THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 21, 2022

Tony Finau

Quail Hollow Club

Press Conference

Q. What makes for a good partnership or a good pairing?

TONY FINAU: In my mind, in golf you need a reliable partner and a great player. The good thing in these international team events, we've got a lot of those on our team. It helps that all the players on our team are great players.

I think personality goes into it. When you're pairing guys, make sure they like each other and match up well. Yeah, I would say those are the biggest matches.

Q. What's it like so far being such a big favorite? Maybe even a bigger favorite than normal years because of the LIV adversity the other team's faced.

TONY FINAU: The crazy thing about that is we haven't really talked about that at all in our team room. I think that's the, as they would say, outside noise. The score is 0-0. We haven't even started yet.

We know we have an opportunity in front of us to play a great international team and definitely not taking it lightly as a team. We're all making sure we're very prepared for whatever they bring our way.

Then for me, this is my job to try and be as prepared as possible to play when my name is called.

Q. What's it been like playing for Davis Love III so far?

TONY FINAU: I've loved it. Davis and Robin have had a great captaincy. They show great leadership. Just a chill demeanor. He's very -- just an awesome guy to be around.

He's got very great energy, and I think it matches well for the young team that we have. The vibes have been nice. It's been chill.

Q. What about Webb Simpson?

TONY FINAU: Webb is one of my favorite guys on TOUR. Known him for a long time. Played together on a few of these teams. It's cool to have him in the locker room, to have his experience on a team where we don't have that much international team experience.

To have someone like Webb who's a little closer to our age, I think was a huge pickup for our team. He can relate to us. He still plays. He knows the golf course very well because he lives here. Nothing but good things when it comes to Webb.

Q. Tony, what's the big difference between now having done this a couple of times and knowing that there are so many guys who are rookies on both teams? What's the dynamic on that?

TONY FINAU: It is crazy to think. I think they have eight on their side and six on our side. That's a lot for both sides.

I think the thing we've all learned in this game, at least I have, is these young guys are ready for the big lights. There's no -- to me, the phrase rookie is exactly that, it's just a phrase at this point. We know the guys on their team are going to be ready to play, and the rookies on our team are ready to play.

It doesn't play as big a factor, I feel like, as it once did in our game. We're definitely not looking at it that way.

We're going to see the pairings, they're coming out soon, but we don't look at who's played, who hasn't played. We look at what we feel like are the best matchups and put the guys in that are ready to play.

Q. Kevin was saying they're calling him pops and grandpa and things like that. Are you glad he's here so you don't get that?

TONY FINAU: I was saying that. I'm the third oldest on the team. I think in Paris, my first Cup, which was only four years ago, I was like the third or fourth youngest on the team. I felt like a kid. Now I don't feel like a kid anymore. It tells you how young our game got.

These guys are great teammates. None of them act their age. What I mean by that, they definitely don't play like they're in their 20s. Their minds are a lot stronger than that, a lot more mature than that.

Q. You've experienced both methods of picking pairings. Presidents Cup goes back and forth, Ryder Cup is a blind draw. Do you have one that you think is better or cooler? Any opinion there?

TONY FINAU: My opinion is the way they do it for this Presidents Cup is better. I think it's cool that you get to pick who you want to play against their guys. Then it goes back to us, and they get to pick who they want to play against us.

I think it's a cool way to do the draw. I prefer the way the Presidents Cup does it over the Ryder Cup.

Q. Does that allow for you guys as players maybe behind closed doors say, hey, I want to play against somebody? Does that give you the option and the opportunity?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, it definitely opens up the option where if there's someone where you're comfortable or you do want to play, it could potentially happen. The chance of it happening still are pretty low. You have to have a perfect scenario where they pick the guys, and then you say, yeah, I want to play them.

It's definitely a possibility because of this format and the way they pick.

Q. How much does the team and country aspects of the Presidents Cup just kind of affect how you feel and the emotions out there when you're playing?

