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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

December 11, 2019

Rickie Fowler

Melbourne, Australia

Q. How has your week been so far?
RICKIE FOWLER: It's been great. This is one of my favorite places to come to. Australia really as a whole, we've had a great time. Still haven't been over to Perth yet but played Adelaide and played here in Melbourne a decent amount. Played the PGA on the Gold Coast. Excited to get the call after Brooks wasn't able to make it, unfortunately for him, but I think that was the right decision for him for long-term health.

I love the culture, the people, and especially the golf courses. I'm looking forward to it. I just have fun playing the golf course and being out here.

Q. How do you like the course?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, if you didn't catch it in all in there, I really love it. (Laughter) I love this style of golf.

Q. The strategic aspect?
RICKIE FOWLER: I feel like you guys know me well enough that firm, fast, windy conditions, any kind of links golf version where I'm able to hit different shots and use the ground or use the wind, I feel like this golf course sets up for that. It's almost a good mix of British Open with Augusta in there, as well. You have some interesting slopes around the greens but it's all strategic.

Some fun shots you can hit around the greens. Some are like what we see at Augusta and then you get some greens that are fairly mellow, flat, and there's a really good variety at this golf course, as far as off the tee, driving the ball, irons off tees, second shots and longer irons to shorter shots. I think it does a good job, especially when the wind is up, of testing all parts of the game. It will be interesting to see it without wind, as well.

Q. But you like it.
RICKIE FOWLER: I like it.

Q. When Tiger made the original call to you to tell you you were not one of the picks, did he let you know, you're the next man in? What was that conversation like?
RICKIE FOWLER: No. From what I gathered, it wasn't an easy call for him and I completely understand that. I think we've all had to make some sort of phone call that's not easy at some point in your life. I'm not saying that was the hardest one of his life (laughter) but I know it wasn't one that he wanted to make.

From what I've heard after, he was supposed to let me know that Brooks was still iffy and that I was in the mix, to be the guy that was going to have a chance to be down here. He accidentally left that out. (Laughter).

I was already going to be getting ready for the Hero which we played last week, so it didn't change my game plan as far as where I was. But it's a lot better when you get to look forward to two weeks instead of one, and especially being out here.

Q. If you had to pick one person on the American Team that people aren't really talking about, but you said, this could be like the unexpected star of our team, is there anyone that comes to mind when I say that?
RICKIE FOWLER: Who are we talking about?

Q. Everyone except Patrick and Tiger I guess. Maybe like rookies or young guys or whatever.
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I see Gary playing well over here. He's great at controlling ball flight. That's what this golf course asks for. But really, you can't single anyone out and say they are not going to play well here or they are going to. Hopefully all 12 will play really well, including Tiger and Patrick. But I don't see any reason why all the guys can't play well here. That goes for both sides.

Q. Did your honeymoon get interrupted? Were you playing much golf? Obviously you had a bit going on in the off-season.
RICKIE FOWLER: So our wedding was October 5th. With the hurricane, unfortunately that changed our plans on where it was. We had been planning our wedding for over a year at Baker's Bay.

I took a couple weeks off after TOUR Championship. I was playing a couple weeks leading up to our wedding. I actually played every day except the day after our wedding that week. I didn't play on our honeymoon, which was South Africa. We went to Cape Town, went on safari and went to an island off Mozambique. That trip was fun, go hang out, see some animals.

We had been home for a week and that's when I got food poisoning. That's when I was going to get ready for Mayakoba, and I didn't want to go down there not ready to play. So I really got things going, really the week of Mayakoba is when I started practicing and getting back after it. Really, the only layoff was our honeymoon and being sick, as well.

Q. Did you touch a club?
RICKIE FOWLER: It would have been a week and a half, two weeks.

Q. You played your wedding day?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I played my wedding day.

Q. Where?
RICKIE FOWLER: El Dorado. J. T., Norton, Jimmy --

Q. How does DJ look?
RICKIE FOWLER: He's good. I played with him also, whatever, three weekends ago at the Floridian pro-member. Yeah, I was surprised that he pulled out of Hero. I thought he was in a good spot. Part of that is I think he was looking forward to this week and didn't want to chance it playing the week before and not being 100 percent good to go. He's been playing great. He played the first day there at the Floridian, he might have shot 6-under 65. DJ is someone that really doesn't need a whole lot of work. He's a pretty amazing athlete and he finds a way to get it done.

Q. I know this isn't your first time being a pick, but when it's Tiger doing the picking, does that add a layer of pressure at all, or does that alleviate pressure?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, it was going to suck for me not being on the team because of how much I love the team aspect but also how much I love Australia and the golf down here, missing out on just a really cool opportunity, and when you look back at it, that's on me. I didn't make it on points, which would have made it a lot easier. That's just the way it is. So it was left up to Tiger and the guys that made the team. We're here now, so it doesn't really matter. Yeah, it's not like you can get mad at anyone other than yourself because you didn't make it in the top eight.

