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SEVE BALLESTEROS TROPHY

September 22, 2005

Colin Montgomerie

Jose Maria Olazabal

BILLINGHAM, ENGLAND

RODDY WILLIAMS: Thank you everyone for coming in. Jose Maria, great start, your thoughts on the day.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Yes, it was obviously a good day for us. Wonderful, what can I say, obviously the last match I think made a big difference in the day. If it had gone the other way, it would have been 3 2, the difference would have been very climb.

It was a great day for us. The boys played well. They managed to win most of the matches, so we are obviously pleased. But we have to keep working really hard because we all know that our opponents are no piece of cake, so they are going to be really trying hard tomorrow. And I'm pretty sure that Monty is going to give them a nice talking to. They are going to be fired up tomorrow for sure.

RODDY WILLIAMS: Colin, could you give us your thoughts on the day, as well? Will you give the team a bit of a talking to?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: First I'd like to congratulate the European Team. They scored better than us today. You know, we've had a bit of a meeting there. The doors were closed. We will come out hopefully fighting and get as close as we can to the European total tomorrow night, and you know, we have to play better, simple as that.

When you think of, you know, the last game, I believe it is very vital. It could have gone either way, either putt could have gone in, if Paul had made his and Thomas doesn't make his and Padraig is inside them, well, then that's 3 2 and of course we're in a very different position and we're sitting here 4 1. It's happened so often in that Ryder Cup situation where the game swings, and it's not just a point on us, it's a point off the opposition and it's a very big swing, that last hole was crucial today. And having won the 17th, I was confident of the Irish duo having at least half a point but it wasn't to be, and the Europeans playing well today, as a team. They did very, very well, so all credit to them and we have to get on with things tomorrow and improve on all aspects of our performance. Hopefully we will be doing that.

Q. Can you give us the pairings?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I might change the position of the players. You go first. (Laughter).

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Don't be like Seve now. Come on. I thought you were different.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Spaniards, it's the same blood, you see.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Did you go first? Go on.

RODDY WILLIAMS: Who is playing the first game tomorrow?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Niclas Fasth and Peter Hanson.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Okay, well they are going to play Harrington and McGinley.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: There you go. Jimenez and myself.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Ah ha. You see, I've outfoxed you again. They are going to play Casey and Howell.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Third match will be Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: That will be a very interesting game because they are going against myself and McDowell.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Good. And Canonica and Lafeber.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: They are going to play the Welsh pair, Dodd and Dredge.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: And the French connection for last (Thomas Levet and Jean Francois Remesy).

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, they are going to play Hollywood. (Laughter.) (Ian Poulter and Nick Dougherty.)

There you go, that's tomorrow's event, done.

Q. Did you consider changing the pairings?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: No, I felt I was confident at the start of the day with my pairings. I feel the same way. We didn't score enough and I have to believe that those pairings can score better tomorrow.

And I'm a great believer in not practicing during competition. They practiced Wednesday, they practiced Thursday together, so they should know each other by now. There's no point. I could have switched everything around, and I think I'm the first person that's gone 4 1 down that hasn't switched a thing because I've got belief in them. So we will go for that tomorrow.

Q. A couple of your players, making birdies early during the rounds

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, yes, this is what we had a chat about today. Let's hope they can remedy that situation in the first hole tomorrow.

Q. You said that the pairings and the order was there any sort of hint as to who plays who?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: No, no, no. No, that would be very, very wrong and hopefully that would never apply to a team I'm the captain of, never. What happened today was we were outplayed today. We were outscored; and therefore, we lost four matches. The only match that was nice to beat the opposition in scoring, and we won, that has to change and hopefully hopefully we can do something about that tomorrow.

Q. What did you say to the team?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, they are how can you give a team ball kicking positively? There's an art in that. I'll find out tomorrow, so, we'll see.

Q. Were you angry?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I'm not

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: He's not that way, come on guys.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I'm not very happy.

Q. What weren't you happy about?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: There's certain things that were going on that will remain between ourselves and we will remedy that tomorrow. There's ten players on the team and I'm one of them, so we're on the same boat, okay.

We're on the same boat. But what I would like to do is congratulate the European Team today on a marvelous performance.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Thank you very much, Monty.

