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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 23, 2019

Avondale, Louisiana

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the team of Adam Scott and Jason Day, Team Australia, to the Zurich Classic 2019. Jason, I know you've played here a number of times, and Adam, this is your first start. You haven't seen the golf course yet. Just what's your expectation and has Jason filled you in on it?

ADAM SCOTT: I expect Jason to carry me around all week. But look, I'm excited to be here. It's my first time to this tournament, my first time to New Orleans, so lots of fun to be had. First time playing in this format on the PGA TOUR. It fits in nicely after a pretty intense period through the Masters, and with this new schedule, the PGA coming, it's kind of nice to come out and play competitive golf but in a slightly more relaxed format, and I feel my game is in good shape. I want to keep it there. Jase is also playing very well, although it's got a relaxed feel. Like today I felt everyone is in a very good mood on the range and on the putting green. I think Jase and I haven't even talked about it, but we're looking to play very well this week and kind of get in the mix.

THE MODERATOR: Jason, you're a Zurich ambassador, played here a couple of times with different partners. Probably didn't take much to convince Scottie to come and play given you guys won using this format in the World Cup in 2013. Talk about coming back here to New Orleans again.

JASON DAY: Yeah, it's actually fast becoming one of my favorite places to be at, especially the golf course is really enjoyable, and the format of play is obviously different to what we're used to on the PGA TOUR. But I think it was a little bit harder for guys to get in the field this year. Especially I talked to Curtis Luck, and he found it a little bit difficult to get in the field. He thought he was going to get in pretty easily but found up having to take one of the Web sponsorships, I guess.

That's telling me that a lot of guys had a lot of fun last year, and like Adam said, it's a very relaxed format, but that obviously will all change once Thursday happens. But it still is a fun event to play in.

I played it in a stroke-play event, and I've played it now this is my third year playing it in the team event. I had to bring in the big guns this year to try and get myself into the winner's circle along with Adam, so I'm excited to play with Scottie here and try and win this tournament.

THE MODERATOR: You are the only team made up of two Players champions. There are eight in the field, but you're the only team made up of two.

Q. Adam, given this is a Presidents Cup year and there's a lot of pairings that have Presidents Cup ties, how much is your appearance here this week kind of based off the Presidents Cup and playing with Jason?
ADAM SCOTT: I'm not sure. I think everyone can put two and two together. Ernie has talked a little bit to the media about some of the efforts he's made in trying to bring his team together. We're a long way out. The team is far from set, but trying to get as many guys here to play certainly might help Ernie later in the year. And speaking from a guy who's not on the team at the moment, Jason probably is locked up, but I feel like it's important, too, that guys like Jason or myself or some of the senior members of Presidents Cup teams made the effort. This hasn't been on the schedule before, and I've sat through a lot of Presidents Cup beat-downs over the years, and I've kind of had enough of it. So I'm prepared to do whatever it takes, whatever Ernie thinks it takes to kind of change the culture in our team. Certainly an effort has been made by a lot of guys here this week that want to do that, that feel the frustrations. I think probably Jason feels the same. So let's try and turn it around, and if this helps Ernie later in the year, then I'm all for that.

Q. I was going to ask you both, you've only played one match together at the Presidents Cup. That was in Korea, I think. You've been on four Presidents Cup teams together. Are either of you surprised you haven't played together more or has it just been that's the way it's been? How would you assess that?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I am. I think we're a hell of a team. I mean, in Korea we had a half. I can't remember how the whole thing went down. Phil gave us a hole, and it was a half.

But you can't tell a lot from one match, but I believe Jason and I are a really formidable pairing. I don't care who else is on the team and what team we're playing. I think who we play has to turn and take notice of us, and I've tried to push for it to happen more often, but there's a lot of different opinions and things to happen.

You know, you have to play as a team member and do what's best for the team, but I would definitely push for this pairing certainly in Australia. I think it's very formidable.

JASON DAY: I mean, yeah, kind of Scottie just hit the nail on the head there. It's hard because you have the guys on the team, and sometimes you don't want to -- there's certain players that don't gel together; know what I mean? I'm not trying to say that -- if me and Scottie play together the rest of the Presidents Cups that we play in, I'd be over the moon because I think it's a good pairing. But I understand where the captains, where their heads are coming from, just because it is a tough decision to make with regards to putting guys together.

I think in Korea we were 1 and 2 with regards to the best players on that team where we were ranked-wise, and sometimes you just kind of -- it's a really tough decision when it comes to putting the guys together.

I know that Adam was very -- he voiced his opinion with regards to putting us together, and I would like to see that more often, especially in the Presidents Cup, but this is a good opportunity, like Adam said, a good opportunity to see where we're at with regards to the guys that are playing or the potential guys that are playing on the Presidents Cup and seeing how they play well, play this week in tournament-like conditions like we're going to see down in Melbourne.

Obviously we've got to focus this week on trying to win this tournament, but this is something for Ernie to look back on, at the Zurich Classic, to be able to see potential match-ups or teams, and some guys aren't going to gel well together. Some guys are going to do really well. That's the learning curve of it. But right now we're just trying to focus on winning the Zurich Classic.

