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THE RYDER CUP

September 29, 2018

Guyancourt, France

NEIL AHERN: Paul and Tyrrell, thank you very much for joining us, fantastic point.

Paul, we saw your emotions straight after that win. This clearly means an awful lot to you, doesn't it?

PAUL CASEY: Yeah, I think it was actually 12 years since I last won a full point because I think Valhalla I had a couple of halves, but not a full point.

Yeah, and I set my sights on trying to make this team. I knew it would be an amazing team. I wanted to be part of that. But it wasn't just sort of to get here and be part of the team, it was to try and win a Ryder Cup back.

The U.S. clearly played brilliantly at Hazeltine. You know, to be part of this great squad is what I wanted. Now I'm on it. Now we've got to try and win it. So to contribute to that is very meaningful to me.

I played some really good golf yesterday, and so did Justin and Jordan. They played wonderful stuff, so frustrated not to get a point, and today was on a mission to get one, so very, very happy.

NEIL AHERN: Tyrrell, your first point, and as Paul mentioned you dovetailed well today and you played some great golf yesterday. Can you talk about this partnership and the trust that Thomas put in you to put you out again this morning?

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, it's been a good partnership. Like Paul said, we were unlucky not to get anything out of yesterday's match. Obviously we were -- I think we were 8-under yesterday, and I think 9-under today. So obviously we played some good golf.

Delighted that we could win a point this morning. Knew it was going to be really tough going against DJ and Rickie, two fantastic players, and we knew that the guys were going to come out fighting after how the session went for them yesterday afternoon.

So it's fortunate that Paul was on hand to play how he did on the front nine, and thankfully I could contribute a little bit on the back nine, and was buzzing we could get the win.

Q. Would each of you talk about what you see as the real outstanding strengths of the other? What strikes you about Tyrrell's game, Paul?
PAUL CASEY: He's one of the world's best putters. For me, Ryder Cups are so often won and lost on the greens; the guys make putts versus the guys who don't.

Well, you've knocked a couple of drives past me this week, which has annoyed me.

TYRRELL HATTON: (Laughing).

PAUL CASEY: He's tenacious. He fights. His ability to hole putts -- get it straight, all credit to Justin and Jordan yesterday. If we had holed a couple of putts, it would have been an even better match, it really would have, and it wasn't until the eighth hole today that he finally holed one, and when he did, it was a big one.

Then you guys saw the clutch putting that he made when I wasn't there in the hole, on holes like -- well, even the short one on 9. 9 and 10, great 2-putt on 11. It was brilliant stuff. 13 was phenomenal.

Yeah, his putting is world-class.

TYRRELL HATTON: Obviously his long game is fantastic. He's one of the best-ball strikers on Tour. So I knew that we were going to be a strong partnership if we played together. Fortunately, well, I haven't sort of -- unfortunately I haven't holed many putts the last two days, but I feel like I've been reading the greens pretty well. So when we have teamed up, when we've been looking at putts together, Paul has holed quite a few, which is great.

PAUL CASEY: With your reads.

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, so I've been helping him a little bit with the reads there.

We've done well together. And yeah, it's just -- thankfully it's worked.

Q. Was there a suspicion of a tear on the 16th green, and when is the last time you were this emotional on the golf course?
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, there was a tear. I was emotional earlier. I've always kind of -- I've always been a bit that way. I cry in movies, as well.

Even Valspar, Valspar I had finished, though, and then the outcome, I had to wait for the outcome.

Yeah, every time, probably most of my wins, I've been a bit teary. Hey, not embarrassed. I care about it. It means an awful lot to me. I'm proud to be on this team and proud to be standing next to those other 11 teammates and proud to win a point.

Q. I think I counted that you've had more birdies than anybody across the two days of the two mornings. I think you've had 11. And at the same time, today, this morning, we've seen maybe 20 shots go in the water. Can you talk us through why you're proving so effective at scoring on this course in the last two days?
PAUL CASEY: I'm not sure of the answer to that, and if I did, I probably wouldn't tell you for fear of giving away a secret. You know, I've had confidence in this man next to me, and I have -- you know, have clearly been out of the hole a couple of times the last two days and he's always been right there next to me, backing me up, making a birdie or a par if I haven't.

