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THE RYDER CUP

September 29, 2010

Matt Kuchar

NEWPORT, WALES

GORDON SIMPSON: Thanks for getting out of your bed at this ungodly hour and coming for the interview, but it's very nice to see you and great to see you on The Ryder Cup Team. It's your first experience, and I'm sure apart from maybe what's coming down from above, you're finding the whole experience very enjoyable so far.
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, thanks Gordon. It is a treat, a thrill. It has been everything I had hoped so far and somewhat what I expected with weather, as well. I think we were expecting this and hopefully prepared for the wet weather, and I think it will make it all that much more fun.
GORDON SIMPSON: Give us a sense of what it's like in the team room of Team USA the past couple of days.
MATT KUCHAR: Ping-pong competition, a popular sport. A whole lot of siding last night, we were trying to get that out of the way early. But it's been fun, a couple inspirational talks, and just a great way to bond. It is neat. It's neat to hear even the trainers that are over here from the U.S. talk about how it's so much fun to see the guys in a team atmosphere.
They are so used to seeing everybody come in individually, and not really -- and everybody of course kind of cuts up in the physio trailer, that's a good time, but just to see the players in the team room really bonding, really sharing, it's really a different atmosphere than what we are used to.
GORDON SIMPSON: I have it on good authority that when you finally get out there the weather is going to improve, but what are your thoughts on the golf course itself and now that it's going to be a lot wetter from raining all night.
MATT KUCHAR: It was a difficult test of golf, with the length and the rough; not exactly what I expected from a Welsh course. But I knew it was designed with The Ryder Cup in mind, The Twenty Ten Course, and not an old-fashioned style. I knew it was a new, modern golf course and it certainly is that. I wasn't sure the rough is going to be this penalising, but it's a good golf course. You have to work it both ways. A handful of short holes but a lot of long irons that you'd better be striking your long irons very well.

Q. A couple things, what's been -- you said it's everything you hoped for. What were you hoping for, and what's been any kind of -- has anyone really surprised you in terms of in the team room and funny guy, what have you?
MATT KUCHAR: I haven't had the surprise, but the bonding, once the meetings start and kind of open up to more of a forum and discussion. It's interesting to see people open up, to see people talk; you have a chance to listen to Tiger Woods, who could be the greatest golfer ever; you have a chance to listen to Phil Mickelson, one of the most exciting golfers ever. You have a chance to hear some of their thoughts on golf and hear some of their thoughts about life.
It's a fun environment, and you get that from all the guys, not just Tiger and Phil, but Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, down the list. You have guys just kind of in open discussions, and then on the golf course, as well, bits of advice from veterans is always well taken, well received.
It's something I was kind of more used to in the environment I was at while in school at Georgia Tech. The senior guys would try to help the younger guys with what to expect, with how to manage their time, how to manage the golf course. You've heard a lot of that here, which I haven't necessarily gotten since I turned professional. It's been kind of, you're on your own; it's your own learning experience now.

Q. In terms of the course, I'd be curious the last time you saw rough this steep?
MATT KUCHAR: It's been a while.

Q. Seems like the U.S. Tour has come down quite a bit on the rough this year?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I can't thing of a course -- Pebble Beach had the graduated rough. Seems like this gets into it deep rough really quickly. Seems like this gets into deep rough right after the first cut. A few places I noticed the first and second cut before the primary, but still, that's only four or five feet each cut, so you're looking at three or four steps only.

Q. You said it wasn't what you expected from a Welsh course; what did you expect? What did you know about Wales?
MATT KUCHAR: Just my time in Great Britain. I knew that -- a lot more links style. I played a fair bit in Scotland and played a fair bit in England. I guess Loch Lomond may be the only parkland course I played in Great Britain until this one. I think all of the other courses I've played in Great Britain have been links, proper links golf courses.

Q. And have you been told to welcome a Welsh welcome similar to what the Americans received at The K Club; a different reaction from the fans on Friday?
MATT KUCHAR: I'm not sure. I tell you, yesterday we walked on the first tee to a huge ovation. It was fantastic. Everybody said, "You won't believe how many people will be on the first tee, how exciting a Tuesday practise round is going to be when you tee off." And they were right. I was blown away ovation as we walked on to the first tee and continued to hear support. It was a nice day yesterday.
GORDON SIMPSON: You can sense what that first tee is going to be when it's packed full on Friday, the way it surrounds the tee.
MATT KUCHAR: I don't know if there's a first tee like it. That's pretty impressive.