Q. Jason, I think a lot of the international prospects for the Presidents Cup met today with Ernie. Probably a lot of fresh faces in that group with Justin, and I'm not sure who all was there, but knowing this new crop of guys that are coming in, does it kind of give you sort of a new hope going into Australia this December?
JASON DAY: You hope -- I wouldn't think -- I mean, it's not so much the new hope with regards to the guys. I know the guys are good. They're good players, whether we have the guys that we had two years ago or a whole new crew. It's just really difficult because I feel like we have -- it seems like we have three or four veterans on the team that have been on the team for a while, and then the rest are new. So we're not really -- it's not new to us. So the hard thing is we only play with each other every two years, and to be able to get the guys together into a team environment can be very difficult at times, especially when some guys are not quite there mentally because it is the end of the season, and I'm the first one to put my hand up in regards to that because unfortunately, it has to start at the top, and I've made mistakes with regards to not mentally being there.

You can obviously see my results in Korea and I wasn't mentally there unfortunately with regards to being there for the team when I needed, performing for the team. And it showed in my results.

That was one Presidents Cup that we had a very good opportunity to win, and sometimes you have to look at leadership and ask the questions why, and for me, I made the mistake and I need to understand we've got 11 other guys on the team that are trying just as hard or trying even harder than myself, so I've got to pick the slack up, too. So you're fighting for everyone else that's on the team.

What I'm getting at is that a team environment is very difficult for guys who play an individual sport, and to be able to do that in a two-year span and getting new blood in every two years is very difficult to gel those guys together. But this is a good opportunity this week to be able to get that and gel those guys together and see what potential options we have in regards to teams. And that's exciting, which is nice.

Scottie has been very -- he's been one of the major voices in the team room, and you can see in his emotions and his attitude with regard to losing every single year, and it's disappointing for me to sit there and know that I can do better, and I should be doing better. But you know, I'm going to try and change my attitude and be a lot better for the Presidents Cups that I can play in.

Q. Who made the first contact to play together this week? And then also, how is your back doing? How much was it a grind to get through the Masters?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it was a grind. I had four epidural needles on top of the eight epidural needles that I had a month ago before Augusta to be able to get through it. But no, I got through it nicely. Just unfortunately finished a couple shots back or so. Scottie came up to me and said, Do you want to play Zurich. I said, That's great; I'd love to play Zurich with you. And I thought he was doing it because he liked me, but unfortunately we're putting a bunch of teams together for the Presidents Cup, so that's why we're together.

ADAM SCOTT: I did that before they had the team stuff. I do like you, Jase.

Q. Going back to Australia, the Presidents Cup, Royal Melbourne being the site where the international team did win, does it feel more gettable this year, and what do you think the feeling will be like to tee off there in your native Australia?
ADAM SCOTT: Probably for the guys who have played it a bit, we feel like it's a bit gettable because we like to think that a little local knowledge might go a long way, and it certainly has shown that in the past. But there will be some guys on our team who haven't played Royal Melbourne so much, and hopefully they're fast learners.

Also looking at it where it was a bit of a lopsided victory for the internationals in '98, I felt like that American team 20 plus years ago didn't travel like the younger American players now travel. The World Golf Championships have really changed things in the last 20 years. Not just those events, but it's kind of encouraged and been accepted by a lot of the young American players. They've enjoyed playing internationally, and I think they're better traveled. Some of them know Royal Melbourne.

So I don't know how much of an advantage it really is. Look, I personally feel very comfortable playing there. I've probably played as much as anyone on either of the teams. Hopefully I can -- whoever I'm playing with down there -- this is me talking like I'm on the team (laughter), but I hopefully can help someone if they need it. But we're talking about the best players in the world. They can learn a lot very quickly, but Royal Melbourne is a little bit like Augusta can be; there are little things that you pick up each time that you go around that you never know when they can come in handy.

JASON DAY: I'm going to apologize. I totally forgot the question.

ADAM SCOTT: That was a good answer from me then. I was just rambling.

Q. What do you think it'll be like to play in front of your home fans in a Presidents Cup being back there and also does it feel more winnable this year for the internationals?
JASON DAY: So we played 2011, and granted, we don't get a lot of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and a lot of these big-name American players down there, so when we're playing, you could hear the cheers for our team, but also you could hear cheers for Tiger and -- know what I mean, so it was like a mixed kind of bag of which side are you guys on. Once again, it's -- we're playing at home and it's great to be able to represent your country and play at home, but as the Australian fans don't get to see these types of players because they don't really travel down to Australia too often such as Tiger Woods and Phil and all these other guys. So we're hoping for a big home crowd. We want the fans to be loud, and we're trying to get as many family members and everyone down there just so we can have that support, and I think that goes a long way with regards to picking the players up and trying to win the Presidents Cup for the second time.

