WALKER CUP MATCH

August 12, 2005

Garth McGimpsey

Matthew Richardson

Gary Wolstenholme

Q. Joining us this afternoon is Captain Garth McGimpsey in the middle. Nearest to me is Gary Wolstenholme, and the far side Matthew Richardson. I'll let you field most of the questions.

I was wondering if Captain McGimpsey maybe you can start off by saying how your trip has been thus far and the evaluation of your team compared to what you had last time.

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Well, so far, we've had a pretty good trip. We arrived here for on Wednesday, having a bit of an off time, and in Chicago we had a nice time, nice hotel. We played two courses, the second course, Skokie, which was the closest we could get to Chicago Golf Club.

It was an old fashioned course, fast greens. It was quite valuable to keep away from the course so the guys, when they started practicing on Wednesday, they were fresh. If we could achieve that and we played three rounds, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, one on Wednesday, a practice session on Thursday and then on today.

Yesterday, even with to the bad weather, we thought we did well and we had time to practice in the afternoon. The team, I'm very happy the way they prepared. I think we're very fresh. I think the danger you can do at these matches is overprepare. If any of these guys were playing an individual tournament back home, there is no way they would practice four or five days in a row for a tournament.

As far as I'm concerned, the players are ready to go. They know the course. I think we're all disappointed with the weather. People tend to think we want it to rain, but that's not true. Having said that, the greens probably won't be as quick as the USGA. We're ready to go.

Q. Does the course favor your team at all?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Well, I can't speak for the Americans. It's a course we're very comfortable with. It's not unlike the courses we get back home. The only difference is the slope and severity of the greens. These guys play all over the world now. I think that's one of the reasons probably why we're competing a lot more than we did 20, 30, 40 years ago.

These guys have a lot more experience, and they can cope with the fastest greens. The courses are set up nicely because it looks like a course back home, rather than a tough touristy, heavily watered course. You tend to think of American courses that way.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: No, this has been a really good team. This is a quality site. I got here, and we have done Peter and I have done a lot of research as to who wants to play with who, and you can get that information readily, and people don't actually give that information away, but we're comfortable that we got the pairings right.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Well, the pairings weren't cast in stone. They have changed slightly since the practice round we had on Thursday, and but that's because the whole thing was flexible, and part of my job is I'll give something away is that everybody is getting a game on the first day. I think that's hugely important to keep a team together, and it keeps my options open for the second day.

If everybody has played, then if you have to make a tough decision, you can do that.

Q. The question obviously is what Captain, for you, what have you done differently in preparation for this tournament than say last time given your experience.

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: We don't feel we have had to do anything different from last time. We think we've got the right formula. In fact, we're taking it as a compliment that the Americans are changing the way they're doing it. We feel we've done the right amount of practice for this type of course. We have been here long enough to get the jet lag out of our system. We have had pretty relaxed days. We've cranked it up a bit coming into the last stages of the week.

We feel it's important to make sure the guys are having the hole for 6 feet, even though it's for $10 or something like that, we feel that's better. That's the way we're doing it. I haven't really watched what Bob is doing with his team.

Q. As Captain, how many assistant coaches do you have?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: You only need one when it's Peter McEvoy, but you're only allowed one technically anyways. He's my driver, my advisor, my psychologist. He's a pretty good guy to have on your side. I think the Americans are scared of Peter, to be honest with you.

Q. I was wondering, do you have any strength coaches or spiritual advisors for the team?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: No, we keep that down to minimum. If you bring these sorts of guys with them, the players want to start using them. So, no. We know if somebody gets a twinge in the back, we can get a physio here. I think if you tend to bring these people with you, all of a sudden the injuries appear from nowhere.

Q. Gary, is the sixth time as meaningful as the first?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: For me, it's more important really. I obviously have a finite time to play these sorts of things, and I can't just go on tour and try I rely hugely on my amateur golf. Each time I'm selected for anything, it means a lot, and obviously it's great to be part of a successful team, and certainly as good a team as this one, it's very special.

Q. How is this team different?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: I know we've got greater strength and depth, much greater strength and depth. We have always had one or two players who played well. The last one was probably the weakest team we had from the point of view there weren't the big stars we got in the others. That's not to say the last team was a poor team. It was a very gutsy team, and it's a team. This is a team, and we've got great strength and depth and got big stars.

So, you'll see a lot of these guys in the future competing in major championships and playing very well, I believe that.

