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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 22, 2005

Adam Scott

Mike Weir

GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: At this time we're joined by two players from the International Team, Adam Scott and Mike Weir, both of you guys took care of business, Adam with Retief Goosen today, 4 & 3 over Tiger Woods and Fred Couples; Mike Weir with Trevor Immelman, 6 & 5 David Toms and Stewart Cink. Maybe some comments from each one of you. Adam, if you want to start us off?

ADAM SCOTT: Great stuff with Retief and I today. Obviously a tough match playing against Tiger and Fred. But we really took control on the front nine and I think that's how you've got to play those guys together. They are a strong team, and we took control and kept putting the pressure on.

MIKE WEIR: That was the story of our match as well. We birdied the first hole, birdied four of the first five holes. I don't think it was anything Stewart or David did, we just got off to a hot start and from there, we didn't make any mistakes so it was hard for those guys to get back in the match because we were playing really well. Good start for us.

Q. Adam, there's a theory that the Europeans subscribed to last year when they played against Tiger which was, you fare well against them, other guys see that score on the board and they sort of feed off of that, I wonder if that was ever a consideration, something that could give a lift to the rest of your team?

ADAM SCOTT: I guess so. I think the first match out of the tournament is an important match for either side no matter who is playing. But, you know, obviously Gary wanted Retief and I to go out and really give the rest of the guys something to see and something to fire them up, so that was kind of our attitude. We played really good today. I think with the exception of one hole where we got in a little trouble, we did a pretty good job, and the rest of the team did a good job, as well.

Q. I'll ask the Canadian a question. Mike, there was a lot of talk about you not playing very well coming in, there was a lot of controversy about Trevor Immelman's choice as a captain's pick. The way you guys played today, do you think you answered a lot of those questions?

MIKE WEIR: Well, as I said yesterday in here, I just felt like this is a new week, and I feel like the last few weeks I've been feeling healthy and I've been able to practice a lot. I've seen some good signs even though I haven't had the results I wanted. I feel like I'm starting to strike the ball very well. You know, I think the guys know that when it comes time to play, I'm going to be ready to play and I think Trevor and I, in our minds, everybody on our team, Trevor was a good pick. We know what he's capable of, we all know he's a good player and he has a lot of enthusiasm. He played great today, so he's good.

Q. Adam, can you just go over two holes, I guess Retief was the guy that hit shots on 9 and 12, he missed the green and you guys make double and then 12 you made a putt from the fringe for eagle?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, it was 9 was a tough hole today, with the wind blowing it was pretty exposed. Retief hit his shot just too good and straight into the wind, I was on the back of the green messing around and hit a bad chip and 3 putted from miles away. So, you know, you can make a mistake out there, but just one I think is acceptable.

Then we turned it around and Retief made a great putt on the next hole on top of Fred's for birdie. Kept the momentum on our side rather than them winning two holes in a row and getting back in the match, and then getting over the 12th, I rolled it in from the front edge of the green and that really put us back in the driver's seat 3 up.

Q. Wonder if you could elaborate a little bit more on the putt Retief made on No. 10 after Freddie makes one from Freddie range and it looks like everything is going their way, just how important that was?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think if there was a point in the match, that was probably the point where we didn't win it there, but certainly had a big impact on the match, like I said, for them to win two holes in a row and only be 1 down, we changed our momentum a lot starting the back nine. And Retief rolls it in from 15 feet right on top, and heads off to the next tee as he does, and everything's normal.

Q. Did he say anything to you after you made your eagle?

ADAM SCOTT: I think I got, "Good putt." (Laughter) I think I got a "Good putt."

Q. Is that the most you had all day in?

ADAM SCOTT: No, we had some brief conversations out there. But, you know, I kind of fed into his game plan today and let him do things. I'm letting it all out now. (Laughter).

Q. Fred on television afterward said he felt outclassed by you and Retief and Tiger. Was there a point in the match where you felt like, you know, you guys, even though you had more holes to play, that you never felt like you were going to lose that match?

ADAM SCOTT: I think, you know, I go back to 10, it was the only time where I felt like the momentum could go in their favor. I think we were on top of them the whole front nine, and when Retief made that putt, we were still, you know, two holes up is a lot more than one, even though it's just one hole. And that putt going in kept us in that frame of mind and then it was 3 up and, you know, I think 12 really would have been tough for them to come back from there.

Q. Is there any history with you and Trevor, or is this something that's just developed this week?

MIKE WEIR: I think this year a little bit, we've played some practice rounds together. Our last practice round we played at the PGA Championship. So after the PGA, I saw that Gary had selected Trevor and we just kind of hit it off well. So there was a little bit of history there. We both feel pretty comfortable with one another and have become friends a little bit this year on the Tour.