But with regard to -- like a gettable golf course, obviously it depends on the setup, but that golf course itself is very difficult, especially with regards to what kind of weather we get there. As Adam knows, the ball -- how the ball reacts on the fairway and the greens is totally different than what we get over here in the States. Obviously local knowledge is key, but fingers crossed we have a lot of fast learners and some good veteran players on the team such as Adam Scott and Ernie as a captain to be able to let these guys know because I know for a fact that Adam and Ernie have played that course in tournament conditions multiple times beforehand, so it's good to be able to have leadership like that to be able to relay the message across to the younger guys.

Q. Jason, you said earlier this is fast becoming one of your favorite places to play. Why? What do you like about it?
JASON DAY: Well, I always enjoy the golf course, but it's more so the format. It's actually quite a lot of fun to play in this format because we play so many -- pretty much 95 percent of the time or so, we play stroke play events and then we have this event and obviously a match play event and some other events in there. You can tell that Zurich is really trying to grow the game, especially in this area, but they're willing to try something new and different to be able to reach new types of fans with regard to format, the walk-up music. We've been here at TPC Louisiana for a while now, and the impact that Zurich and the Zurich Classic has made in and around this area has been tremendous.

Zurich is a partner of mine, and the people that I get to meet along the way, especially in the Zurich company, I've become really good friends with. It's just an enjoyable week for me, and it's even better when you have your mate next to you playing.

I'm looking forward to another great week. This has been a lot of fun. And mind you, New Orleans with the restaurants and everything like that. I'm not much of a seafood guy. There's a steakhouse that me and my agent at the back go to all the time. For the life of me I can't remember the name, but I'm sure he can say it. But yeah, this is a really cool city. Really, really fun city.

Q. With the condensed schedule and with the issues that you've had with your back, have you had to kind of step back and rethink how much you're going to play from now until the end of the season, and given the Presidents Cup is in December, you get a little bit of rest before --
JASON DAY: It's hard, know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, I'm trying to do everything I can to get my back healthy, and I ran into Patrick Reed before I came here, and I'm seeing my guy inside and I'm getting massage, and we're talking about how many events he's going to play this year and then we got on to the, I remember you played 37 one year and 36 the next year, and that's 73 events over two years. He goes, don't get me wrong, I don't think you play -- I said, I can't play that many because obviously my body, and he answered, That's four seasons. His two years was four seasons for me, in that two-year span that he played.

You know, it is condensed obviously with the new schedule change. It's difficult to take time off because you're thinking about, okay, with three FedEx playoff events now, you have to play well each and every week, but if I take time off then I get behind, and I want to make sure I get to TOUR Champs and try to give myself a shot at the FedExCup. And you also want to be healthy for the majors, as well.

Long story short, I'm doing everything I possibly can in regards to getting myself healthy, and the big thing that we're trying to do right now is focus on winning the Zurich Classic this week.

Q. Jason, I'm guessing you've been texting with Tiger a little bit in the past week or so. What did you say to him after the Masters, and what were your emotions like that Sunday, seeing a guy that you've become so close to do that while also being right there yourself?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I didn't really text him too much. I just said, Congrats, brother, unreal. Gave him a couple of these thumbs up with the emojis. And he came back like two days later because you know how it is, you get slammed. I like to think I've got a lot of friends when I win, and I'm sure he's got a lot of friends when he wins.

I just told him that. I didn't want to bother him, and obviously things are -- man, things have changed. Everyone is probably -- for a long time there, he's never going to win a major again, and now he's won Augusta. So it's impressive, the comeback.

Q. Ernie and Trevor in town this week, they're playing together, you guys are trying to build this camaraderie. Do you get the sense that there's a do-whatever-we-need-to-do attitude to get the international team back on track?
ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, hopefully that's coming. Hopefully that's the attitude. I mean, it's not just about coming just here at Zurich this week and seeing some pairings and getting the team to spend a little bit of extra -- that's just part of it, I think. I think it's about starting to grow a culture amongst the international players and putting -- and showing everyone who's coming up the importance of this tournament. When you're going up against the Americans, which it seems like their team gets stronger every two years, you can't just be blase and think you're going to show up and compete.

It's highly likely all 12 of their guys can be in the top 20 in the world. I mean, this is a very hard time, I don't care what course you put us on, to go and beat. So I think it's starting from the top with Ernie. He's changing the way the captaincy and the assistants, the leadership roles operate, and that will filter down through the players from the top to the bottom, and hopefully this is the start of a new kind of feeling amongst the international players. The younger guys that are coming through need to see our team win and how much we can all care about this.

You know, this guy is a vital part of the team as the best player, and we need to get the most points out of him that we can every time. And he gets it, that you've got to get it from the top, and I think Ernie has done all the right steps so far in kind of starting a new momentum amongst our international players, and hopefully that can continue on, and once the team is set, it can grow even more, and then that'll translate into two years. I like the fact he's kind of looking with a long-term. Yes, of course this one is important, but we've got to get this thing set for the long-term. I don't know where else it can go, to be honest.

THE MODERATOR: Have you guys chosen a walk-up song or can you reveal any news on that front for us?

JASON DAY: You went with AC/DC, right?

ADAM SCOTT: No, INXS, Suicide Blonde.

JASON DAY: There you go.

ADAM SCOTT: We had to stick with Australian.

JASON DAY: Yeah, Scottie was the leader in regards to that.

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