Q. I imagine your team feel very good.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well, obviously we sat down and I told them that they did a wonderful job. Obviously I'm not going to give them a ball kicking for winning four matches, it's pretty early. Monty and I, we've played this game long enough to know that the game of golf is like that. I mean, you might have for whatever reason, things don't go your way, and they get beat. But that doesn't mean they are not, you know, great players. I think all players here, they prove through their careers that they are very good players.

You know, today is was our day. We'll see tomorrow. We're going to have to work our asses off the next few days to beat these boys. I mean, I don't have any doubts of that. I don't think anybody has shown up here complacent saying, we're going to show up and that's it. I totally disagree with the suggestion of that. I think all of the boys are really trying their hearts out.

You know, I've shot 68 86, two days in a row. I mean, how can you explain that in golf? You know, we're going to try hard tomorrow. Obviously we're going to be fired up. Nobody wants to be losing this. I think we made that very clear. I think this competition is a serious one, we take it very seriously and that's it, simple as that.

I'm very pleased with my team, the performance of my team today and hopefully we will be able to play good golf tomorrow again. But we will see. I mean, as I said, we're going to have to really work hard in the next few days. This is not over by any means.

Q. When did you shoot 68 86?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: The qualifying school, British Amateur, '85.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Defending champion, there you go. And I shot 64 84, Muirfield, 2002 British Open. These things happen, okay. So all I can say is the only positive thing that I can take out of today is that there's 23 matches left. That's the positive.

Q. Will you attempt to change the teams

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well, I talked to the players and, you know, they played pretty solid. The only thing is Monty and McDowell played better. I think Monty and McDowell managed to make a few birdies and my boys saved a hole a few times. At the end of the day, it's what we saw on 18 today with Paul and Thomas. That hole could have gone either way, that match. I mean, golf is like that. When you have a guy that has a 12 footer and the other guy has a 9 footer and one makes it, the other doesn't, you know, and it's one point for one side and for the other.

So, you know, again, we're talking about little things here. So that's why I said earlier in the week I think that the matches are going to be close and I still believe that.

Q. Did you consider splitting up any pairings?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes, well, it's the same thing, I thought about that as I was making my team selection and changing things. Seve came up to us, we were 4 down playing 11 playing Woods and O'Meara. Seve came up to us and said, "What do you think about splitting up this afternoon?" And we both said to him, no way, you're not going to split us up, we'll beat this pair this afternoon, and we won 5 & 3 in the afternoon.

I think they are pretty comfortable in who they are playing with, yeah, and I want to thick them comfortable. There's no point in sending someone out with someone that they are not comfortable with just for the sake of changing. I think it's important that they are comfortable with each other and they seem to be.

Obviously playing myself, I can't see every shot, I have to concentrate on my own game first. It is difficult, and Jose would agree, playing and being a captain at the same time, it is difficult to concentrate on your own game and also look at every scoreboard and worry about who is losing or winning and what's happening behind or in front. It isn't easy and sometimes I've lost the odd game in the Seve Trophy through that, through myself thinking about other people, as opposed to my own game.

So today I was trying to concentrate fully and trying to finish my own game first, concentrate on that point and then see what's happening around me, which obviously didn't quite go to plan.

Q. What was the reaction from the players?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Oh, they were listening. They are very good listeners. They are fired up now. They are fired up now. Whoever says they weren't this morning, but they are now.

Q. There were certain things going on

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: That will remain between ourselves no, no, just it's actually quite good, it's quite interesting.

Q. Attitude or etiquette?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Oh, no, no, just to, come on, you know, this isn't quite good enough. A little respect to my opposition here, but, you know, this Seve Trophy, the last two times we've won this thing.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: It's been very, very close, and the last game at Valencia was crucial and also Druids Glen the same thing, very, very tight games. And also at Sunningdale the first game, I think it was within one point as well. If everybody they were very close games. And hopefully this is the worst start any team has ever made against the other, hopefully, it will remain that way.

Q. Are you now the underdogs?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Well, we need 13 points and you need 10 and a half. So you work it out.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I don't agree; I don't want to lose by any means.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Put the underdogs or favourites away, whatever it was, underdogs or favourites, but at the same time, it's very even. It's very even, these games, very even.

RODDY WILLIAMS: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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