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THE RYDER CUPSeptember 30, 2010Miguel Angel JimenezNEWPORT, WALES GORDON SIMPSON: Okay, everyone, well, we would like to welcome a very familiar character of The European Tour in Ryder Cup, but Miguel, this is your first Ryder Cup in Europe. That must be something special this time after three Ryder Cups in the States. Are you enjoying it so far? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, I enjoy very much, and as you say, it's the first one of the four appearances in The Ryder Cup. It's nice, you know, especially when you see around and you see the public and things, it's a little different atmosphere. You feel that all of these guys are behind yourself. It's great, it's a great feeling, and I'm looking forward to it. GORDON SIMPSON: So are you glad it's now getting much closer? Because today we have the Opening Ceremony, and we will know the first pairings. Can you sense the excitement, the tension? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yes, the tension is coming on the course today to start and tension, you are getting it yourself. It's something that we are used to. GORDON SIMPSON: Do you feel quite good? You've won three times this year. You've had a good season. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: I feel very good. I feel good. I'm playing well and I'm hitting the ball very well and everything you need to do is be yourself there and enjoy yourself. I think the year has been nice to me, and you know, I've been playing well all through the season, in the beginning, the spring, the summer and the end of the summer. I think it's consistent. Q. As the only Spanish player on the team, and as vice captain to Seve in '97, that must have been very special for you to hear from him the other night. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, it's very nice to be here in this Ryder Cup of course, and it's a shame that only one Spanish player is here. There have been at least a couple of players on the last few ones. You know, I will try to do my best, of course, and try to put the Spanish colour, also, on the European colours. GORDON SIMPSON: I think Mark was saying, was it special to hear from Seve on the telephone? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yes, of course. I didn't understand that one. We had a chat with him in the room, and it was very nice to speak with him and all of the support he gave to us. Q. What does it say about Sergio that he went to Monty and said -- MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: He said what? Q. What does it say about Sergio, that he went to Monty and said, "I know I'm not going to make the team, but I want to be there and I want to help and I'll do whatever you need me to do." What does it say about him offering to be vice captain? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, Sergio, it's nice, I've played with him inside the ropes and supporting the team. It's great and it's good for the team and it's good also, for him, to get his motivation back. It's going to be very nice. Q. And also for Colin Montgomerie, what difference have you seen from him, being a Ryder Cup player to now having to be The Ryder Cup captain? What changes or adjustments has he made? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: It's different, because now he has 12 guys and before he has the clubs in the hands, 14 clubs in the hands to play. That's the main difference. The rest of the things in The Ryder Cup, turn it on to Monty; he loves this tournament, and he's passionate in this tournament. He gets on very well with his players, and he does very well now to get the Cup back. But the difference is all play or duties. Q. How different does this team room feel to other European Team rooms you've been in? What's different and special about this one? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, the difference, it's bigger, there's more people there. And you've got to always look at the same point, The Ryder Cup, and well, it's an amazing tournament. You have all week to meet the best for what you are going to do in your newspapers or your magazines. It's a bit different, a bit different. Sometimes you are speaking for you or for the tournament you play, and here, you are speaking for something more; bigger, more. It's just not only yourself. It's everything that is around. Q. You have spoken about this is your first Ryder Cup actually playing in Europe. You've played at Celtic Manor a lot of times before and you've won here. Does that give you a bit more confidence, as well? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, it's nice, confidence. You have the confidence the way you see yourself playing. And here, I like here, not only this golf course, but the other golf course, and I come here every year to play, and I like the place and I like the people and I feel good here. Q. You come across as a very relaxed character; does something like this make you nervous? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No. It's not nervous; it's tense. Because, you know, especially it's getting close (indicating knots in stomach). Especially when you get here to The Ryder Cup, all week you feel like a knot in your stomach, and tomorrow is getting closer and your knot is getting tight. But it's not nervous; maybe it's something that you can afford, you cannot go straight forward. You go straight forward and you know what's going to happen and what's going to happen in The Ryder Cup, what you do on the first tee, but you know the pressure there, and that's good. I like to feel that thing, and that makes you motivated more, and that's where you want to be. Q. The knot in your stomach, is that a good thing? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: It's a good thing, yeah. I think it starts the feeling to make you keep here. If you don't have any feelings, you know, probably you're not here or you don't play golf or you don't know anything, you know. You need to feel things and that is important to you. Q. How different is Monty to the other captains you've played under in The Ryder Cup? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, you see the photographs will be different. You know, you can see the face is different, the body is different. (Laughter). But all of them, they are doing the best they can for the team. And of course, they are different men, persons. They do it their own way. But the more important thing is that everything they do, they are doing it for the team. And for me, like a player, that's what I want to know and that's what I want to see. I don't want to compare if this thing is better or the other one, or the other one is better, this is only a point of view, a very personal point of view. The main thing is like everything, you have to give 100 per cent of what you have in what you are doing. Q. I was wondering if the number of cigars increase the closer you get to the start tomorrow. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: (Laughing) I don't know if the number is going to increase or not, but I will enjoy, anyway. (Laughter). GORDON SIMPSON: How many yesterday? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No, just a smoke at the end of the day, one, two, three -- four at the end of the day. Today as soon as I finish, I'm going to start another one. (Laughter). I have breakfast and my stomach has time to warm up now. GORDON SIMPSON: Are you nervous about being here? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No. (Laughter). Not at all. GORDON SIMPSON: Thank you, enjoy the ceremony today and good luck all week. End of FastScripts |
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