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WGC WORLD CUPNovember 17, 2004Bob TwayScott VerplankSEVILLA, SPAIN
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We'd like to thank Scott Verplank and Bob Tway for joining us for a few minutes here in the interview room at the World Golf Championships World Cup.
Scott and Bob, you're very comfortable with each other, you guys practice and play all the time. You had an opportunity to play the course the last two days. Why don't you just talk about the course a little bit and we'll go into questions. SCOTT VERPLANK: The golf course, it's nice. I mean, it kind of reminds me of playing a couple of our TOUR events in America. It's not quite as warm as Palm Springs or Las Vegas, but with palm trees and the green grass and a little bit of wind blowing. It's a nice golf course. I think they have whipped it into pretty good shape and the greens are excellent. I think it will be fun to play. Q. Paul Casey from the English team -- (Laughter.) BOB TWAY: First one. SCOTT VERPLANK: I think Bob and I are going to have a really good chance to play well. Q. It's all right. I'm starting out very gently. He mentioned that some people on this side of the Atlantic say that Tom Lehman is not right man to be leading your Ryder Cup side. So could we have your comments? SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, I've only played in one, so I'm not an expert. How many has Paul played in? SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I think the guy was a good Ryder Cup player. He performed well. He's definitely a kind of rah-rah guy as evidenced by that one deal. You know, he'll be fine. I think we have different -- we kind of get a different personality each time it looks like to me. You know, maybe he'll be the kind of, you know, guy that will inspire guys to maybe play a little bit better. Q. What did you think of Paul Casey's comments generally? SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, I guess everybody is entitled to an opinion. You know, you read them and you kind of go, well, he's obviously got some sort of burr under his saddle about something. But he does play our tour, I guess. I think he's a member of our tour. Is he? SCOTT VERPLANK: Okay. Well, I guess I'm not very smart. I didn't even know he's a member of our tour. If he's really that uncomfortable or that annoyed or anything, I don't think anybody would miss him if he went back to England. I don't know what he really meant by all that. But good luck to him. Q. That's an excellent expression, a burr under his saddle. SCOTT VERPLANK: That's kind of like an expression from the western United States. Q. Is that like a thorn or something? SCOTT VERPLANK: Like a thorn under the saddle of your horse and your horse is not real comfortable. Q. What are your chances of winning this World Cup? BOB TWAY: I don't know. I don't think anyone really knows. I have a great partner, I know that. You know, when Scott asked me to play, I was extremely excited. As good of friends as we are, as much as we play golf together, it's a great opportunity to get to play in this type of format. How we do, we'll find out Sunday, but I'm very much looking forward to it. And ever since he asked me when I was in Ireland and we were playing, it's kind of been all I've thought about. So I tried to prepare for this week maybe more so than I would if I was on my own. So I'm just excited about playing. Q. You're not the only country that's had to go down the list to find a two-man team. What can be done to elevate the World Cup, which in other sports is a pinnacle? SCOTT VERPLANK: I don't know. You know, I was a little surprised myself when it went -- I guess I was the 10th-ranked American off the World Rankings, and you know I was a little surprised when it got to me. I've played in the event one other time; I played in '98 before it was a World Golf Championships event. It was an individual and a team deal. I actually won the individual part of it and John Daly and I, I guess we lost by a couple of shots. I thought it was a great event. You know, to have a -- I like playing team golf. The Ryder Cup was the best golf experience I've ever had. I enjoy that more than anything, having a partner and being part of a team. So when it came to me and they said, well, it's a two-man team and you can pick your partner. I said, "Sure, I've love to play." I like playing team events and I like playing for the United States. I think it's a pretty good place. Q. Bob, any ideas to elevate the World Cup to something more meaningful than it seems to be in players' minds, some players' minds? BOB TWAY: I guess just unfortunately for the World Cup, it's after the season has finished. Guys are playing for a lot of money and made a lot of money comparatively speaking in golf the last 20 years. So I guess it's just not one of their big priorities. Like I said, obviously I would be way down the list but when Scott asked, I couldn't wait. I can't speak for them. I don't