So I think, you know, we kind of talked to Gary and said we might be a good pairing together.

Q. For both Adam and Mike, Adam, you weren't here but Mike, you were, in the previous Presidents Cups here in the United States, the U.S. always seems to get off to a good start and you guys were always behind the 8 ball and really never get into the match. How important was it to have a day like today, and secondly, what was the mood amongst the team when you guys were on the 18th there and had it in the house?

MIKE WEIR: The only other one I played here was 2000, and you're right, we got off to a poor start. We seemed to never get any momentum, and again, as I said yesterday, as a team, we didn't putt very well. I look at our team now and I think we're all good putters. I think Vijay is putting a lot better than what he did five years ago, and I think as a general rule, our team has pretty good putters, so I think that's going to keep us in the matches a little bit better than in 2000 when we got behind and kind of got steamrolled a little bit. So that's what I see the big difference being.

The second question, our mood, I think our mood is relaxed. Everybody gets along well and it makes for a great team atmosphere, I'll tell you that much.

ADAM SCOTT: What was the question?

Q. Just after the first day, not being behind and how is the mood amongst the team, do you feel like you did what you needed to do today?

ADAM SCOTT: I think we did a pretty good job, 3 1/2 2 1/2. I think that's a pretty solid start. It's something for us to build on, for sure. I think like Mike said, it is important for us to get some points up early, especially playing in the U.S.

If it goes the other way, certainly the crowd can have a big effect on the atmosphere out there and it makes it a lot tougher for us to play. I noticed a big difference today in the crowd, just from playing in South Africa last time, so playing in the States today, you know, it's a little different playing on their turf, I'd say.

Q. Adam, unlike the Ryder Cup, the captains sit down and determine who is going to play with who. Did Gary come to you and say, I'm going to putt you with Retief or we're going to putt you off first, did you guys talk about it and make that decision, and knowing that you're I'm assuming knowing you were going to go out first since Gary had the first choice, did you have a pretty good understanding you were going to have Tiger?

ADAM SCOTT: No, I knew we were going to go out first. Gary let us know that, but I had no idea if we'd be going against Tiger. It was a bit of a big match first up for me, anyway, and I was pretty happy to get a win up there straightaway.

Q. You mentioned hitting it off with Trevor a bit leading into this, anything you said to him in the days leading up to this or today that just you had a really good day, you gelled together, or was there wisdom being passed along?

MIKE WEIR: There really wasn't much wisdom passed along. I think we played a practice round yesterday and, you know, I could just tell that he was swinging confidently and feeling good about his game and putting nicely. So I didn't want to get in the way of that. I didn't want to tell him anything to kind of feel like he had to do something different. I just thought to myself, this guy is swinging great, he's putting well and I'm not going to say a thing. He was like a veteran out there, he played fantastic.

Q. When you left the country a couple weeks ago, you were out of sorts with your putting and game in general, what did you do to get it back and what did it take?

ADAM SCOTT: It was more the mental state of mind I was in, I was ready for a bit of a break, had a frustrating event and didn't quite achieve what I wanted over the summer, so it was a good move for me to go home for a couple of weeks and get relaxed and back in the frame of mind that I normally am in out here. I went out and played great in the Singapore Open and got a win, obviously putted a bit better than I had been. Another week home last week, just worked on the game and kept fresh, and you know, obviously I'm in a much better state of mind now for the rest of the year.

Q. You guys obviously beat a very well known twosome, Freddie Couples and Tiger Woods, is this an example of, speaking of a guy like Trevor Immelman, a guy who is not well known, is that an example of how match play works sometimes, a guy can come out and play well and not be well known to a lot of people, does the nature of match play kind of lend itself to that?

ADAM SCOTT: No. I just think every guy playing in this Presidents Cup is capable of beating any guy on any given day. I think we are all pretty self confident people, that's why we're here.

Q. Mike, let's look ahead a little bit, can we assume you guys will continue to be paired together, and what about four ball, do you think it will be the same thing?

MIKE WEIR: I think so. You know, we're not for sure, but it looks like that way. He'll get back to our gathering over there and talk about it a little bit. But I'm sure, at least in the foursomes like today's matches, I'm sure Trevor and I will play together and possibly tomorrow. You know, don't want to mess with it too much, we did pretty well on that format today.

Q. So the same with you and Retief do you think?

ADAM SCOTT: I sure would like to play with him in the foursomes again. I think you should stick with a winning tournament.

As far as tomorrow, I don't think we've really got that set. But I'm pretty sure for the foursomes, yeah.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you, gentlemen.

End of FastScripts.

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