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VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 14, 2014Patrick ReedASH, KENT, ENGLAND PAUL SYMES: Many thank for joining us and warm welcome toll Volvo World Match Play. Perhaps start by telling us why you decided to add this tournament to your schedule this year. PATRICK REED: You know, honestly, the first reason why we came over was we watched this event last year on TV. Last year at this time, Justine was like, "I think you really need to go over and play." I love match play, and with how I played at Ryder Cup, it's one of these events that if I got invited I definitely would come over. I've always wanted to come. I've never been to London before and always wanted to come over here and spend some time and just see different parts of the world in golf. To be part of the Volvo World Match Play, especially the 50th anniversary, means a lot, but also to my family and to come over and play means a lot. PAUL SYMES: The Ryder Cup, result overall didn't go your way, but you must be delighted with how you played from a personal perspective. PATRICK REED: For sure. I played really well, and I felt like going out and playing especially some great golf during that time at that kind of a stage meant a lot to me just for the fact that being a rookie, wanting to go out and give some of my team some points, and unfortunately at the end of the day, we weren't able to win but I felt like it was a good learning experience for myself. Q. You were quite demonstrative, shall we say, in The Ryder Cup. Have you been recognised in London after that performance? PATRICK REED: Not really. I just got back. We flew in and we landed yesterday morning, so we are just trying to get over the jet‑lag and get rested and ready to go for this week. I hope that the fans are still cheering on both sides, whether it's for me or whoever I'm playing, just because of the great golf. That's one thing that I really enjoyed at The Ryder Cup was just the knowledge that everyone has for the game over here on how‑‑ it doesn't matter if you hit a good shot or a poor shot. They are very respectful and at the same time, they get it and they understand when you get that quality shot, that it doesn't matter who hit it. They cheer for some golf. Hopefully they see some great things and I give them something to cheer about this week. Q. What was the reaction like when you got home, there must have been positive and negative reaction. Did it surprise you? PATRICK REED: Honestly, I got 45 e‑mails right when I got home. Five were only from Americans. All the others were from the European crowd. Every one of them was positive. They absolutely loved it. And that's the one week where you can go back and forth with the crowds, you're giving them something to react on. They are going to give you some to react on. At the end of the day, it's just a bunch of fun and respectful play back and forth. It's one of those things that was a lot of fun, and hopefully I have more Ryder Cups to come where I can do some more stuff. Q. Did you surprise yourself or did you think you would get that excited, that animated? PATRICK REED: I knew I was going to get excited. Just because whenever the Opening Ceremony was when we were walking in, Ian was to the left of me, because it goes by alphabetical on the team and Rory was right behind him, and I know them really well. They were just busting my chops a little bit and I was giving it back to them. This was before we even start. Just to walk out on the Opening Ceremony and see how many fans are there and how excited they are about the game of golf and just about the tournament just got me going. When I got to the first tee on the first day, to hear the cheers, it was like all the oxygen got sucked out. It was hard to pull the club back. I was excited to get ready to go and it's one of those events that I never thought you could feel that way about golf in my life and it definitely exceeded it. Q. What did you think of Tom Watson's captaincy? PATRICK REED: I mean, he was my first captain at the moment and I actually really‑‑ I really enjoyed what he did. And at the end of the day, what it comes down to, it comes down to us and how we play. It's what team can win the most points at the end of the week. Unfortunately we fell short. But you know, we'll see. Q. How did you feel on a stage when Phil Mickelson‑‑ PATRICK REED: You know, honestly, for me it's more on, you know, if we win or lose. It's not on really what is said or anything like that. And I felt like our camaraderie and everything as a team was great. I felt like all of us were behind each other and playing some solid golf. It's just having to be that‑‑ fortunately we didn't play well enough. Q. Going back to The Ryder Cup, from a playing point of view, how much of a learning experience was it to be amongst those three days of combat? PATRICK REED: It was a huge learning curve when I was there. The fact that golf is an individual sport; everything you play in golf is you against the golf course. And to learn how fast it is to play on a team sport to get camaraderie with the team and to have guys like Phil, Jim Furyk, who have played nine, ten Ryder Cups, they can really