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WALKER CUP MATCHSeptember 6, 2007Colin DalgleishRory McIlroyLloyd SaltmanNEWCASTLE, NORTH IRELAND STEWART McDOUGAL: Colin, tell us, how has the preparation gone so far? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: The preparation has gone great so far. We came over here and had dinner with the R&A, a big to-do, and then we were at Belfast on Tuesday, played 27 holes on Tuesday at Baltray, and this morning we played 18 hole foursomes, the team are a very talented guys. Great start on the team and they are all very passionate to bring the trophy back to St. Andrews. That's what we've done so far. STEWART McDOUGAL: You played two years ago, how is this different from the team two years ago? LLOYD SALTMAN: I think it is a little bit different. To be honest, this feels a bit more like a team than last time. We had a really good team last year. We had a lot of real individual kind of -- as far as preparation has been great up to now. Last time we had a fantastic team, as well. And this year again, we've got a great team, so we're going to go out and try to go one better than last time. Q. Why do you think that a team needs chemistry? Golf is your game, it's McIlroy's game, their game. Why is the chemistry so important for you guys to succeed? LLOYD SALTMAN: Obviously we have foursomes, and trying to make the team it's individual tournament, stroke-play, match-play events. And obviously you need to gel well with a partner. And it's a ten-man team; not one guy can win the Walker Cup. You need the ten to win it. We're concentrating on that, so like I say it's a whole team, it's a team effort; I think that's the reason. Q. Rory, your point of view about the GB&I players, what do you know about the U.S. Team, and have you got any views about the American players at all that you're going to be facing this weekend? RORY McILROY: I lost the U.S. Amateur final last week on TV and Colt is a very good player, has a good ball flight, very penetrating ball flight. And they are all -- they wouldn't be -- they are all very good players. If they weren't, they wouldn't be on the team. I think, you know, I played with Kyle Stanley before at the Orange Grove a couple of years ago, and Rickie Fowler is another good young player. Jamie Lovemark as well; a couple of the guys from the Ireland team, I actually played with them last year at the Western Amateur, and they said he's just going to be a fantastic player. I think there's a lot of really good individuals on that team, and it's going to be tough for us this week. Q. Is this the sort of course that you need to be familiar with? How much has the preparation beforehand stood you in stead? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: Just to speak on behalf of the guys who might just want to chip in, but when we came across in April at that stage we had 23 that had actually played the golf course before. Just the nature of it, the British Amateur was held here in '98 and some of the guys had not played on that. And they had played a lot of golf, but they only play where the events are; so very few had played it back in April. We brought a score across for a couple of days and brought the team across in August, and we are here now. So kind of three occasions where we have been here for sort of two, two and a half days at a time; and it's a golf course probably more so than any other links course that I can think of that requires a sort of knowledge and getting to know the golf course and different winds and so on. You don't want to be out there for too long, four or five days in a row going around aimlessly; and hopefully that knowledge of having played it, as I say, in April, August and September in different wind conditions will stand in good stead. And this is back in April, we were going rapidly across here, talking about views on playing the golf course, playing more along the ground probably speaking than a high ball through the air. So I think everybody is going to be taking that on board and everybody has a pretty good game plan of how they will each individually go about playing the golf course. Q. And Rory, you know this course better than anybody; what is the secret to playing? RORY McILROY: I think the good thing about the three times we've been here is we've played the course in different conditions. It's going to be very beneficial for us, because I know the forecast looks pretty good but you never know what's going to happen. So I think it was good that we got to play the golf course in different conditions. I think the thing about it is just hit it on the fairway, hit it on the green, don't do anything fancy. It the sort of course like if you just play the front half of the greens, you're going to have a chance. You know, there's going to be a lot of holes over par, as well. It's just that sort of golf course if you short-side yourself or you miss it. There's a lot of run-offs and fall-offs to the greens, as well. Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is everyone said if you play the front of the green and take your chances from there, likelihood is you make pars on the difficult holes, 50 per cent of the time you're going to win those holes. Q. The first Walker Cup is obviously a pretty nerve-wracking occasion, and you've also got the home crowd factor for you; how much benefit was Carnoustie and how are you approaching the week? RORY McILROY: A people have made comparisons about Carnoustie and this week but I think it's completely different. You're playing for nine other guys out there. But I mean, the crowds at Carnoustie were pretty awesome but I think this week's just going to be so much better for me, and for everyone else. It's a bit more -- the crowds walk with you on the fairway and stuff, and I'm just really looking forward to it and I can't wait to get started. Q. Question for Lloyd and for Colin. Could you both describe what Rory is bringing to the team? Is he quiet? Does he need