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THE PRESIDENTS CUPOctober 5, 2013Jason DayBrendon de JongeLouis OosthuizenNick PriceCharl SchwartzelDUBLIN, OHIO MARK STEVENS: Thank you for taking the time to come to the media center. Captain Price, if you can make some opening comments and we'll open the floor to questions. NICK PRICE: Well obviously this morning was a little disappointing for us. We lost ground. I thought the guys played really well together. Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson played phenomenal golf this morning. I think their score was either 9‑ or 10‑under. So you know, that was a real tall order for our guys. And then this afternoon, we got off to a really good start, the front nine I think we were up in all the games for a while there, and the U.S. Team started making some putts and some great shots. I think we are still in pretty good shape. If we can turn one of the games around tomorrow, there's still a chance we could get four points, 3 1/2, four points, which would really make our lives a lot easier going into the singles tomorrow afternoon, or late tomorrow morning. But all in all, the guys are playing great. These guys, I don't know how they are still on their feet. They played an awful lot of golf today, and you know, under conditions that I think were very trying, very wet, sloppy. The golf course is just so muddy. But my hat's off to these guys. They played their tails off today. Q. How did the pairing with Graham DeLaet come about? Has some of his hockey mentality rubbed off on you? JASON DAY: You know what, I had no idea who I was going to get paired with. And then Captain Price put us together in the practice rounds, and then we kind of just hit it off real good. I've known Graham for a little bit now, but you know, when we played that practice round, we played alternate‑shot and we played really good golf in that practice round. So I felt like that we should have been paired together. It was interesting that he had a hockey background. I know him being from Canada, Saskatchewan, it's pretty big, hockey area there. So it's kind of cool to ask, you know, just questions, because golf is so individual, it's an individual sport, and he's been in that team environment and it's good to bounce questions off him just to see what he thinks and what he says to the other guys and to myself, as well, for the support. And with that, you can only learn from what he says. It's been great. We've played very good golf together. Q. If you could talk about the emotion of kind of going 5‑up in all those matches at one point to obviously now a little bit against the wall and what the message is tonight in the team room. NICK PRICE: Well, it's not over. You know, we've still got a lot of golf to play tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence in these guys that they can turn those two games around. You know, we don't want to go into the singles with too much of a deficit. But I want to say one thing; I think one of the reasons why we've done so well in the alternate‑shot is because our ball‑striking has been phenomenal. I think the U.S. Team's putted a lot better than we have in the better‑ball, and that's probably been the difference this week as far as I'm concerned, because we seem to be pretty evenly matched in the alternate‑shot, which, you know, has been our downfall in the past. So I'm trying to figure out, maybe I didn't pay enough attention to the pairings in the better‑ball, but I really didn't want to split these guys up. They only got to know each other and got to play with each other on Tuesday and Wednesday, and you know, we did that with Marc and Richard Sterne today, the first time they played together, and they got off to a great start. You know, it's very difficult, with all the permutations that you have, and as Jason said, he kind of hit it off with Graham and I think Brendon and Ernie hit it off, and Louis and Charl, they have played so much golf together; so to split those guys up; Adam and Hideki, they have played some marvelous golf. But as I say, it's not over. Tomorrow, we still have a lot of golf to play. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I mean, it was great to see all the blues up on the scoreboard there. But you know, we know the U.S. Team is strong. They are always going to come back, and I think if we can get to nine and a half, you know, it will be great for the singles, and, you know, like Nick said, we don't want to be too far behind that it's going to leave a lot of work for us. But yeah, I mean, me and Charl's playing a bit better this afternoon. We weren't too good this morning, but it was a long day. It was really tough out there walking‑wise. The course is really wet, and I think everyone is glad the day is done. Q. In your match, you got 3‑up early obviously, and then they‑‑ was there anything in particular that allowed them to turn it their way, or are you kind of happy with the way things are now, all‑square, that