TONY FINAU: That's what makes this tournament, these Cups so different in these international events. Every time we tee it up, we're kind of selfishly playing for ourself, for our legacy, our sponsors, who we represent.

But for one week a year, for us, the Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup, we have an opportunity to play for our teammates, our flag, our country, pride, our captains. That's what's on the line. This week is never taken lightly for any of us.

I know that I'm proud to be a part of this team again. My job is just be ready to play for everything I just named.

Q. Tony, when you think back to the Ryder Cup last fall, you guys opened up a pretty big lead on Saturday. How did you guys guard against complacency heading into the final day?

TONY FINAU: The score is 0-0. That's the thing. None of us are taking this lightly. There's no question about it.

We're all prepared to play. We know that they are capable of playing great this week. So there really hasn't been any talk of us being these crazy favorites. We know what we're capable of, but at the end of the day, today the score is 0-0. Nothing's happened yet.

From what I learned, being on that team in Australia, from what we learned in Australia, if this is the Ryder Cup in a three-day event, we would have got beat.

So there's no complacency in our room. I don't feel it. I don't see it. Hopefully we fill it out early this week.

Q. Jordan referred to the fact it was almost bragging rights among the team, like a player wants to earn the most points or doesn't want to be the guy who earns the fewest points. Can you kind of speak to that competitive mentality among the 12 guys?

TONY FINAU: I think that's why we had so much success the last year. All of us wanted to have a great record. We know, if we have a great individual record, it's only going to help the team.

Obviously we're not playing against each other, but I think we take pride in our groupings, whoever we're playing against. We take pride in our individual results. Just so guys know that, hey, this guy is here to play, pairs, all of these things.

These are guys that you respect. These are the best of the best. We're talking about my 11 teammates, our captains. We definitely just take pride in wanting to have a great record when it comes to these international team events. I think all of us are looking to have a great record this week.

Q. If you had to build your ideal match play player from the 12 guys on this team, who would you choose to drive the ball, hit the iron shots, short game, and putting? And you can choose yourself.

TONY FINAU: I think off the tee I feel myself and probably J.T. are two guys that I'd like to see drive the golf ball. Obviously everybody does everything well, but I feel those two names out there.

Irons, as far as ball striking, Collin is going to be right at the top of the list. Max Homa is a guy I would probably put in the conversation for irons.

Wedge game, J.T. back in there, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, amazing wedge player. Sam Burns, amazing wedge player.

Putting, probably Sam Burns is right at the top with Jordan Spieth.

I know I threw a few names in those categories, but those are the guys.

Q. Long story short, so many to pick from?

TONY FINAU: No question. We've got a nice team, and we're all focused and ready to go for tomorrow.

Q. You kids got your TOUR cards together way back in the day?

TONY FINAU: Me and J.T., we got on TOUR together. We played in Korn Ferry Tour in 2014, and we were rookies together. It's cool sharing so many of these memories with him.

Q. You guys have been giving Kis a hard time being the oldest guy in the team room by a few years?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, he's definitely the grandpa of the group. It's funny to say that because he's only in his mid-30s.

We've got a great group of young guys. That's the great thing about that. They're all in their 20s and hungry and ready to get after it.

Q. I have a question about the PGA 2K game coming out. This is your first time you get to be in a video game. I don't know if you played those Tiger Woods games growing up. What does that mean to you to be able to be in it and knowing that kids get to play as you in a video game?

TONY FINAU: It's unbelievable. It's so cool. I'm obviously not a huge gamer, never have been. I couldn't really afford it growing up. I'm not that much into gaming, but I know how cool it is, and I really was honored to be on something like that. And kids can continue to look up to you and be inspired by you, play you in the game. It's pretty dang cool, no question.

Q. What do you think your rating should be on there?

TONY FINAU: That's funny. NBA guys talk about their rating all the time. I don't know what kind of ratings they give out, but you definitely got to give me a 90-plus. Coming off the season I had, 99 is the best rating they give in the NFL and the NBA.

