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THE PRESIDENTS CUPOctober 1, 2013Graham DeLaetDUBLIN, OHIO Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, to win. I mean, without question. And you know, for us to do that, we're going to have to come together as a team. All of us believe that it can happen and that's our main focus. Q. Do you have any idea who you are playing with? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I mean, there's nothing set in stone. You know, the captain put these together for us to play together and see how everyone gelled. Jason played really well today and kind of carried me along, but it was really fun. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Maybe little bit. But at the same time, we don't really know what to expect so we're kind of coming in somewhat blind, whereas some of the veterans know maybe how tough it is and how difficult it's going to be. But you know, I think that we've got ‑‑ all the rookies on our team are great. Mixed in with that we've got a lot of great veterans and major champions. So I mean, I think we've got a good blend of guys and there's a lot of energy in the room and it's going to be an exciting week. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I think so. I look back at like going to Q School, and the easiest time to go to Q school is your first time, and the second time it's harder, and the third time it's harder because you realize what's at stake and the emotions that are going to be involved. I think for the guys that it's their first go‑around here at the Presidents Cup, it might be a slight advantage. Like I said, you are almost going in blind; you don't know what to expect. And you just kind of swing from the hip and just go. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, it was fun. I mean, it was supper casual. There was a few games of ping pong. The Monday night football game was on. We just kind of got together and got to know some of the guys that we weren't too familiar with. You know, it's more about just getting together and trying to become one and getting to trust guys and that kind of thing and just become a team. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I mean, the only one that I really didn't know is Hideki. Obviously his game speaks for itself. He's a great player. We were on 14, and Nick came up and he had been watching him play. He said, "I'll tell you what, this kid is an unbelievable young player." I mean, that's great to hear. Nobody knows him all that well. We all know he is a heck of a golfer. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, like I said, I don't know anything about the puzzle being broken because this is my first time. You know, it's just trusting your partner and, you know, playing as a team and that's the main thing. Always keeping the ball in play with alternate shot. There's more pressure on you obviously than when you are playing your own ball. As long as you are giving your partner looks at birdies and getting them in the fairways and having iron shots into greens, I mean, that's a key in that alternate shot. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I'm sorry? Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, I mean, not just Nick, but all the captains are great guys. I didn't know any of them too well coming into this week. They are the kind of guys you meet for five minutes and they put their arm around you and you feel like you've known them for a long time. I think that's part of their goal is to have all of the guys be comfortable with them. They have done a great job. Q. Give us your match play experience. GRAHAM DELAET: It would have been in the World Cup in 2008 and 2009, I played. Other than that, it wouldn't be since I was an amateur. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: It's been so much. It's exceeded everything and it's only Tuesday. Just getting together last night, we had a great time. It's going to be an amazing week. Obviously it's going to be a hell of a lot better if we win. No matter what, these are going to be memories I'm going to cherish forever. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I think guys have confidence. You have to. To come in here and not believe in yourselves, I mean, you have no chance of winning. We're all playing with confidence and speaking confidently every time. We have got each other's back. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, it's been cool. My wife has gotten more free stuff than I have, so she is really excited. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, I only played a couple of guys last night. I got a couple of wins. I know Adam and Jason had a couple of good games. I think they were 1‑1 against each other. They'll have to just keep playing and seeing where everyone stacks up at the end of the week. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, I'm hoping to maybe get there for the last couple of periods. That is the plan if it all works out. We're here for golf, number one. If it doesn't work out, I can see the Flames play somewhere else this year. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: We have two big TVs there in our room. Hopefully we can turn one of them to the hockey game. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: She is got a Lululemon clothing for workouts, which is pretty much her favorite. She got some Hunter boots, and a lot more stuff that I don't really know what it is. But she's excited about it. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: My mom is coming tomorrow. My wife's dad and her brother are coming tomorrow as well. Couple of buddies from Saskatoon, one from Weyburn where I grew up, and then ten guys or so from Boise, some old college teammates. It's going to be exciting. I don't think I'm going to get to see them and spend as much time with them as I would like. Like I said, we're here to try to win the Presidents Cup. It's cool to have a lot of support. I think there's going to be a lot of Canadians. Even just today walking around there was a ton of Canadians out there. So hopefully they can be nice and loud and try to offset a little bit of the American noise. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I spoke with him the day before I left, so Sunday, and just kind of picked his brain. It was a short conversation of ten, 15minutes. He just kind of was telling me things, what to expect, what things caught him off guard maybe the first time he played. The main thing he told me was to play my own game, not to hit any hero shots. His main advice was to try to feel like you are in the hole, and not give any holes away. That is going to be my goal here. Then controlling your emotions is going to be huge. That's the one thing I don't really know to expect quite yet, because I've never teed it up in these. Kind of my main goal is to get the same intensity level that I'm at when I play good golf. That is probably going to be one of the battles that I'm going to be dealing with. Q. How many Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups have you watched over the years? GRAHAM DELAET: Pretty much all of them, at least bits and pieces of every single one. The one in Montreal I watched pretty much all of it, being on my home soil and with Mike playing. I mean, the Ryder Cups are equally as exciting to watch. You know, I don't have a particular team I cheer for in that. You know, the Presidents Cup means the world to me to be here. It's a super proud moment. I'm super excited. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, I mean, Weirsy taking down Tiger in the singles was, when I think Presidents Cup that is the first thing that comes to my mind. It was an unbelievable moment for golf in our country. He's represented Canada so well for so long, and he's a great role model. Q. Where were you? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I was playing PGA Tour Canada at the time. I was back in Boise for the fall. We didn't have any tournaments going on. I was probably getting ready for Q School about that time. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I spoke with him on Sunday for about ten, 15minutes. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Nothing really so far. Just the one thing that's kind of stood out and maybe surprised me a little bit was how much fun it's been already. It's on Tuesday afternoon. Every guy that I've spoken to that has played the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup say to cherish it because it's something that you will remember for the rest of your life. It's already been more than I expected. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: It's beautiful. I mean, with the trees all turning, you know, we don't see that obviously in the middle of the summer. The greens seem a little bit‑‑ doesn't quite have the same scariness to them that they do during the Memorial. I don't know if they are going to speed up by the time we tee it up on Thursday. And the rough is down a little bit compared to what we normally play the tournament at, but still playing pretty similar. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I mean, if any of the guys told me that they wanted to me to keep it for good luck, I would have kept it on. It wasn't aggravating me or anything, but it was time for it to go. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I mean, there was certain places where he says you don't want to miss here, this is a good leave here, you want the uphill putt here and that kind of thing. We all kind of know that a little bit because we play a regular Tour event here year in and year out. Obviously he's got more course knowledge than the rest of us, especially when it comes down to Wednesday night. I don't know if they give us the pin placements the day before, but he's the guy that we'll be looking to to just ask for advice coming into the greens mostly and where not to miss. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: You know, I don't really know yet. I mean, I played with Jason today and we had a good time. He kind of carried me. I wasn't hitting it all that great. The main goal today was just to kind of see how guys gel. But I don't think anything is set in stone. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, the one thing about all the guys on the team is we're all super outgoing and we get along well. So that's the main thing. As long as we got a guy that's, you know, you feel like you can have comradery with and that plays kind of a similar game makes a big difference as well. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I'm sorry? Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, if I do end up playing with Jason, he said that he would play the Titleist ball. I would definitely prefer to play my own ball. But I mean, I will do anything for this team. If someone wants to play a Nike or a TaylorMade or whatever it may be, I'll definitely play it. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I was next in line, yeah. Q. You backed away? GRAHAM DELAET: Well, we were hungry so we went downstairs and ate and then the guy left. Everyone has been giving these guys a little bit of a hard time, mostly for that sideburn area and the tan lines they have on the side of their face. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, that was just a couple of days ago at TPC Scottsdale. He wasn't here today obviously because he probably wouldn't have said that same thing. It's a nice compliment to have from any of your peers or from writers or the media to say something like that. I have got to clean it a lot more than I did today. Q. What do you think about your ball striking that sets you apart from everyone else? GRAHAM DELAET: I mean, coming into greens, I tend to‑‑ I try to work the ball into the wind and land the ball softer, especially when greens are firm. If you have a ball riding the wind, you really have no chance of stopping the ball when the greens are firm. I tend to play somewhat passively with my iron shots and make sure that I try to hit more greens and have more birdie looks. With that being said, I don't know. I really don't know. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, it has been. Like I said, today wasn't great. Usually after a day of flying, the next day I struggle a little bit with my timing. Hopefully I can get a little bit of that figured out and hit it flush again tomorrow. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I mean, when we got off Sunday at the Tour Championship, I was playing with Furyk and he pulled me in and he was like, "Hey, we've played together quite a few times this year. You're progressing well. Keep doing what you are doing." It's nice to hear a veteran, obviously a guy that's won major championships to say something like that, it makes me feel good. You know that you have respect from your peers. That is a big thing out here is feeling like you belong. I think that's kind of how I've come somewhat far this year is because I feel more comfortable. I feel like that I'm a good player out here. Q. Do you like the idea of being the underdog? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I think so. Like I said, we totally believe in all 12 guys in that room. That is the main thing for us. I mean, like the Golf Channel is not going to be on in our room. We don't need to hear what people are saying. I mean, the main thing is that we believe in ourselves. Q. How are you and Day doing? Do you talk hockey? GRAHAM DELAET: A little bit, yeah. We are trying to get tickets for the game on Friday night. One of his buddies that plays on the team came out and watched the last couple of holes. Q. This is a year long goal for you to get on this team. Now you have made it here, I'm assuming that the goal changes? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, the goal is to win. All of us believe that we can get it done. I mean, it's going to take some good golf. We're going to have to make some putts. We believe it can happen and that's what we came here to do. Q. Your captain was praising you in his press conference, he thinks your game has come into its own this year. Talk about what Nick Price is giving to you. GRAHAM DELAET: Ultimate leadership. He's just a great guy, a guy that I have known for two days and I feel like I can call him a friend already. I mean, you ask any of the guys, not only on our team but even the American team, he is one of the class acts in golf. It's an honor to play for him. Q. You guys have not had great success here, the International side. What is the talk among the team about how you are going to turn this around? GRAHAM DELAET: More than anything we have to play good golf and believe in each other and play as a team and just becoming one this week. That is kind of the goal that we all have is to play as a team and to just get it done and have fun. You know, it's going to be a little bit different here with‑‑ I don't know exactly what to expect with the American crowds, but I think we will have Canadians down there as well to balance it out a bit. Q. Your hockey team, the Flames are playing Friday night. I know you are going to try to get to the game, but if you don't do you think you can watch it on TV? GRAHAM DELAET: We have got a couple of hockey fans on the team, and we have got two TVs in the room, so we'll have one on the Flames game for sure. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: That's right, yeah. It's a hockey thing. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I was just telling Bob, I refed hockey for five or sixyears growing up as a teenager. I dropped the puck at a WHL game a couple of years ago. And all my buddies were up in the crowd, and they were betting whether I was going to bounce it around, but I snapped it tight on the ice. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: I hope to get there at least for the second half of it. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Not on Columbus, no. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I mean, it's been unbelievable. Obviously like the only thing that I really feel is missing is the wind. But that being said, I was in contention quite a few times. There was times where I felt like I played well on Sunday when I was in contention, final groups. It just wasn't really meant to be. But you know, being here, qualifying for the tour championship and being at all the majors, playing my first Masters next year, it's been a dream come true. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Loved it. Maybe one of Top 10 courses I've ever played. I mean, it looks like it's been there for 100 years. It's an amazing piece of property. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a long ways away. I think about it quite a bit when I see good holes. I'm like, wow, this is a great design. Then you play some and you can't believe that someone got paid to design something when it looks like that. It's definitely something that down the road, long ways from now, that it would be fun to do, yeah. Q. You and Jason are planning to go to the game on Friday night? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, as soon as the schedule came out for this week, it was one of first things I did was to check to see if there was any Columbus games. I was super excited it was the Flames coming to town. We have trying to get tickets. I don't know if we are going to be able to get there for when the puck drops, but hopefully for halfway through the first, maybe into the second period. Q. (Inaudible)? GRAHAM DELAET: As many guys as want to go. Even Luis said that he watches hockey, said that he likes to see fights. So maybe the whole team will go. Q. You've had a phenomenal year this year. Give us a couple of thoughts on that. GRAHAM DELAET: It's an absolute dream come true to be here. It was a great year. The only thing that was really missing was a win. I was in contention a few times. Making the Tour Championship, and I mean I'm playing my first Masters next year. It just been a whirlwind how fast things happen. I'm looking forward obviously to this week, but setting a schedule for next year and kind of settling in and trying to become one of the top players out here. Q. What is it like playing for Nick Price? GRAHAM DELAET: Great guy. Anyone who knows him will tell you he's a class act. He likes to have fun. And not only him, but Marc and Tony as well. They have all got big smiles on their faces. They are always joking around. It's a lot of fun and an honor to be playing with them and for them. Q. You had a chance to play a few holes today. Course conditions, what do you think? GRAHAM DELAET: The course is playing beautifully. It's in unbelievable shape. The greens are mint. They are not quite as fast as maybe they are during the Memorial, but that being said it's only Tuesday so they might speed up another foot or so. It's in unbelievable shape. It's a course I really love and fits my game. Q. I understand you are going to try to take in a little hockey this weekend? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, that's the plan. My Flames are in town, so I will try to do anything I can to get there. Q. Jack Nicklaus said earlier he's going to drop the puck for the game Friday evening. Are you going to give him some tips on how to do that? GRAHAM DELAET: I could. I refed hockey for five or six years, so if he wants to ask me for any tips or advice I will definitely help him out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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