help in mentoring you in how to handle the team aspect of it. To go out and play some solid golf and to have not only fans cheering for you but also fans cheering when you hit a poor shot when it's an away game like that, it definitely makes you mentally stronger and one of those events that we'll definitely build on when I'm playing a major and other huge events coming down the stretch. Q. Lee Westwood said last week he didn't like seeing the U.S. Team air their dirty laundry in public, as he put it, in the press conference. Would you agree with that, even if Phil had some valid points, it would have been better to have made them in private? PATRICK REED: You know, it's one of those things that that's up to what Phil believes and what Captain Watson and all the other guys believe. At the end of the day, I wouldn't be probably the right guy to ask that kind of question to the fact that it's my first Ryder Cup and it's my first captain. To me, doesn't matter who the captain is. Doesn't matter where we are or who is on our team or anything like that. Whoever it is I'm going to play my heart out for because not only am I playing for myself but I'm for my country and the other 11 guys that are standing next to me. Q. Back to this week. Tell us why match play is different to be playing match play. PATRICK REED: It's one of those events where it's you against one other player, and it's completely different than what we play on a normal day‑to‑day basis. It makes it unique, as well as being here at the Volvo World Match Play, it's a bunch of top players in the world. To come out and play against these guys and to come over seas and play is something I've always wanted to do. To step up on the tee and get that opportunity to play means a lot. Q. This tournament is actually more than twice as old as you are. How cool would it be to win? PATRICK REED: Oh, it would be a dream come true to win an event like this. To be a part of the history, a part of the guys that have won this event; just definitely means I'm moving in the right direction and playing some really good golf and that I'm on top of my game. It's always nice to have a victory but to be able to close one off, especially in a match‑play event and also over here, the Volvo World Match Play. Q. You're a confident chap. Do you expect to win coming here this week? PATRICK REED: Yeah, if you ask any player, they expect to win and they expect to play really well. But at the end of the day, I expect just to go out and play my game and control what I can control. In match play, you're not able to control all the factors, so the main thing is just go out, make sure I improve on each shot and put 110 per cent focus on each shot and hopefully at the end of the day, I'm still standing there on Sunday afternoon and holding the trophy. Q. One of the things that was so endearing from The Ryder Cup from your perspective was the emotion you showed. Can we expect more of that this week? PATRICK REED: There will definitely be emotion and passion out there. It's just a passion that I have for the game of golf, and match play, there's always that little extra killer instinct that I have due to the fact that I know where I'm at at all times because the guy I'm playing is next to me. It's going to be one much those events that I look forward to. Am I going to get probably as rowdy as I did at The Ryder Cup? Probably not. I mean, it's one of those things that I was at The Ryder Cup and with hearing how the fans were and cheering for the European side, how much louder it was than the American side got me going even more.       And playing great golf always gets me excited no matter what. Whether I'm back home or playing with my buddies or whether I'm on the PGA TOUR or I'm over here, if I'm making birdies and playing well, there's going be to fist‑pumps and excitement just because I'm playing the game I love and doing it well. Hopefully I can play well. Q. You mentioned you and your wife watching this tournament. Is she caddying for you this week and given the weather would you have preferred it was still in Bulgaria? PATRICK REED: She is not caddying this week. She's going to probably lay low and stay as the wife for a period of time. When she feels like she's ready to come back then she'll come back probably and caddie. But as of right now, Kessler and I are doing what we've been doing. The weather, I expect the weather to be like this. When I come over and play in events, I mean, I want it to be how the normal weather is whether it's foggy, rainy, windy, cool. The first time I actually came over and played links‑style golf was the Alfred Dunhill, and the first round I played was at St. Andrews, it was 72 degrees, sunny and no wind. I was like, oh, man, this is easy. I only shot 1‑under par but I expected a lot different. But come to the third day when I played Carnoustie, it was 55 degrees, blowing sideways and raining. I got to see true links golf and it was a blast. So you know, I don't mind if it's raining. I don't mind if it's windy or cold. I actually hope it is. PAUL SYMES: Many thanks, Patrick and have a great week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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