Q. First of all, is the rough to the point where it's chip-out rough?
MATT KUCHAR: No. Occasionally you can get a chip-out lie. And it seems to be -- there are a couple of holes where if you were in the fairway, you would still be 210 to 220 yards out. In this rough from that distance, you're not going to be getting it to the green.
You may try to advance it as close as you can, and it may not be just a wedge out back to the fairway. You may be trying to get it to the green, but there seems to be opportunities to, at least on the reasonably lengthy holes, to try to smash it out.
But it does seem like a lot of the holes are long irons and hybrids in. From the rough, you're not going to be -- and I think that comes down to how bad the lie is and your strategy; are you a good wedge player from a hundred yards, or would you rather get it up to 20 or 30 yards and have kind of a big chip shot.
I think a lot more is strategy from that point, and the severity of the lie. You can get some decent lies where you can take a crack with a hybrid out of this rough.

Q. You were talking about the conversations you're having; is the dialogue free-flowing between yourself and the older players, and are you listening to them and imparting things back, or are you just basically sitting there?
MATT KUCHAR: I'm taking it in. I'm doing more listening at the moment, and just really enjoy kind of being inside, being a part of it and taking it in.
I definitely feel like a rookie. And even outside of The Ryder Cup on the PGA TOUR, I still feel young. I still feel somewhat knew to the PGA TOUR. Things are still fresh to me. I feel like I'm still learning out there. I'm certainly that way here at The Ryder Cup.

Q. In the time together in the team room, has Phil solved social security or the energy crisis?
MATT KUCHAR: We haven't gotten into too many off-topic deep conversations with Phil. He has been raring to play ping-pong. I think that is his mission to dominate the ping-pong tables.

Q. And Jim?
MATT KUCHAR: Not in the team room. I think on the plane he played, I don't think in the team room.

Q. I wanted to ask you the difference in terms of leadership when you take two great players like Tiger and Phil, how are they different in terms of their team room presence?
MATT KUCHAR: I think Phil's a lot more talkative in general. I think that there's a guy that's pretty much going to speak up and Tiger might be more like me and kind of sit back more and kind of wait his turn.

Q. We heard from a couple of European players yesterday that Monty has been using motivational videos in the locker room. Has Corey been using similar tactics with you guys?
MATT KUCHAR: We have not had any motivational videos. No, the only thing I can think of pictures up in the team room, there's kind of a slide show. But it tends to be more of present slides. We have a team photographer, and it's fun to see the wives doing something. It's more present as far as photos up on the wall. It's kind of a giant slide slow. The motivational stuff we haven't seen much of.

Q. Seems that Corey is a quieter sort of leader than Monty seems to be; do you think he leads by example then?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I don't know Monty all that well. We played at the PGA Championship this year, and I had a great time with him. I'm not sure really the exact differences between the two. Corey seemed, from my memory, my most vivid memories of him playing golf are The Ryder Cup experiences, and he seemed to be very outgoing in his Ryder Cups as a player. He seemed to be a real fire ball.
I think he's really taking this job hard. He's passionate about it, and you can tell he absolutely loves The Ryder Cup. As far as leader by example, I think it's hard to be leader by example when you're not competing. I think it's much easier to be an example when you're out doing it.

Q. The bookmakers just about have Europe as favourites and everyone we talk to say it's going to be very tight. How do you expect this match to play out, and what is the level of confidence like inside that USA locker room?
MATT KUCHAR: We know Europe is a strong team, no doubt about it. The guys on the team are fantastic players, and you just look at the guys they left off and you think, my God, they must be stacked. But the guys on our team, you have Phil and Tiger, arguably the two best players in the world. You have Dustin Johnson who on any given day can beat anybody. So you have guys that just really, really have an immense amount of talent on the U.S. Team.
But we certainly know that The European Team is stacked all the way down. They are a fantastic squad.

Q. And as rookies, do you feel the pressure to kind of step up and play a big part yourselves, despite the experience from the other guys?
MATT KUCHAR: You just hope to play well. It's a game of golf that you really never know -- The Ryder Cup is such a big event. It's like a major, you want to be peaked for it and you want to be playing well and you want to help your team out anyway you can. I think that's just a matter of the chips fall your way.

Q. As a team, are you guys relishing the underdog role?
MATT KUCHAR: I would say there is a -- I don't know the right words to say that we are, not relishing, but the underdog role gives you motivation. And I think we do take some motivation from being the underdogs.
GORDON SIMPSON: I think on that note, we'll finish, so enjoy the experience when you get there on Friday morning. Thanks very much.

End of FastScripts

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