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THE RYDER CUP


October 1, 2010


Padraig Harrington

Martin Kaymer

Ian Poulter

Lee Westwood


NEWPORT, WALES

Q. Lee, how did it go out there?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, we are 1-up, so it's going pretty well. Dustin and Phil were always going to be tricky to compete against. The big hitters have made the most of the two par 5s that we have just played and it's going to be a tight match.

Q. How did you feel out there, your first taste of competition in a couple of months?
LEE WESTWOOD: It was good, nice to be back. Feeling pretty good now and looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully better weather.

Q. What do you think of the format they have gone to?
LEE WESTWOOD: I've yet to figure it all out.

Q. You know you need to rest tonight, that's what you know.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, and have a meal. I can't wait to go eat and sleep. I've been here 15 hours. (Smiling).

Q. How did it go out there?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, it was probably one of the best golf rounds I've ever played in my life so far. I mean, it was so much fun. Especially on the first tee, that little welcome present that we got there from the crowd. So I think I will never forget that moment in my career.

Q. What was different about the experience from major championships that you've played in.
MARTIN KAYMER: Obviously you play for your continent now. You play on a team. But that feeling that I had the entire round, what you approach greens, it's kind of like you're just about to win the golf tournament. Usually when you win a golf tournament, then approach the 18th green, you will get kind of like that cheer from the crowds. And I felt that on every hole.

Q. With this new format they have gone to, what do you think will be most important going forward?
MARTIN KAYMER: I think to eat and sleep a lot. There will be a lot of golf, so there's no need to practise a lot. You will hit a lot of golf shots anyways. So just try to rest as much as possible.

Q. Disappointed to let your lead slip?
MARTIN KAYMER: Of course, we were 3-up after six holes, so of course we were expecting to -- yeah, if we would have won one more, it would have been almost done, that match. Because Lee, he played very solid; I was trying to get into my game. So, yes, it was a little bit disappointing, but we are still up and that's the most important.

Q. How bad were the conditions this morning?
MARTIN KAYMER: Pretty bad. I mean, it was not cold. That was the only good thing, but it was very wet; but I mean, you just go with the flow, with the spectators. They carry you and we will just hope that the same happens tomorrow; that the spectators are coming out and fans will cheer for us.
It was very nice when we got back to the golf course that still a lot of people stayed behind and were supporting us and we hope the same happens tomorrow.

Q. What changes now in terms of strategy, in terms of how you guys approach this with this new format?
IAN POULTER: I think the pairings tonight are obviously going to be key, to have a look at that. You know, it is very different. It's never happened before. So I think trying to get the pairings right for tomorrow and tomorrow afternoon is going to be really key.

Q. Is this tournament at the wrong time of year?
IAN POULTER: No. It's not the wrong time of year. It's always been at this time of year to be honest. It might be a week later than what it has previously. But no, it's not the right thing to say it's not the right time of year. If you look at the weather last week, it was fantastic. Had it been a week different, who knows.
It's a great tournament. We are so excited to be out here playing golf. Thankfully we got back out on the golf course today. We played ten holes, and there's going to be a lot of golf to be played over the next couple of days.

Q. With regard to the changes in the format, I know that Colin discussed this with all of you; whose idea was it to squeeze these matches together?
IAN POULTER: I'm not sure, and I'm not even sure Colin's sure to be honest, but it was put to him as an idea, and obviously he brought the idea to the players. We sat down. We spoke with the vice captains. We spoke as a whole and then we made kind of a team decision and left it to Colin to proceed as planned.

Q. Disappointing day in many respects, I'm sure we all want to know what you did in the rain gear delay, a long time to be twiddling your thumbs.
IAN POULTER: It was a long time to wait. It's difficult. It was an hour, an hour, an hour sort of, you know, information given to us, and that's difficult, especially when you don't want to leave the clubhouse. You know the hotel is only two minutes away, but yet you don't want to leave; you're not sure. There was a few Tweets up there from me, a few pictures for everyone, but we kept each other company. We played some games, kept warm and certainly dried our stuff off.

Q. Overall, some of these matches -- when you left the course earlier today, you were up in three in these matches and it's turned around.
IAN POULTER: It's turned around a little, but I think the board is just fine. Our match I think was key. It was nice to be able to get back in all-square. The U.S. guys managed to get their nose in front with two holes before the 10th hole, but nice putt to hole. That will make dinner taste a little bit better.

Q. Did Colin approve of the Tweets?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, he said no problem, just be respectful.

Q. How did you fill your time this afternoon?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I slept, that's all I did all day. Slept for about an hour and a half in the morning, an hour after lunch. I knew that after the rain gear delay, we are going to play a lot of golf, going to be a lot of early mornings for the rest of the week. It was time to get the rest in as much as possible.

Q. What do you think of the format going forward?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Obviously we discussed it as a team, and that's what we wanted to do. We were happy to go and play all of the matches. We are happy to put all of our players out there. The whole team were in agreement that we should go on that way.

Q. When did you have that discussion about what time this afternoon?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: 4.45, something like that. We were just maybe even closer to 5.00. Obviously we were heading out of the rain gear, so it was -- well, it was a reasonable like ten, 15 minutes discussing it.

Q. And why do you guys like the idea?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Well, I think, you know, we want to play as many matches as we can. All of the guys want to play. So we are happy to get out there and play golf. I think, you know, it seems like the fairest way of doing things. If you believe you can win this thing, you know you've got to believe that all of your players can go out there and play.

Q. This was a decision that was left to the home team; is that correct? Or did the Americans have a say in it?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: We were under the impression it was a mutual decision between captains. Our captain discussed it with us to establish whether we wanted to do this and we were in agreement that we were comfortable to do it.

Q. And what would be the argument against doing it, if you can think of one?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I don't think there was. In the end of the day, okay, sticking with the current format, obviously you get the choice of partnerships and there's a bit of strategy into it. You know, who plays with who and that sort of stuff.
It does take a bit of the strategy out by everybody playing in every series from now on. But we were comfortable to do that. We wanted to get out there and hit the shots for the fans and play as many matches as we can and hopefully, you know, all things go that we have a singles result on Sunday afternoon.

Q. How were the fans out there?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Fans were brilliant. It must have been tough on them to have to hang around all day. They didn't have a nice team room to lie down and go to sleep.
The fans were great, as I said. When we came back out, they were as enthusiastic as ever and had great numbers out there. I was very impressed people hung around. It must have been miserable for the five or six hours of rain gear.

Q. How much difference does it make with that support behind you?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: It's really nice. I have to say it really does give you a boost. It's a great show. We normally don't get that support as vocal as it is, and it is very exciting.
I think The Ryder Cup makes the heart pump full stop, but yeah, the crowds just give you a big boost. It's just not something we get that often in golf. It's something different, and certainly it's definitely the -- this is a pressure-filled situation, but the pay back is playing in front the crowds.

Q. You guys were considerable favourites, you and Luke, to the bookies against Bubba and Jeff, what do you think now?
PADRAIG HARRINGTON: We know Bubba and Jeff, and there's no doubt they were picked because of how they played in practise. They are playing fourball because they obviously were making plenty of birdies in practise. We were not going to underestimate them going out there and we knew it would be a tough match and it has proven to be tough. We just got one back and hanging in there on the 9th. Luke has about a 4- or 5-footer, and he's got to sleep on that overnight, rather him than me, but an important putt tomorrow morning and then go out all fresh for the back nine.

End of FastScripts




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