you can get a night to rest on it and come back in the morning? JASON DAY: Right. They holed a nice putt on 8. Phil holed a nice putt on 8 from 20 feet or so to put a little bit of pressure on my putt and unfortunately I missed that top side. But we are still up 2‑up going into the back nine, and I think Phil hit it to pretty much gimmie on 11. I felt like it was four or five yards past the hole and spun back a little bit too much and left Graham a little bit too far. We played solid golf. They just holed a few more putts, and with holing putts, that's just momentum and you build momentum that way. They were a little flat when they came out of the blocks and that's why we were 3‑up. But they started to hole a lot more putts, started to hit a lot more quality golf shots later in the round, and that's why they got a few back. But it's actually good that we finished on 14. We are both pretty much the same distance from the hole. We'll come back in the morning and try and hole our putts and finish off the round. Q. As much golf as you guys played today, you guys looked exhausted, but you looked surprised when it looked like the American Team came over and said it's a little too dark and they wanted to shut it down. Can you talk about that moment, and then also, speak on where you are, the difference between mentally and physically at the end of the day. CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, I mean, the 12th hole, with the grandstands they have around, it feels like it's in a hole. It's quite dark down there. It was hard to see the lines on the specific putts that we had. So we figured it was pretty pointless to try and tee off on the next, and we all felt like it. Our bodies, I was starting to hit a lot of shots to the right, and that comes from a bit of fatigue. So I was pretty happy not to go ahead and play. The rules official walking with us said no, we have to; but you know, Brandt and I all of a sudden needed the toilet, so we sort of wandered off in that direction (laughter) and we came out and the game, it was finished. What a surprise it was (laughter). I think we are very happy to come back tomorrow. It's been, what, 34 holes for the both of us. It really is a long day, and it's a tough course to walk. Even 18 holes, it's a big walk around here. So to go around it twice in wet conditions is tough. I think this afternoon, we really sort of putted well and that kept the pressure on those guys, and that's why we're up. Q. I assume you had a pretty good idea who you wanted to match up against the Americans in the singles competitions. Has any of the play of your guys this week changed those pre conceptions you've had, and when will we know what the match‑ups are? NICK PRICE: 8:30 tomorrow we make them, I understand. There's some guys who want to play certain fellas, and I've got to look at the scores tonight to see how guys are playing and how they have played over the last three days. Speak to the players a little bit tonight; you know, it's hard. I'd like to get six right tomorrow, you know, but it's a question of one for one, so you know, it's very hard. I mean, doing these pairings every day, this is my first go around, so to try and‑‑ would I change anything next time I did it? I don't know. But as I say, it's a little difficult. You think you can pair up guys together, and then Fred puts someone down after you've put someone down and it throws everything out a little bit, especially this afternoon, because we didn't have much time from this morning. I sort of almost feel like that on Saturday, because I was out on the golf course with the guys and I got taken off the golf course to come and make the pairings here for about an hour, and I would rather it just be we put the names in a hat or in an envelope and Saturday just you keep playing. It probably would be a little easier, and then I can spend more time with the guys, which is important, because I've got to feel‑‑ I've got to get a good‑‑ when you've got six matches, five matches out there, it's very hard to get a feel about how everyone is playing. So I kind of pop around in those little blue media things have been fantastic this week, because I've been able to follow not only on the video but also on the scoring, which has given me a good idea as to who is playing well. So I've got to take a lot of things into account tomorrow and I'll confer with my captains and some of the players, most of the players, and see how we go from there. Q. Obviously in a pivotal match coming back tomorrow. Last time around at Royal Melbourne, you admitted to trying to hard, being at home, debutante and whatnot; what about tomorrow when it is pivotal and people expect you to do well here? JASON DAY: Well, I know it's going to be tough tomorrow. We'll be rested. I think we'll still be a little bit tired, but I think for the most part we'll be nice and rested on both our teams. You know, two years ago, I did try a little too hard, but I think the biggest