know what you could do. If I was way up there and playing well, I've love to play. So I don't know -- you'd have to ask them what you'd have to do. Q. The Irish pair said that for them playing and representing their country is the thing that inspires them most and excites them most, and what they find strange is the top American players are not worried about representing their country. Do you think that's a fair comment? SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I mean, I agree with them. Like I said, I'm happy to be here. I think that it's -- like I said, I like playing for the United States. Like I said, I was a little shocked that the guys ahead of me didn't take the opportunity. I think like Bob was saying and you were saying, there's so many events kind of after the year and a lot of them are guaranteed money and guys are going all over the place. You know, I guess it didn't fit into their schedules. You know, golf is pretty crowed now. Q. Would playing for less money help? SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I don't know. It wouldn't for me. (Laughter.) BOB TWAY: You mean playing for less money on TOUR? Q. Yes, would it make these things a bigger priority? SCOTT VERPLANK: It might. Boy, there would be a lot of -- I guess you could look at it two ways. Or you could make this a $10 million purse; I bet your field would be a little better. So you could do it either way. Hopefully we're not going to play for less money on the regular U.S. PGA TOUR. Q. It could happen, though. Your TV deal might not be as big. SCOTT VERPLANK: It could happen. I don't really know. I just hope Tiger keeps playing. Hope he starts playing better. Q. Yet we had a World Match-Play in England only a few weeks ago that was the biggest first prize in golf and that had a dozen withdrawals for a field of 16. SCOTT VERPLANK: Like I was saying, there's just a lot of golf. There may be a few too many tournaments worldwide. I don't know. I know you can't play every week. It's hard. As good as the competition has gotten, you can't show up half-tired or half-ready. You've got to be ready to go and fully energized to play that week, whether it's this tournament or the World Match Play or THE TOUR Championship or anything here the last part of the year. You've got to be ready to go because guys will play good. BOB TWAY: You have the same trouble when you're talking about why people don't play. You've got, what, 43 tournaments just on our tour alone, and each sponsor says, "Why can't Tiger come play." You can't do it. It's just like the Champions Tour. They can't understand why they can't get a good field. Every tour is the same way. If you have 20 events, everybody plays all of them. If you have 43, you can't possibly do that, plus with all of the World events. Maybe that's one problem. Not the money issue but just how many tournaments there are, opportunities. You know, I don't want to say it's anyone's fault. Jack didn't play many tournaments either, just like what Tiger has done and he didn't get ridiculed, or maybe he did; I don't know that he did. But everyone's on Tiger for not playing enough but that's just what Jack did, very specific about when they play around the majors; that's their priority and more power to them. I wish I could play that well to do that. I think we all would. So you can't really get onto them. Q. When did you first hear about Casey's comments, and what do you think the reaction will be when you turns up on the U.S. tour next year? SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, I saw the article this morning. I don't know, I mean, hopefully he was misquoted. Maybe he wasn't. I don't know. But I wouldn't think that that would be the smartest thing to do if you're going to stay over in the United States. You know, you're kind of an entertainer as a professional golfer. You know, you have an audience that you would like to have appreciate you or marvel at your skill or whatever. I would think if that was published, if that article was published in USA Today and a few other things where it was well-read in the United States, the temperature around him might cool off a little bit. I mean, how can you say derogatory things toward a group of people and generalizing them all and not expect to have some guys not take it personally? I don't really know him that well. I've met him. He's always nice to me. Maybe he was hyped up about something else, I don't know. Q. Might be a danger of heckling, as well. SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I would think. I don't know, maybe some guys will start jumping up and down his line on putts and stuff. (Laughter.) Q. Was it pinned up somewhere or you were handed a copy or you just came across it? SCOTT VERPLANK: One of the tournament officials brought it to us just to see; was getting a chuckle out of it.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thanks, guys, for joining us.
End of FastScripts. |
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