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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

October 10, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

MARK WILLIAMS: We welcome Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Tim Clark. Geoff give us some thoughts on your match today, and just explain how it went.
GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, we played quite well this afternoon, Robert and I. We combined very well. We did the best-ball thing; neither of us birdied the same hole at the same time. I would make a birdie and he would make a birdie. It was pretty nice. We got lucky, we holed two or three long bonus putts which were probably the difference in the end. We holed the putts and they didn't. Nice to get a point up.
I had a rough first couple of days here, so it was nice to play a little better today.
MARK WILLIAMS: You've come to the 18th hole in three matches, pretty important shots at the end. Just talk us through that.
TIM CLARK: Yeah, obviously today's matches were pretty tough, pretty long; and this morning, we kind of figured something like that might happen, standing on the 17th green. And sure enough, Tiger makes the putt and we go to 18 and lose the match. That was quite unfortunate, because Mike and I had played pretty good and hung in there all day. And I think we were 2-up with probably six, seven to go. And same goes for this afternoon, myself and Vijay had a 2-up lead for a while, they came back with some birdies, and then at the end it just seemed like we had to make birdies just to tie holes.
So two great matches, and unfortunately didn't get as many points as I'd hoped to out of them.
MARK WILLIAMS: Rob, thanks for joining us. Geoff just talked about you and him playing today. Any thoughts on your match before we open it up for questions?
ROBERT ALLENBY: This afternoon? Well, I had a good partner, so that obviously helps.
Yeah, I mean, it was good. We got away to a good start and we tried to keep the pressure on them throughout the whole round, and I think we did a pretty good job there.
I mean, you've always got to expect that they are going to make a late charge, two unbelievable players. So you've got to expect it.
But we were fortunate enough to just hang on there and do what we needed to do to win the match.

Q. Tim, Greg was out there actually helping you guys read putts at the end. What's that like to have not only Vijay with you, but Greg, as well, helping to read putts?
TIM CLARK: Well, Vijay is hopeless reading putts. (Laughter) It was nice to have Greg there in the end.
No, I battled all week reading the greens, and I feel like if I had made some putts through those matches, they would have been over before the 18th hole. Particularly there on 16, Greg gave me a good read there. It wasn't a long putt, but I would have read it straight and he said, "No, this thing is going to go right", and that helped.
And 18, Vijay hit two pretty good putts there, and if it weren't for Greg, we probably would have under-read them more than what we did. Yeah, he's given me a few tips on what to look for on these greens, so hopefully tomorrow I can go out and make a few more putts.

Q. You've kind of had an uphill battle every day, all week, you've hung in there and are still hanging in there. Can you talk about the mental toughness and resiliency you've had as a team this week and maybe what that means for your position for tomorrow's singles matches?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I guess this is me, thanks.
I think coming in here this week, we have all had, in the back of our mind, we've all had that we have got to come here and play pretty hard. These guys are the best in the world, and so are we, as well, but the U.S., they play this game a lot because they get to play Ryder Cup, as well.
In the past, I know our downfall has always been foursomes. And I think, you know, considering, this year has been a really good result for us in the foursomes. Normally we have won more of the fourball, but you know, there's a long way to go. I mean, there's 12 matches out there tomorrow, and anything can happen. We are really close and it would be a great story if we pull it off tomorrow and get a win, that's for sure. I know we are all very determined to win for Greg and Frank, and it's always been my goal coming into this event and making The Presidents Cup. And I know all of the other guys are thinking exactly the same.
We are determined. We are here to play golf. I think you can see that, so tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day, that's for sure.

Q. Do you feel this team has a little something special than maybe other teams in the past, because of the way you've come back?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I think so. You go all the way from Vijay all the way down to Ryo Ishikawa, who is an 18-year-old sensation and he's not afraid of anyone. I think you can see that today, the way he fought back against Tiger and Stricker.
And Y.E. Yang, he's a great competitor, as well. I think everyone in our whole side are competitors.

Q. One for Geoff and one for Tim. Was it a big -- not playing this morning, what did that do? I know you didn't play well and you weren't happy with your performance the first two days, but was it sort of cleansing or just good for you to not be around this morning and be fresher for the afternoon? And then for Tim, did you think about instructing Vijay to pitch that ball on 18 rather than putt it? Because it seemed like it was a very slow putt.
TIM CLARK: No, I think it was really getting pretty dark out there, getting tough to see, and even on my little pitch there, I lost sort of the depth of how far the shot actually was. He kind of hinted that he probably should have chipped it afterwards, but I certainly would never step in and suggest something like that. You know, let him sort of feel what he's feeling.
GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, for sure, it's always disappointing I think to not play every match. But, saying that, I've got a few extra hours sleep last night, which is a bonus in a format like this, because today is a very long day. I mean, Tim's gone 36 holes, getting up at four something and not finished until dark; it's cold all day and when it's cold it kind of wears you out. So I had the bonus of getting a little bit of sleep.
I'm sure it's an advantage in the afternoon for the guys who have had the morning off to some extent because they are going to feel better, especially on the last nine holes of the match. So it's never nice to sit out and be out and have it out of your control and not be playing, but it's also nice to get a bit of a rest.

Q. How about mentally, because I thought Greg said you hinted that you were okay to sit down.
GEOFF OGILVY: I was perfectly fine -- I didn't hit the ball very well, especially yesterday. And I wouldn't have wanted to play foursomes with me the way I was hitting it. And I mentioned that to Greg; if you're going to sit me either time I would definitely sit me on the foursomes, because foursomes is a format where you want to be like Tim and hit every shot straight where a guy like me, it would have been difficult for somebody to play with me. It was more the way I was playing rather than a physical thing, yeah.

Q. You touched on the foursomes a little bit and talked about the result this is year, but going back to Australia, I think the U.S. has won eight out of the ten sessions and about 70 percent of the points. Beyond the fact you only get to play it every other year, are there any other theories there on what goes on with the foursomes?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, I think this year, I think we did pretty well with the foursomes. I think we matched up our pairings really, really well.
You know, it's never an easy format, that's for sure. Especially if you've got two guys using two different balls. But you've got to -- I think you've got to match up the ball, personalities, and also the types of play that the players play.
You know, it's one of those formats where sometimes you just toss a coin in the air. But Vijay and I were definitely a good pairing together. We did well in the foursomes. You know, obviously the Americans do get to play the foursomes a lot more, so --
TIM CLARK: (Laughing).
ROBERT ALLENBY: What are you laughing at?
MARK WILLIAMS: Thank you, gentlemen, we appreciate your time.

End of FastScripts

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