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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

December 11, 2019

Tony Finau

Melbourne, Australia

Q. Just real quick, any opening thoughts on the week? How is everything going so far? What's it been like seeing the golf course?
TONY FINAU: Well, I highly anticipated seeing the golf course. Everybody that I've talked to in the golfing world says this is one of their favorite places, if not some of their favorite golf courses. I couldn't wait to get out here and see the golf course, and now I know what the heck it's about. It's an amazing place. Super fast, firm, and you hit the shots, you can score, and if you get squirrelly with some shots, you're going to -- you can make some numbers. I like that type of golf, and I look forward to the week. It's an amazing thing being in these international teams. It's a lot of fun. Tiger has been a great captain. He's super laid back, very fun, and it's been cool to just be part of this group so far this year.

Q. What kind of game do you think will perform well here at Royal? What kind of game does the course lend itself to?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I mean, obviously -- it depends a lot on how tough they want to make the golf course and if they want to tuck the pins, it could be really hard because you can only access the pins from certain parts of the fairway. But you know, if you hit the fairways, I would say the golf course is more of a second-shot golf course than anything else because you only have to be a little bit off with your second shot and you can be extremely far away from the hole. I would say it's a second-shot golf course. Ball striker's type of golf course. With how fast the greens are, you've got to be a great putter, as well.

Q. I'm going to show you a photo of when fashion at the Presidents Cup was a little bit different. What are the differences and similarities you've seen to this point, not actually having competed in this event yet?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think the atmosphere has been a little different. Last year during our practice rounds in Paris, I felt like a rock star, just meaning that the crowd made me feel that way. I don't think a lot of them had seen us outside of watching us on TV, so they were actually kind of cheering for us. That's a little different feel this week.

Q. How so?
TONY FINAU: Well, the crowd hasn't been as welcoming, I don't think, and they shouldn't be. We're at an away game kind of thing. Just that right out of the gate I think has been a little different for me. But it's so fun to be part of these teams. We've got a great group of guys, great captains. It's cool to get to know Freddy a little bit better. He was with our pod yesterday, our foursome following us around for 18 holes. Being able to talk to him and just hang with him, getting to know him better. He's one of the great personalities in the game. He's got to be the coolest guy you've ever seen. To get to know him better is always cool.

Outside of competition -- competition is the best part about this type of thing. Outside of that, the camaraderie that you have with the guys is pretty amazing, and those are memories that you have for the rest of your life. Again, it's another great experience for me in just my second Cup.

Q. How do you manage emotions in events like this because so much does rely on the crowd? How do you manage all of that?
TONY FINAU: You know, I think being on the big stage before helps, just understanding that -- I played in probably one of the biggest stages if not the biggest stage I'll ever have with my career with Tiger on Sunday at the Masters this year. I feel like having dealt with that, I can just about deal with anything in this game when it comes to pressure. I think majors are a huge thing, huge part, because that's the biggest -- some of the biggest pressure you'll deal with, and just kind of use that experience to your advantage, I think, throughout the week.

Q. (Question on rookie hazing.)
TONY FINAU: I'm not going to disclose everything, but yeah, there has been a little rookie hazing. It's more of rookie international club hazing because I haven't been a part of it, so I'm happy I got one under my notch so that technically I'm not a rookie in this group. The three rookies, Cantlay, Woodland and Schauffele, definitely got a little bit of hazing. Nothing crazy, but they've had to carry some bags and do a little bit more than most guys.

Q. You say you're looking forward to the next team event where you can do the hazing instead of being the hazee?
TONY FINAU: Well, I think I need a few more Cups under my belt. I'll enjoy it from just watching, just watching the hazers take care of the guys that are getting hazed.

Q. Are you bothered at all by the flies?
TONY FINAU: Yes, a lot. I think Royal Melbourne is well known for the golf. I think it should be known for the flies first. Yesterday nobody told me about them, and I couldn't get rid of them. I sprayed a little bit of repellent today. That seemed to help.

Q. Are they buzzing in your face when you're putting?
TONY FINAU: I mean, you can't get rid of them. They're all over. I guess it comes with playing the golf course, though.

Q. Has there ever been a stage where you've just been uncomfortable? You're always so calm, cool and collected. Is that how you've always been?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think that's how I've always been, but sometimes there's been situations where I've been more uncomfortable than others. One of my favorite sayings that I try to live by is be comfortable being uncomfortable. I've tried to train myself to be that way, to where at this stage every time you tee it up, you might not be in your comfort zone, and that's a good thing. Learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. That's something that I always try to preach to myself, because you're not always going to be in an area where you're comfortable, especially when you're playing this game at a high level. This is another one of those weeks where I think that saying is going to go a long time for me and the team. I've enjoyed it so far.

Q. When you get those text threads from Tiger, does it give you a window into -- he's obviously a physical talent and his skill level is great, but the thing that maybe separates him, the way he thinks?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. Yeah, no doubt. There have been some exchanges where Tiger gets into his zone and he means business, and we all just follow suit because we know why he is who he is, but to dive, get a deeper look into that just through knowing him having him captain our team I think is pretty special for all the guys that are involved.

Q. I heard he even knows how you chip on different grasses. I mean, crazy specific --
TONY FINAU: Yeah, the detail -- I think he could probably do the weather here and the wind direction for all of us. He told us what it was going to be. To me it doesn't surprise me just how prepared us because that's the reason why he is who he is. I mean, there's so many reasons, but his preparation I don't think is unmatched. He knows what to prepare for when it comes to these type of events, and to be able to learn from -- to have him captain the team, a huge part of it is just frigging learning from him. You can't top that type of experience.

Q. Does this course remind you of anywhere else that you've played?
TONY FINAU: It doesn't actually. As I've played it, it's kind of a course of its own. It's in a league of its own. It's unbelievable. It's like a links golf course with how fast it is, but I've never played a faster golf course, but the greens are 14, and it's like hitting on this stage right here. Super firm, super fast, and it's just kind of in a league of its own. There's not a golf course that I've played that I can really compare to Royal Melbourne. It's a great test.

Q. Is it a hybrid of St. Andrews and Augusta?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think that is kind of a good way, St. Andrews and Augusta, a hybrid of the two. I would say definitely closer to St. Andrews. Augusta is firm, but not nearly as firm as this. So I guess the fairways would probably be more like St. Andrews and then the greens would be more like Augusta. It's the best of both worlds right here wrapped in one golf course. The anticipation for me was pretty real coming into this week, and I can see why everybody loves this place. It's right up there near the top of my list after playing it a few times.

Q. You're a big hitter. Are we going to see a lot of drivers out of you? What's the strategy?
TONY FINAU: I think about five to seven drivers.

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