looking after? (laughter) CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I think obviously Rory, as I think I've said before, it's a great and an amazing coincidence to have somebody of Rory's exceptional talent to come along at this moment in time when The Matches are being played here at Royal County Down. Certainly as far as The Matches are concerned, he's going to raise the profile here in Ireland, and we got a taste of that when we arrived into Belfast on Monday afternoon. Obviously he's a great player and both Rory and Lloyd having won the silver medal at the 2007, 2005 Opens, respectively, as well as his playing ability, he's a great team member. Rory gets no special privileges on the team, and in the team room he bonds very well. He's a very solid team member, and we're certainly on the golf course expecting great things of him also. LLOYD SALTMAN: Rory is a fantastic talent; 18 years old and achieved so much already in amateur golf, he brings great things to the team because obviously he's proved that he can perform under the pressure. And this week is the highest pinnacle of amateur golf, so there's going to be pressure this week. And it's great to know you've got someone on your team that you can pull through and you need be, and obviously he's a great lad as well. He gets on with anyone and he's that kind of player and he's also very laid back and pretty stupid and daft and stuff like that -- (laughter). Stupid, pretty daft, good to have a laugh, and our room has join of joined doors together so he sneaks into our room and annoys us and stuff like that. We get a good laugh and he brings a lot to the team. CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I should also just add that yesterday on the way back from Baltray, a lot of the guys had a DVD of Rory's game that was on TV from the Monday which we missed. So we were able to watch it on the bus on the way back and Rory's game everyone had moved into the back slot to watch Rory and all of the team enjoyed doing that. LLOYD SALTMAN: When they woke up. (Laughter) Q. Rory, Lloyd, how do you feel about playing with so many spectators behind you in the fairway and inside the ropes? It's unusual, so many; how do you think it will affect you? LLOYD SALTMAN: It's a good thing. We've played amateur golf obviously all year to get onto this team. You know, we're used to sometimes at some of the events, you get a bit of a crowd and stuff and that is amateur golf. They walk with you and they feet right involved. I think it's going to be a -- we hear the marshals are going to have pretty good control, so on the greens we'll have space and when we are on the fairway they will be behind us. It's not going to bother us and it's great to have the home support, a lot of people will be out here watching Rory and stuff like that which will be great. So they will probably all be around him, 9,000 and a bit of a gap, a thousand around us, so we should be fine. It's great. It's quite a good change to play hands-on and most of the majority will be supporting us, so no complaints. RORY McILROY: To add to that as well, I think when the crowds walk with you on the fairways, it creates a better atmosphere, as well. There's really no way to describe it. I actually like the crowds to walk with you on the fairway, it just creates a buzz around the place. I think that's one of the things we're all really looking forward to is the amount of people that are going to be here. I think at the atmosphere on the first tee come Saturday morning is going to be electric. I think we are really looking forward to that. Q. Lloyd and Rory, the last time I looked, the bookies had you as odds-on favourite. Is that something you would agree with, or is that a burden for you or something that you think is justified? RORY McILROY: No, I mean, it depends -- I don't know. I think some people don't really know a lot about the American team, and you really can't underestimate them because I mean they are all fantastic players. As I said, it's going to be really tough for us, and I think we've got as good of a chance -- I'm sure the Americans are very adaptable and there are a few linksy courses over there, anyways. So I'm sure they know how to play golf courses like this. LLOYD SALTMAN: I think it's quite a good thing because if people favour us, that's why we worked so hard all year to get on the team, and if people think we're favourite, that's great. We'll just go out and try to do what we've done all year and play golf really and hopefully come out on top, and it's just good to thank people on the better side and hopefully we can prove that as well. Q. Last week you probably noticed a very significant winner at Gleneagles, and he was asked at the press conference if he had anything to pass on to his colleagues, as you are here this week, he said he wished you all the very best. So a wish from Marc Warren, significant winner, a Scottish winner to you guys. CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: That's great, thank you very much. Marvelous for Marc winning at Gleneagles and appreciate his good wishes. Q. Colin, you've got a generation now of players who have won Walker Cups, or have seen GB&I teams win Walker Cups. How important is that psychologically as the team has gone forward, with the group of players you'll be selecting from, that don't know of past landslides; that only know about the team being able to win. From a psychological standpoint, how big of a deal is that? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I think it's very important. The guys are of an age that they don't know of the big USA wins of the past because they have only seen Walker Cups where we have been very, very close and the same holds true of The Ryder Cup. So they are all of the expectation that the match is going to be very, very close and that GB&I is going to have a very good chance of winning. I think expectation is all important. The guys were going in here, we are talking about, we don't know a huge amount of the American team. We know they have very good players and possibly only five of them I think have maybe traveled overseas to play in many events. But the players are of a level that they are adaptable. I think that our guys travel around the world, they are world players in match play and I think they are quietly confident and they will go out there and see what we can do. Q. How do you see your role this week, and what are some of the things that you're looking forward to, and obviously not looking forward to? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I see that my role will be -- a fair part of that is done; to get to this stage, because my role is to try and make sure that the team are as prepared and as managed as they possibly can be. And certainly keeping them motivated, that's not something I have to worry about because they are all motivated to get the trophy back. I have to just to make sure the arrangements to get here allow for that team spirit to be there and that everything should be as smooth as it possibly can be. And hopefully we've kind of got to that stage now as we move forward in terms of the golf course. We are giving them all of the tools, having various people here -- I was talking to Rafferty earlier, just how they play the golf course. We just want to make sure they have every opportunity there and have thought of all the possibilities of the golf course, and leave it to them to make up their mind how they are going to play the golf course and how they are going to tackle it. Just want to get them on that first tee ready and raring to go and take it from there. As you know, the two days of The Matches pass so quickly. So I have to be out there just kind of at the right place but at the end of the day, it's up to the guys on the golf course to do it, not me. Q. Marucci has a policy of trying to play each of his members three times. Do you have a policy to that effect? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I certainly don't have a policy of playing everyone three times. I certainly have a policy of wherever it's possible everybody to play in the Walker Cup. You would like to have all of your players play the first day barring some surprise factor. But I think in terms of who plays the next day, it's sort of dependent on what happens the first day, but it's pretty tough to say that someone is going to play, you know, three times minimum. Q. To the two lads, just off today's practise, who won the money today? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: Well, neither of them. (Laughter). RORY McILROY: Llewellyn and Danny, they shot 2-under today unfortunately, which is pretty good out there. I think we shot 71, didn't we. LLOYD SALTMAN: It wasn't too bad, respectable, but wasn't too bad. RORY McILROY: Lost about 40 quid this week. Q. Colin, just wondering, have you got in your mind pairings set? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: Right now I would say it's probably 95 per cent set as we get to the stage that we've got to submit the foursomes for three o'clock tomorrow afternoon I think. So at this point in time, I've got a pretty good idea of who is going to play on the first day certainly. Q. (Can you talk about having the team meet Sandy Lyle)? CAPTAIN COLIN DALGLEISH: I think it was more sort of motivational. Sandy Lyle was a Walker Cup player, and since then he's gone on to be a successful member of The Ryder Cup team in '85 and '87, and obviously involved last year at K Club. As a winner of the British Open and the Masters, he is a bit of a legend to everybody here. And just to have him there, you know, probably one of the greatest British golfers ever produced; I think was pretty special for the guys, just to sit with him at dinner and to play six holes with him next day. Couldn't possibly be nicer and just passed on, I would say some have individual advice here and there. Nothing in general, but I think he was just a pretty good -- it was pretty nice to have him there and I think the guys would agree with that. RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely. I mean, first and foremost, he's just a really nice guy, you know, very unassuming, very laid back. I think it was just great for him to come and be with us at the dinner on Monday when we played Kingsbarns. He played the Walker Cup in '77, and look what he's gone on to achieve. So I think that it sort of putts a little extra incentive for all of the guys. Because if they see that Sandy Lyle has played Walker Cup and then went on to win major championships, there's no reason why anyone in the GB&I team can't do the same. So I think it's just great to have him there, as Colin said, motivational purposes. Q. You have the home crowd, the home course, you have the bookies that all expect you to win. Is there any extra pressure on you guys knowing the expectation is there for to you win? LLOYD SALTMAN: I don't really think so. The players that are on this team, you know, all of us expect ourselves to play well, so they are putting pressure on themselves to play well in the practise round and if you're not, you're not happy. So I don't think anything is going to change other than we want to go out and play well ourselves and then, you know, we probably put more pressure on ourselves than anyone anyway. If we keep on going, we'll be just fine, you know. RORY McILROY: Might be a little different for me just because I'm from here. But I think what Lloyd says, we just sort of expect ourselves to play well every week and if we don't, we're not happy. I don't think the pressure that we put on ourselves is the only pressure that you should feel or we do feel. So I think we just go out there, have our own expectations, don't care about what other people think and go out and play golf and hope we beat the Americans. STEWART McDOUGAL: Colin, Lloyd, Rory, thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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