So I've had the ability to kind of freewheel a bit and just go for things. But also, I knew what a tough task; I've got massive respect for this U.S. Team. They are 12 amazing players, and we are going to fight for every single point, going up against J.T., Jordan, Dustin, Rickie, great pairings. I knew I had to throw a lot at both those matches, which I tried to do, and it's what the guys are going to continue to do for the next session, two sessions, basically.

We have to fight, because as I say, massive respect for this team.

Q. Fourball and foursomes are such different formats to play, and they always say the European side has always been better at foursomes. So after dominating foursomes yesterday afternoon, how were you guys able to switch and play so well in fourball against the U.S. Team after what they did in the morning yesterday?
PAUL CASEY: I don't know, wasn't part of the foursomes, so I don't know.

TYRRELL HATTON: I wasn't either. For us, we obviously had the afternoon off yesterday, which gives you a bit of time to relax and get a bit of energy.

Obviously you go out and support the lads as they come through to the back nine. But yeah, obviously we're pretty fresh this morning. We knew we were playing well going into -- we played well yesterday, so there's no reason why we couldn't play well again today, and obviously just having that freshness of having the afternoon off yesterday probably helped us.

PAUL CASEY: I think we have elasticity within our team. We have the ability to really pair multiple guys together.

So, yeah, we're not bound by -- you know, fortunately, everybody's fit and healthy, even if you get an illness on the team, it can throw a spinner in the works, kind of thing, but yeah, we've got the ability to really mix-and-match.

Thomas, his pairings yesterday, certainly in the afternoon, phenomenal. I mean, I wouldn't have changed them (smiling).

Q. Now that you've had a couple of rounds here around the golf course, what part of your game would you say this course is testing the most, and what element is it rewarding the most?
TYRRELL HATTON: Well, I'd say the toughest thing around here is driving. Obviously you have to be in the fairways here. As you can see, the rough is brutal. If you miss fairways, then more than likely you're not going to be able to make it to the green, which then means you're struggling for par.

So I'd say it's probably the toughest part of playing around here. The greens are rolling good. They are nice and pure. So obviously you start the ball on the right line, then you should have a good chance of holing putts.

But yeah, for me, I would say that is the toughest test this week is obviously making sure you're in play.

PAUL CASEY: I agree.

Q. Realising that you guys have plenty to focus on within the walls of your own team room, Phil is the only American to only get into one of these first four matches. Is there any sense of surprise from your guys's side of things to see a player of his decorated calibre utilized in such a limited role?
PAUL CASEY: I'll be honest, we've been trying to take care of our own business. Yeah, you'd have to ask somebody else above me, a higher pay grade than me to answer that question, sorry.

Q. I've watched you as you came off earlier. You were pretty much high-fiving every fan on your way off the course. I mean, can you just talk me through that one? Was that your emotions getting the better of you? But more importantly, what's the most embarrassing movie that has made you cry, please?
TYRRELL HATTON: (Chuckling).

PAUL CASEY: I mean, yeah, I was emotional as soon as we walked off the 16th green. Now, jumping up-and-down with all the fans and high-fiving everybody, I was actually in control of my emotions there and I'm just enjoying this as much as I can.

As I said earlier this week, just looking at, you know, my age, in all likelihood, this may be the last European-based Ryder Cup I'll play. I'd love to be in Italy, but you know, 41 right now, so we'll see.

Movies?

TYRRELL HATTON: Don't be shy.

PAUL CASEY: I'm trying to think of something.

Q. Maybe most embarrassing thing that's made you cry, something you've seen?
PAUL CASEY: No, it's usually movies, usually when I'm sitting there watching with my kids and they turn around and it's usually a cartoon or something, Disney (laughter); any good character gets killed or something, gets squashed, kills me.

I mean, I do remember being on a plane once, and it's a classic situation. I'm there watching -- it was the Senna documentary, Ayrton Senna documentary. And my wife and I, both watching it on the plane, but separate seats across the aisle from each other, and we both got a tear in our eye, and the stewardess thought, obviously, clearly: Oh, they must have had a massive row (laughter).

NEIL AHERN: On that note, guys, thank you very much for joining us, and have a great day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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THE RYDER CUP

September 29, 2018

Paul Casey

Tyrrell Hatton