. I think everyone who is involved in the Cup going forward should get together, talk about it, what the United States Team have done the last few years, what the you're pen team has done in years gone by, and try and come up with something to get our guys a little more invested in it. I think that's kind of the key. It's getting to that point where we see we've got to do a bit more.

I think the U.S. was there a few years ago. They had been beaten however many times in The Ryder Cup. They stepped up collectively and I think we have to do the same.

Q. The next captain is also going to be decided by the group that runs the American Team. Any changes in format decided by the group that's also running the American Team, how do you feel about that? And is there any way to form, or is it even necessary, to have your own international Presidents Cup committee that negotiates, instead of listens to the TOUR?
ADAM SCOTT: Task force (laughter).

ERNIE ELS: I think that's a very good -- that's a very good point. I think as I said, there's a couple of things we have to sit down and talk to the TOUR about. You know, format is one, and definitely to get our hands on our business personally to make our own decisions, I think that's definitely a point that we can discuss.

I think it's gotten to a stage now where, you know, we have to do whatever we can to try and benefit our team. Whether that it's logistics, scheduling, golf course setup, etc., etc.; I think we have to be more in control, especially when we have a home-course advantage.

And definitely selection process. Maybe we should have our own selection process instead of us getting dictated by the TOUR that, you know, this is the process you have to follow. You know, there's ten guys and then two picks. Maybe we should have our own format of picking six guys and six guys qualify, or eight guys. You know, change -- we really need to sit down and talk about it.

After this event, if I'm captain, I will definitely speak to previous captains about that and see where we go. I think that's a valid point.

NICK PRICE: I think Ernie said it really well there. Not much I can really add to it. And that has been spoken of, I think, in the past, pretty recently, actually, about us doing something like that and having our own guys to do it. But you know, that's something that we'll have to just figure out. I mean, we've got to try something.

Q. Considering how you finished in 2015 Presidents Cup, and how you finished off the match on Saturday, how you finished getting the halve today, I'm just wondering what you can take from those experiences from 2015 and how you got to today and what you can take forward with you?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Well, I think on a personal level, I think I've well and truly buried the demons from South Korea.

For me, it's really special to be a part of this team. I'm just glad that I was able to step up on the weekend, you know, to kind of repay Nick's faith in me. There was a lot of flak given to him and me coming into this event for that, but I'm happy that I managed to step up and perform.

I've obviously learnt a lot -- we've all come up against a better side this week. But when you're really down and almost out, to try and come up from that; and we played as I team collectively, I think we all played really good today. I think that's really good saying that despite the situation we were in, you know, we didn't throw the towel in and we fought. I think if we can come out swinging from Thursday onwards in Melbourne, we might have a different score line.

Q. Any comment on your new nickname?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think we have a lot of fun when we are on the teams. You know, we try and keep the banter going, keep the mood light. Like I said, you have to keep your spirits up, and there's nothing like getting all that positive energy from all your teammates. That's just Emiliano at work I guess (laughter).

Q. Ernie, with the receptivity of the TOUR to the concerns you just made, would that impact whether or not you would want to continue with this as possible captain? If they have this meeting that you're talking about or this gathering, would that -- how would you gauge the receptivity, based on changes made, and would that impact whether or not you would want to, your own personal involvement?
ERNIE ELS: You know, I don't want to go that far. It was quite a challenge to change the format from 34 to 30. I mean, Nick really laid down the -- laid down the law on that one, and the team really stood behind Nick on that one. So that was quite a process.

You know, the Americans are the holders of the Cup. As we know, The Presidents Cup is owned by the PGA TOUR. So they have written down the rules. So to change rules to benefit us; there's got to be a two-way street going. But if negotiations don't go our way, you know, I don't think the guys want to walk away from the Cup. I think the guys are invested into the Cup. The guys want to play. They want to compete.

But we just want to feel that we are being treated fairly and that we get something going our way a little bit. You know, the future of the Cup is important. We want to have it as competitive as we can, and taking nothing away from the team; we are playing against a team that are really good at it, playing it every year. So they, again, I'm going to say that they know what to expect into the matches. We have to really feel our way ourselves into it. And by the end of the week, every year, these guys are ready to go, but it takes awhile.

So we have to go back to the drawing board. I'm going to speak to the captains of past Presidents Cups and really come up with a constructive plan that we can take to the TOUR and try and get things going our way a little bit.

Q. Given that the Internationals only victory has come in Melbourne, can I ask, especially the Aussies up there, Marc, Jason and Adam, how are you looking forward to it coming back to Australia and Melbourne again, and how different it will be for the U.S. over there?
JASON DAY: Marc can answer.

MARC LEISHMAN: Well, I think, you know, we're obviously all looking forward to it and hoping we can be on the team. It would be nice if the crowds could really, really get behind us.

You know, it was almost -- obviously the Americans got a lot of support this week. They were big crowds. It was almost a football crowd. I feel like if we could have that in Australia, that might benefit us.

Obviously we have to play better golf. Possibly on a course that may suit us a little better. I feel like Royal Melbourne would be a good course for all the guys that are sitting up here, and you know, there's no reason why all of us can't be on that team again. The Americans are an awesome team. They have got unbelievable players that are all playing great golf at the moment. So we just need to get down there, play good ourselves and that's all we can do is do our best.

JASON DAY: Scotty, falling asleep over there, mate.

Yeah, I think it will be interesting. Obviously we played Royal Melbourne I think in 2011 or 2013, one of the two, and the Americans played well down there.

With regards to the golf course and how they will take it, I think they will take it fine. Just because you have to look at this super-talented group they have of youngsters. There's some veterans in there like Phil and some other guys, but these guys, they are in their 20s and they are not going away any time soon.

They are good enough to adapt to any sort of golf course they play. Saying that, you know, it will be interesting. And going off what Marc said, it will be huge for us to be able to have that home-town support. Hopefully the Aussie crowds rally behind us. It was a good one this week. It was tough to play here but I think it made everyone on this team stronger knowing what we could go through and push through, as well.

We have a talented group of guys up here that hopefully will be on the same team in two years' time, and I think if we can do that, we'll only get better as we go along the more we're together. Down in Australia, who knows. I mean, you have to be very creative. We got a lot of creative players up here and I think if we can do something like that, you just never know how it will go down there.

I'm definitely looking forward to going down there and playing again because it's a lot of fun. Not only playing in front of the home crowd, but just the golf down there is spectacular. Yeah, excited about that stuff.

MARK WILLIAMS: Wonderful effort this week. Thank you for being very gracious. The International Team.

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