I'll be working my way up towards the high 90s. You've got to give me 93 or 94, coming off one of the better seasons on TOUR. I'd like to say I'm a low to mid-90s guy right now.

Q. I asked Max this yesterday, his AIM user name growing up. I don't know if you had AIM, but what was yours if you did?

TONY FINAU: I don't remember. I don't want to make one up because his sounds so hysterical and cool. I also had AOL.

A lot of these young guys, you probably ask them and they don't know what it is.

Q. I didn't ask them.

TONY FINAU: You have to be 30 and up to have AOL or AIM or anything like that. I don't remember what it was, but I know I had one.

Q. Tony, with some of your videos recently with the walk up to tournaments and showing off some of the style, give me a top three most stylish players on the American team.

TONY FINAU: On the team? Top three stylish on the team? Billy Horschel is probably the best dressed, in my opinion. Always dressed to the nines.

I think Collin Morikawa is pretty sharp. And J.T., he's always got a great shoe game. He's a big Jordan guy. I'd put them in the top three.

Q. I've got to follow it up. Who's the worst?

TONY FINAU: Probably Scottie Scheffler. I love the guy. The great thing I love about Scottie is exactly how he is, like just looks carefree, walks around like just chilling, that's exactly how he dresses.

His clothes are just a little bit baggy. I love that about him. He could probably care less what anybody thinks, but sometimes his style is a little --

Q. If the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf ever put together a team event, would you play in that?

TONY FINAU: Probably not. Probably not. There's just way too much going on there. There's no reason to play when it comes to those two Tours.

I've shown where my loyalty is. We played against those guys forever. Anybody that wants to see that can see the stats. We played against each other forever. Those guys on LIV now, we played against forever. They were our teammates.

I think that's a hypothetical question from the media, fans may want to see that, but it's not something I'd be a part of just because it's like to me there's no point in being involved in that.

Q. I know you're just practicing and all, but how good was your round of 60 last week?

TONY FINAU: It was really good. The course record was 68, and I was there for a handful of years. So being a course record on any course by eight shots is pretty good. It was one of the better scoring rounds maybe I've ever played.

8,100 yards. If you take the elevation out of it, it's probably about 7,400 yards. So still a pretty healthy course.

Putter got hot, and I actually missed a couple to shoot in the 50s, which is pretty crazy to think. That was potentially the greatest round I've ever played. It was cool.

Q. You missed a couple?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, we missed putts. It gives me a lot of confidence going into this week.

Q. Are you someone who gets 1st tee jitters?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, if you say someone who says he doesn't, he's just lying. That's all there is to it. I think jitters might not be the right word. To me it's like I'm just anxious to get started and just get the ball rolling, get the ball in the air, and let's get going.

I think it's more that than it is actual nerves of hitting the shot. Just more of like let's get this ball in the air and let's start moving. Let's get this tournament started.

So definitely feeling that this week. They haven't come out with the lineup yet. I'll either be cheering the guys on or be ready to play come tomorrow.

Q. What's the pre-tournament playlist this week?

TONY FINAU: Actually, I haven't listened to a lot of music out on the course. I don't have music in while I'm eating or anything like that. So not a lot.

Bob Marley has been on my list over the last week or so with my son. It's kind of cool being able to spill my music onto him over the last couple of weeks. He's become a big Bob Marley fan over the last week.

Q. Xander was just asked about Freddie kind of how you were, and he actually said there is a surprising side of him that sort of stresses out a little bit. Have you ever seen that side?

TONY FINAU: Freddie stressing out?

Q. Yes.

TONY FINAU: No. If he has, I don't see it. I've never seen it. Not in the team room, so not me.

Q. What's he like as a captain?

TONY FINAU: He's the best. He's the best. Exactly how you guys see it. He's chill. He's funny, super funny.

I probably can't say a lot of the things that he says to us. Great energy. Great guy to be around. I love having him as an assistant captain.

Q. How do you think yours and Max's games go together?

TONY FINAU: They mesh well, great, yeah. Both coming off the best seasons of our careers. I think we match up great.