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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

October 7, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

DOUG MILNE: We would like to welcome the last four members of the American side of the 2009 Presidents Cup team to the interview room. We are joined by Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover. Interestingly these four guys are somehow paired together for tomorrow. If we could just start maybe with Phil just a couple comments now that pairings have been made, your enthusiasm level and how you're feeling as you're heading into tomorrow.
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, we are all looking forward to it. It will be a fun match. It's important for both sides to get off to a good start, and Anthony and I are looking forward to leading the U.S. Team off first group.
ANTHONY KIM: Well, this is my first Presidents Cup, and obviously Phil and I had a good time at The Ryder Cup and we are just going to try to build on that success we had and hopefully we'll make a couple birdies along the way.
STEWART CINK: It's always exciting to play for your country, and I get to play with a good friend, Lucas. And so I just hope to -- hope he can hold me up a little bit and I think we'll have a good time. We always have fun when we play together and this is definitely a fun situation to be competitive in too.
LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, just mirror of what Stewart said, we are good friends and enjoy playing together. We had a good nine holes today. Played pretty good and just looking forward to continuing that tomorrow.

Q. Fred said basically he let you guys choose each other, makeup the teams yourself. Should it be any other way?
LUCAS GLOVER: I think it's up to the captain. Two years ago, Jack pretty much let us do the same thing the first couple of days and see who fit, who didn't, who played well and who didn't and go from there.
I had not been a part of a team that had not, so it felt natural. But you know, it's whatever Fred wanted to do, so his prerogative.

Q. Phil, Fred mentioned yesterday that you tweaked your back. Can you give us an update on how it is and will it affect you this week?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's not an issue. I'm just being careful of -- I'm being cautious these first couple of days. I feel that I can swing as hard as I want and don't have any restrictions or pain, but I'm just being a little cautious so I don't re-injure it here before the inflammation heals.

Q. How it did it happen?
PHIL MICKELSON: Out of nowhere.

Q. You've played in every one of these and Ryder Cups along the way; back in time there was concern about the Americans having to do this every year. Since you've experienced that, how would you say that has played out? Have you been okay with this competition every year? Is it something you're just used to and know you're going to do it?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think that these weeks are some of the most fun weeks that we have on TOUR. It's fun to hang out with the guys at a whole different environment than an individual stroke-play event, a major championship, where we are competing against each other. It's a different environment to be able to hang out with each other in the team room and spend a week together.
The relationships that are formed this week tend to last a career, tend to last a lifetime, and these are special weeks, and I think that we have been fortunate to be able to have one every year.

Q. When you play with, like let's say, Phil, is equipment in alternate-shot an issue? And then Phil, we hear you finally took down Tiger on the ping-pong table yesterday.
PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know what you mean by finally, but again, it happened, yes. (Laughter).
ANTHONY KIM: As far as the equipment is concerned, we are going to use Phil's ball, and I got no problem with it. When I was little, I used all different kind of golf balls, because those were the used golf balls that you had to buy in a bag. I'm used to playing whatever, and we'll go out there and have a good time.

Q. The last wave of Americans that were in here were talking about how the rookie on the team, O'Hair, has been talking heaping mountainous slabs of trash in the team room. Maybe Anthony, since you've been known to do that yourself, you can comment on that. Seems a little rare that the new guy on the team is leading the charge as far as verbal abuse.
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, you know, I haven't heard too much of it. I know he's not a good sports bettor. I learned that yesterday. (Laughter) Whatever team he picks, you go against that one.
No, I've been trying to keep my mouth shut, most of the time, unless it's with Phil, because he just brings it out in me. But other than that, we are just having a good time and everyone is getting along.
I would love to tell you there was a fight or something going on, but there's not. We're having a great time.

Q. Struck me as funny that he seems kind of quiet otherwise.
ANTHONY KIM: It's a different side of Sean, and that's the beauty of it, like Phil said, you build relationships here because you're not trying to beat everyone's brains out. You're playing on a team, and I think everyone on the team feels honored to be playing for the U.S. So you see totally different sides of people, and maybe the guy you didn't talk to at the last tournament, you end up being good friends with.

Q. Why do you think you and Phil clicked so well at Valhalla last year?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, because he talked so much trash to me every time I hit -- no.
I try to pull my glove off on him every time, even when we're on the same team, I pull my glove off. No, we have a good time together. I think we are both very aggressive. I think we really -- there's some times where maybe he thinks that he needs to hit a different club, because he wants to give me a hundred yards, but I like him to hit the driver, and that's kind of the attitude that my dad taught me how to play with.
So we have the same game plan where we go out there and just try to make as many birdies as possible.

End of FastScripts

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