thing for me is to communicate with my caddie. I think communication out there is a big key, making sure that I'm 100 percent committed to the exact shot I need to hit out there. And once I'm comfortable, then just go and try and execute the shot. That's really‑‑ over the years that I've been playing on TOUR now, and playing in the big stuff, that's probably the biggest thing that I've learned is communication between me and my caddie and making sure that I'm 100 percent comfortable before I hit the shot. Q. Are you excited to be in that position? JASON DAY: Yeah, I am. I'm really looking forward to finishing off the match tomorrow against Phil and Keegan. I know it's going to be tough. I'm really looking forward to getting into the singles and hopefully it's a close one. But, you know, hopefully the weather can stay away so we can get the Presidents Cup finished. Q. Making your pairings before the foursomes finish, will that affect your lineup? NICK PRICE: Yeah, it will, and that's one of the complaints I had, or questions I had; is the guys that are still out there, let's say I wanted to pair those guys off first. They are not going to have much of a break. You know, it's not an ideal situation caused by inclement weather. So we'll just have to see how it goes tomorrow. Especially Hideki and Adam, two of my players are still going to be out there; Louis and Charl; invariably when you're behind, you want to top‑load your order on Sunday. I'm not saying I'm going to do that, but that's normal. I'm going to have to play it by ear tomorrow. It's a baptism of fire for me this week, because if everything had gone smoothly, I kind of‑‑ I understood, having been with Peter Thomson and Gary Player in those periods when I was playing really well, they confided in me a lot and I kind of understood what they were doing. So I just kind of drew on that experience for this week. But today and tomorrow has been, you know, this is a whole new ballgame. I guess it's the same for Fred, too. Q. Back to the singles selection, in The Ryder Cup, you can kind of surprise somebody because you can front load or back load or do whatever you want, and in this case you have to match different guys. Does that make the ability to come back more difficult for you? NICK PRICE: When you put names in an envelope, your opponent is guessing what you're doing. When you're putting name for name, it's pretty obvious what you're trying to do. So you know, he can respond to that. So, you know, that's a debatable subject. You can always say, this is a fairway of doing it. But if I had my wish, I'd prefer to have the envelope to be honest with you. Q. You used the phrase, "Baptism of fire" a few moments ago. You've played in five of these as a player. Given the weather interruptions, the unfinished days, the fact that you don't get to hit a shot, is this a lot more stressful and intense for you as a captain, do you think? NICK PRICE: No doubt. The difficulty is the variations and permutations that you have on everything, and you're questioning yourself with the decisions that you make. And a lot of the decisions I made are based on talking to my assistant captains and then also talking to the players. I'm not going to go out there and make a decision solely on what I believe in. I don't think that's what a team does. I don't want to be a captain of this team; I want to be a team's captain, and that's what my goal was right from the get‑go. So, it has been stressful. But, you know, I'm out there behind‑‑ just inside the ropes watching the guys and these guys are doing all the hard work. When you're in control of your destiny‑‑ my wife always used to say: "You have no idea how much pressure you're putting on me." But I'm the one hitting the shots. It's really hard watching, it's really hard watching because you have no control. I'm just so proud of these guys, I tell you, these guys have come together as a team so quickly. You know, six Southern Africans, three Australians and a Canadian, an Argentinian and a Japanese, they have come together so well and so quickly. I'm just pleased as punch with what they have done, honestly. Q. You've been kind of quiet and I feel like you've also been playing under the radar a bit but playing very good golf. Can you talk about your partnership with Ernie? It just seems like maybe you've been putting in a little more of the weight, but Ernie has also made some big putts, and you know, his calming influence on you I guess. BRENDON DE JONGE: No, I have not been carrying the weight at all. He's been great. It made perfect sense for he and I to partner together. We have very similar personalities and he's very, very low key and I'm somewhat the same. It made sense, and, yeah, we get on well on the golf course and I've become very comfortable around him. No, Ernie's played great all week. MARK STEVENS: Thanks for the time, good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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