Q. Have you been on some kind of health kick or something? Have you lost some pounds?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think it's just the dark colors may be slimming. What's nice is being able to spend the time that we have at home and actually have a little bit in the off-season and getting into -- was able to get into a really good routine and workout regimen, and we like to cook a lot at the house, so then we're conscious about what we're eating and staying on a consistent workout, which an off-season workout versus tournament golf workouts is a lot different. You're able to push it a little bit more at home, and with me just practicing and getting ready, I was able to push my body a little bit more and able to get a lot of work done.

Q. When you see Tiger's text threads and what he's bringing up, what's coming out of his mind, does it give you a greater appreciation of how he has separated himself from the pack, that it's not just his natural ability and the swing and how he can shape shots, but the mind part of it, when you see how it operates?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, to me, he's a big golf nerd, as we all are. He loves it. He sleeps and breathes golf. There's times where he'll shut off and he'll go and he loves diving, free diving in the spring, so that's a way he's able to get away. We all have to have those kind of releases. But yeah, when it comes down to it, we spend a lot of our time either flying, practicing or thinking about golf. But he's just -- he found a way to be the best at it. I think I mentioned it at another time, Tiger -- everyone knows he doesn't sleep a whole lot, so I think a lot of the texts that we get you happen to wake up to in the morning that he sent in the middle of the night. He can't sleep because he's thinking so much about what's going on.

Q. Everyone loves you down here for your golf but also you're doing something special the day after this, aren't you?
RICKIE FOWLER: I actually won't be able to stay down. We're leaving on the charter. Prior to being on the team we already had made some corporate days when I get back, so unfortunately I get to go back and work some more. But I met with Briony two nights ago, was able to catch up with her, and we're going to try and meet up a couple more times this week, if not Sunday when we finish up. So I'm going to at least leave plenty of stuff behind to help out with Monday. So yeah, fortunately not able to stay for Monday, but I know it's going to be a great day.

Q. Is it something you intend to continue the next few years?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I'm looking forward to working with Briony and figuring out what stuff we can do. But I think she's been really impressed with how Jarrod's name has kind of hung around. She was, I think, worried after him passing and being gone for a bit that it would start to lose a little traction. That hasn't happened. She's pretty excited about that. I'm looking forward to continuing to do some stuff with her, and I know she wants to try and get Challenge or something similar set up and going in the U.S. so yeah, she's all in, and it's been fun to work with her.

Q. So most of you are wearing the pin. Did you get the book, as well?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, we have a book. They left that in the room for everyone. All the guys got pins. Some of the guys are wearing them. Some of the guys didn't know Jarrod, especially some of the younger guys, but yeah, they want to wear them. It's obviously for a great cause. For the guys that did get to know him, we're all for it.

Q. How is your relationship with the flies this week?
RICKIE FOWLER: They're a lot better this week than World Cup a few years ago. I know what it can be like down here. But if all you have to do is put up with flies and you get to play this kind of golf, you can deal with it.

Q. Do you know any tricks or anything?
RICKIE FOWLER: No. Don't try and hit if one is bugging you, or putt. Sometimes that's a little hard to do. They like to get close to your eye or fly into your ear, close to your mouth. So yeah, you'll see some guys backing off shots at times. That's part of it.

Q. Is it true that you really should put spray on because they are attracted to the moisture?
RICKIE FOWLER: I don't know. I've never worn spray. I haven't tried it out. I think some of the guys were saying it seemed like it was more like candy for them and maybe attracted them even more. Maybe they found a way to be immune to the spray.

Q. Did you try to get Tiger to put any orange in the outfits this week?
RICKIE FOWLER: No, red, white and blue strictly. Well, I guess I don't have much red on right now, but it's one of the few times I'll wear red. U.S. Open sometimes. But yeah, team events, red, white and blue.

Q. Did you guys give him a hard time for picking himself?
RICKIE FOWLER: No, I think Japan kind of solidified that.

Q. Do you feel any kind of pressure at all replacing the world's No. 1 player?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, yeah, I think we all feel pressure, though. Everyone wants to be down here and play their best golf. Brooks was in the same position, wanting to live up to his world No. 1 or playing up to his -- where he thinks he should play, and that's all of us, all 12 guys down here and 12 guys on the other side, as well. I think that we all put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else from the outside, whether that's fans, family, media. We all have high expectations, and that's why we're all out here and do what we do. But it's a good kind of pressure.

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