Q. Gary, what do you do to become a team? How does that happen?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: Well we don't want to give too many secrets away. It's best to say that everyone is very comfortable with each other.

Q. Gary, how do you take that from your first Walker Cup to now, if you kind dissect it, how is everything different for you in regards to the team that has been put together how you're treated as a player? How is that different?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: I think the great advantages we've got right now is both Peter and Garth were players themselves. They understand how the players think. They understand what the players need, and from that point of view, I would say that we get treated almost better every time. It's hard to put your finger on it, but everything is so perfect. We've got the great understanding how the players need to prepare. We have had some fantastic trips. We had a trip around Chicago, which was one of the most memorable I have been on, and we were there as a team. We had a lot of fun, we laughed a lot. That's what makes it so special.

Q. How different percentage wise is it from the first time to now?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: Obviously, it was different because we were playing in different parts of the world. This is special because Chicago is such a great place. America is such a great place to play golf. Obviously everything is so manicured and perfectly well organized. The weather in Britain can be particularly inclement. I think it's a great place to play golf. I really do.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: All I want to do is for the team to win. What I do is really immaterial.

Q. Matthew, what's your impression about the first time in the Walker Cup?

MATTHEW RICHARDSON: I'm not too sure really. It's hard to explain what goes through your mind and the way you feel. Today's been a little more exciting. There is a few more people out there and things like that. The excitement is building today, but I won't be able to answer that until Sunday. All I can say now is I'm looking forward to it and there seems to be good spirit, so that's all, really.

Q. Talk about the uniform.

MATTHEW RICHARDSON: Well, when you've got several different shirts and a couple pairs of trousers, you can't complain.

Q. How much does experience come into play in a tournament like this?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Yeah, I think it's important, but I wouldn't get too carried away with the experience. At the end of the day, we have picked the best team we've got regardless. It's great that you have the bones of experience, having picked your best side, and they would expect to have been great this week, doing the pairings and making sure they have been with different groups and the guys have been asking questions.

I'm trying to get a feel for what it's going to be like in the next couple days. Obviously Peter and I are a wealth of experience as well. I'm not saying it's necessary but we're luckily that we have two guys who come under that category.

Q. Can you tell us your impressions of Chicago Golf and the way you play?

GARY WOLSTENHOLME: I would say that the way things are going nowadays, we've got players that are competing in the states and colleges on a regular basis, plus the rest of us all competed abroad on a regular basis as well. So, this is just another golf course. As far as the way that it plays, the fairways are very soft. Obviously, I'm not sure that's probably the way it was initially intended. I think they would have liked to have a bit of run on fairways to create more of a test in that respect.

We're used to playing virtually every type of golf course there is to play. This is just the way it's playing at the moment. It's pretty much drop and stop. You're aiming for a specific place on the fairways and aiming for a specific place on the greens, and the beauty of it is it's in great condition, considering the rain over the last few days. It's in great condition, and I think everyone is looking forward to it.

Q. Garth, do you agree with Gary's assessment of the two different teams between two years ago and this team?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: I think, going back to Peter's first year in '99 and 2001, there is no doubt today we're hugely unbelievably talented teams. They have Casey and Luke and the various players who have come through here. They are all major stars. That doesn't happen that often. I joked yesterday with Peter he had it easy. The team we had back then, I certainly would never run it down. That was a hell of a gutsy performance we pulled off.

Only time will tell when we see who comes through and becomes a star in the future. As it is looking at the minute, they haven't come through that quickly. Everybody was playing well then, but this team has a much stronger feel to it. Not to take Gary's words, but there is strength and depth here. We left three or four players at home whom we would have loved to have, and that's a great sign.

Having said that the selectors were 100 percent behind the team we brought. That was good as well. That's made my job even more difficult, trying to get the teams out in the right order and get everybody playing.

Q. Garth, one of the things I think we're seeing is younger, stronger, faster. How easy or how difficult was it to pick someone of 16 years old to not only be on your team, but when I talked to the players, he's also one of the long ball hitters?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: This guy is unbelievable. Peter said to me, I wish I had 10 percent of his future earnings. Picking him was not difficult. In fact, there is another 16 year old we didn't pick that we would have wanted, and he would have fit on this team as well.

