THE WALKER CUP

September 3, 2023

Caleb Surratt

Ben James

Quick Quotes

Q. You were out first and put a point on the board, really important. How important was that to you guys?

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, I think it was a lot less important to us than it was for our team and our country. That was a way to come out when we had to face some adversity early, and to turn that around and come out here and do what we did on that back nine is a huge testament to the player that Ben is and the player that I am.

It means the world, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

BEN JAMES: It was really good. Captain had his trust in us. We're great friends, and we know each other's game really well, so we just trusted in each other and helped each other along the way when we needed a pick-me-up. It was just awesome that Captain wanted to throw us out first, and we got it done for him ^ Check.

Q. You guys played great yesterday. Was there some confidence going into today knowing you could replicate that?

BEN JAMES: A little bit. We knew how yesterday wasn't going to happen, and obviously the conditions were a lot tougher today, so we knew par was a nice score out there, and we made a couple nice putts and we played really smart when we had to, so I think that was our key.

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, exactly what Ben said. We said if we came out here and played the same golf we did yesterday, there's no way we get beat, especially in this wind, because we're two amazing players and we played an amazing round of golf yesterday, and we ran into probably the top two players on their team right now.

They put an amazing round together, so hats off to them, but really proud of how we backed that up.

Q. You've taken on a bit of a vocal leadership role. Is that something that is just natural for you?

CALEB SURRATT: Yeah, I think it felt like we really needed it there for a little while. I could tell we were leaking oil, and I think Ben was a little caught up in how they played yesterday, but the reality was nobody is shooting 7-under in this wind today.

When we saw a couple of putts miss early and there was some frustration there, I knew there couldn't be any of that. I went ahead and took that variable off the table, and it could not have worked out better.

Q. Was he firing you up out there?

BEN JAMES: A little bit, yeah. He was kicking my butt a little bit after some poor emotion I showed. It's what I needed. I was just putting really, really nicely today. My speed was perfect. Every putt looked like it was going in. It was cool. Just a big relief when you know you're going to get on the green and scare the hole.