THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 26, 2024

Collin Morikawa

Sahith Theegala

Royal Montreal Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. New experience for you. How would you characterize the nerves on your first ever Presidents Cup?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, I was really, really nervous. I tried to channel that as positively as I can, but definitely thought about what I was doing a few times out there. Just realized I needed to do my thing.

Collin was great. Just reminded me to stay in the moment and keep doing what we're doing. This is what we do best.

It was awesome. I had so much fun out there today. It's just the best. It's hard to describe. It's just the best.

Q. No doubt, playing alongside a two-time major champ like Collin. Collin, a lot of red on the board. How is your Captain Furyk putting you in a position to succeed so far?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: He's letting us do our thing. Honestly, he's just kind of letting us be who we are and going out and just fighting. Nothing is given in these matches. We still have to earn it. We have to earn a point, and we grind it out there.

We saw a lot of lip-outs, a lot of close putts, and just never let up. I'm really happy we got a point on the board. Get some rest and head out tomorrow.

Q. Your first birdie comes at 18, and it was almost an eagle. I was up here, and it touched the stick on the bounce.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, it was a good number actually at the end. We were between clubs for a while with the wind kind of straight off the right. Then finally played it just a little bit of hurt and it was a perfect cut 8-iron.

I really feel like I put a lot of good swings on it today and didn't hit anything close. It was really nice to stone one there on 18. It was a great feeling.

Q. Collin, you've been here before. Your partner has not. Did you detect a little nervousness out there for him today?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Honestly no. He striped one on 1. I stole a few birdies from him. It doesn't show it on the card. 1, he probably would have made birdie there. Would have made birdie on 14. Stole one on -- what is it, 12, the par-5? He was there. I was just putting it in the hole a little bit quicker.

It was awesome. To come up clutch like that, to hit it that close on 18 knowing those guys are most likely going to make birdie, that's what shows. He's made for it.

Q. Sahith, describe the emotions. Your first go at it. Were you nervous?

SAHITH THEEGALA: I was definitely nervous. It was an intense match. It was never more than 1 up either way, I think. It's just awesome to have Collin, who's done a lot of these and been in big situations, to say a few words every now and then to either keep me level or get us to stay in the process that we're in and just do our business.

You can't ever let off the gas here, and I don't think we did. The putts didn't necessarily fall for us. Collin hit so many lips out there today. But I never felt like we let our foot off the gas.

Ultimately, it was a 1 up win, and we'll take any point we can get on the board.

Q. A point for Team USA today. I'll start with you. The emotions, the nerves, playing your first match and then coming up clutch at the end there, first birdie of the day. Kind of talk about the whole day as a whole.

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, it was an intense day for sure. It was a very back and forth battle. I just feel like Collin did a good job of kind of keeping me in it, saying you cannot let off the gas. We're 1 up with a few to go on that back nine.

We just tried our hardest to finish them out. The putts didn't really go in, but we were hitting good shots, and I felt like we were applying pressure. A lot of times we were both on the green, where maybe only one of them was on the green.

It felt so good. I hit my irons well today. It was really nice for that last shot to be stone dead because I've been putting good swings on it, and it's nice to see one close at the end.

Q. Collin, why did you guys pair so well together today?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Look, we've known each other since we've been 8, 9 years old. We've been playing golf our entire life pretty much with Sahith right here. I didn't realize his name was Sahith until he turned pro, so that's kind of awkward.

Look, I think we just vibe really well. We kind of play -- I wouldn't say the same style of game, but we're very -- our mental games are somewhat similar, and I think we just never give up.

I know he's never out of the hole wherever he hits it, and I love that having that as a partner. This guy can make par or birdies from anywhere. That's who I want by my side.

Q. Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa. Collin, first of all, a very intense match to start this Presidents Cup. How would you assess this first match?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: We got the point. We grinded, and we worked our butt off, and we really came through on that back nine and started hitting some better shots. We started giving ourselves two birdie looks, and that's the most important thing in this format is giving yourself opportunities, both of us, and not playing 1 v. 2.

The definition of clutch right there is what Sahith did. I'm very, very happy to come out with a win on that one.

Q. Sahith, I know you guys know each other since you were kids, right?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yes.

Q. How cool was it to have your first Presidents Cup match with this guy on this side?

SAHITH THEEGALA: Yeah, it was super cool. Captain Jim asked me early on who I would feel most comfortable with play with. We have an awesome group of guys, but the first name I said was Collin. We've known each other our whole lives. He's kind of kicked my butt for most of our lives and still continues to do so.

I can't think of a better partner. I feel like our mental games and our personalities mesh really well in a weird kind of way, but it's also nice being with one of the best players in the world.

I feel like we had a lot of good vibes going just in the practice rounds that we had, and I felt really confident going into today. It definitely eased some of the nerves that I was feeling.