Q. Maybe some of us don't know all of your past and future, but what are your plans at age 20 in terms of golf?

MATTHEW RICHARDSON: Well, for me this is going to be my last amateur event. I have wanted to play Walker Cup for a long time. My goal was to make the Ganton team and this one. One out of two isn't so bad. It's just it's something that I first saw on the tellie when they played, and I didn't even know what it was. It looked pretty cool, and I said I fan of playing it. Then I found out what it was, and I got myself set on doing that. I'm going to turn pro after this.

Q. Has it reached the point where you come in fully expecting to win or thinking you might have a psychological advantage?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: You're going into the match with a positive frame of mind. We're going for four in a row, but if you look at the ultimate results, we're miles behind. The Americans normally traditionally picked some mid amateurs. They've gone all college kids this year. They seem to be copying things we've done and maybe discarded in the past. We're two teams, both class teams. It will be who holds the most putts and copes with the conditions.

Q. Assess coaching versus talent. How big apart is the coaching and the pairing of the players?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Are you talking about me being a coach? Coach is an American term. I'm a Captain. I don't do any coaching, as in, do this, do that. The guys would look at me and laugh. These guys have their own coaches. Most of them are here, and if they're not, they're on the phone or whatever, and the players help each other as well. I'm not a coach. I'm the Captain, and my job is to bring the team here, keep some discipline, not that that's a problem, and move forward as a team. I think we've done that.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Without a doubt. I'm not going back, but I think this course is all about greens. It's a real must play course. It's a bit of a Captain's nightmare. I think I'm going to be bald and gray before the thing is over. It's going to be difficult to do at times.

It's going to be a great course for watching, but it's going to be on who putts the best, I think, and who's mindful of where they're putting the ball on the green, which is probably equally important.

Q. Saying that, have you talked with your players about how often you want to see putts given to the other team?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: No, these guys know what we're doing. They've played international golf for their countries for a number of years. They know what match play is all about. That's one of our strengths. It's a judgment call on these guys, but they'll do the things they normally do.

Q. So, these greens aren't going to make a difference?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: They might not yes, if it's a straight uphill from a foot, they'll say pick it up.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: I don't know. I'll tell you who's at the best scores. Gary Lockerbie has the best scores. I think he's finished overall in the three spot with 11 under, so that's pretty good. He's one of the future stars we're talking about I think.

Q. Did you have any preconceived notions coming in and some of those being changed after seeing the guys play?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: No, pretty much what I thought has happened. Obviously all your players can't be all exactly the same. Some are slightly better, some have other qualities. I think we have there is maybe a very top level of players and then there is a slightly level below that. I think that's fair to say.

Q. How familiar are you with the American players and what stands out about them?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: I know nothing about the American players, just because I don't know. I don't know nothing going on. I know they're a very young team, all college players. I know they've all won loads of tournaments and stuff. You've got to focus on your own players and what their strengths are. I'm sure I'll know all about the American players after the next couple of days.

Q. Garth, any well wishers from Walker Cup alumni?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: We nearly pulled that off, that Luke was going to try to get a practice round with us. The days were mixed up and it didn't work out. We have had some good wishes from some of the past players. It's been very good that way. We had a nice memo from George wishing us all the best and asking us to bring the cup back.

Q. Any well wishes from your Royal Family?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: No.

Q. How much did your trip here last fall help you guys get familiar with the golf course?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: It was good in the sense we went away knowing there was going to be a golf course with fairly generous fairways, fast sloping greens. We thought it was going to be hot as hell. When we came out last year, it was 60 degrees. We didn't get the temperature thing, but we knew it was going to be hot anyway. It was good to see the severity of the greens.

We were mindful of that when we were picking the team that good putters were going to be necessary. It was great to we went to see three courses, and we chose two of those, Olympia Fields and Skokie. And Skokie was as close as we could get to this style of course without actually playing here, and that was important to try and have the guys still playing similar conditions but not actually on the golf course. From that point of view, it was very worthwhile.

Q. You mentioned earlier about pairings and you said I hope you get it right. Do you see that, first of all, as your major responsibility; and secondly, if you get the pairings wrong, does that make a difference in what actually could happen?

GARTH MCGIMPSEY: Well, what do you mean getting the pairings wrong? All they have to do is put one down the middle, down the green and two putt. It's not that difficult. These guys know each other's games. You try to pair guys who hit the same difference, so they're talking the same way. If it goes wrong, blame me, that's fine, but I'm not hitting the shots, but having said that, if it does go wrong, this team is adaptable. I might make a couple changes. That won't be difficult to do. Nearly everybody is interchangeable.

Q. Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.