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THE RYDER CUPSeptember 28, 2018Tony FinauBrooks KoepkaGuyancourt, France NEIL AHERN: Hey, guys, thank you for joining us. Brooks, you were at Hazeltine, and it's not quite the Hazeltine morning session, but 3-1 is a good score to take into the afternoon, isn't it? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously we're happy where we are at right now. I feel like our team is playing pretty well. I felt like it was a big point, our match was a big point, swinging that one, because it looked like they were going to win the match pretty much the whole way through, especially when we got 2-down, and to come back and be able to flip it like that was really a two-point swing. NEIL AHERN: Tony, obviously a great match to make your Ryder Cup debut, and obviously a little break on 16. Can you tell us about the match in general and how that break turned the game I suppose. TONY FINAU: Yeah, for sure. Rosey and Jon played incredible. They played incredible golf. They scored better than us for the first 12 holes. I think a big part of the reason Brooks and I are paired together and we played together and we played well, just our attitude. Just not giving up. We kept telling each other, just, you know, just keep one hole at a time. Let's try to get back in this thing and see if we can stretch this match out. We were able to do that, and you know, he played incredible golf when I needed him to on that back nine. He birdied 10. He birdied 11. Had a look for birdie on 14. Incredible par on 15 with me in the water. When I needed him to hit shots and step up, he did. That's the great thing about having a great teammate. Then on 16, I needed the break again, just when I saw the ball in the air, I knew it needed to get up. I was kind of wishing for that in the air, and I got lucky. Sometimes the ball rolls your way and sometimes it doesn't. But fortunately for us, that was a huge turning point in our match. I was able to brush that one in and get our match all-square, and honestly, the momentum was on our side because they were 2-up and looking to close us out, and we were able to stretch that match out, and then we played incredible golf on 18 to win the match. Q. Tony, can you talk about hitting that first tee shot and whatever nerves you may have had? And Brooks, you've been in a lot of pressure situations. How does this compare to maybe being in contention at a major or winning a major? TONY FINAU: Yeah, first tee shot was not like anything I've been involved in before. It was like a feeling of a football game back in the States, an NFL football game and I'm in the middle of the field and I have to hit a tee shot; I have to make a golf swing with all that type of adrenaline. It was incredible. Even though the crowd is a European crowd and we're on European soil, just to be in that atmosphere, it's electric. It's so hard to explain, just being there, knowing that all eyes are on you, it's a cool thing. I really enjoyed it, and I thought I hit a pretty good one. The ball just kept rolling and almost went in the water. Luckily it didn't. But just really electric. BROOKS KOEPKA: What was it? Q. How would you compare the pressure playing this morning to being in contention at a major? BROOKS KOEPKA: You know, it kind of reminds me a little bit of Shinnecock I guess, when you have a one-shot lead, coming down 17, 18, or you're about to close off a major. That's what it feels like every shot at a Ryder Cup. I think it's fun. I love it. I love the fact that you've got a teammate behind you in case you screw up. That's always nice. It's so much fun. You love making everybody quiet over here. I think that's -- I enjoy it, and I know especially when you get that momentum on your side, it feels like anything's possible. And then the other thing is, you've got another guy and another caddie cheering for you, and a captain or assistant captain out there cheering you on. It's an incredible atmosphere, but I think comparing it to a major, having a lead, coming down the last two holes, or having to hit a golf shot, you know, under that kind of pressure is what it's like every shot. Q. Can I ask you for another comparison? You played in the first tee at Hazeltine, and there has been an awful lot made of the size of the grandstand and number of people. Did you sense they were further back and that perhaps the atmosphere was not as intimidating as you expected it to be? BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I never really thought it was going to be intimidating. I don't think anything is intimidating, because I'm here to play golf. I'm not -- unless somebody's about to beat my brains in. So I'm not really afraid of anything. It's fun. It's electric. They might not have been the closest to us, but they were definitely loud. You could hear them. The European fans do an unbelievable job of being loud and being behind their team, and you know, credit to them. The fans here have been unbelievable. They all applaud great golf shots and they are cheering for Europe, as they should, and they definitely make it loud. Q. Have you had an update on the spectator that was hit on I think it was the sixth, and how hard was it to refocus after something like that happens? BROOKS KOEPKA: I haven't gotten an update. I actually just asked in the locker room, and nobody knew. So I have no idea what's going on. I obviously saw her. It looked like it hurt. She was bleeding pretty good. It looked like it hit her right in the eye, so hopefully there's no, you know, loss of vision or anything like that. But it's not a fun feeling. I probably do it way more than I should. It seems just about every week we're hitting somebody, and you know, it's unfortunate. You're never trying to. It doesn't feel good, it really doesn't. You feel terrible for them. You know exactly how they are feeling, especially when you've got to go over there and apologise, because they are in pain, usually bleeding, and then to hit her in the face is not -- you don't want to hit anybody in the face, especially not a woman, and it's not a good feeling. I mean, I had a terrible -- I just wanted to get out of there, so I'm glad Tony was able to chip-in and leave. But I'm sure we'll get an update on her in the next -- whenever we leave here, but hopefully she's doing good. Q. Does this feel like an event that's being held in France, or is it like any other golf -- BROOKS KOEPKA: Have you ever played in France? TONY FINAU: I've never played a tournament here. I think, yeah, the people have been great. It's been cool being here in Paris. Yeah, we've never played here in France. I don't know -- BROOKS KOEPKA: I have. I've played a few times in France. It's not like a Challenge Tour event, I can promise you that. TONY FINAU: (Laughing). BROOKS KOEPKA: It's a little different. It's a little different than The French Open, too. I've played that. The Ryder Cup is going to be different. It's got a different feel to it. TONY FINAU: It's an incredible venue. The people are incredible. They support their European players, and it's been great. Paris is an unbelievable place, and well-deserved to host The Ryder Cup. Q. Have either of you ever had dinner in a palace before? TONY FINAU: Yeah, we just had dinner there Wednesday night. Q. Is that the first time you've ever had dinner in a palace? TONY FINAU: Yes, it's the first time I've ever had dinner in a palace. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yes, first time. TONY FINAU: That place was incredible, Hall of Mirrors. It was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. Can only imagine how much it costs. BROOKS KOEPKA: 721,000 square feet. I don't want that bill. Unfathomable. I mean, I can't even imagine. Q. This tee shot on No. 1, which club did you hit? TONY FINAU: I hit 3-iron. Q. And it was a little bit of adrenaline, I think? TONY FINAU: Yeah, just right on the edge of the water. I had to pitch out, yeah. I thought I was going to be all right. It just kept running, and obviously pulled it a little bit. I was trying to hit it in the fairway, obviously. With everything there and everything going on, being the first tee shot, and I wanted that, and I want to be better because of it. To me it was a win/win situation. Brooks and I wanted to lead off our team, and he comes over to me and tells me, "Hey, I want you to hit the first tee shot." It was cool for him to give me that honour, to lead off this Ryder Cup. It's a feeling I'll always remember, and it's so electric. It's just so hard to explain. It was cool to win the point for our team because we told the captain we wanted to play first. We wanted to be that first match and we wanted to set the tone for this Ryder Cup. I'm just extremely proud we were able to do what we wanted to do and win the point for our team. Q. For either one of you guys, but your match seemed to be a microcosm for the entire session as a whole in terms of there was momentum shifts on both sides, back and forth, and you had a bit of an edge. What was the vibe like in the team room in those few minutes between the two sessions? BROOKS KOEPKA: You probably spent more time in there than I did. TONY FINAU: It was great. It's a great start by any means. It doesn't matter, 3-1 is a great start. There's still a lot of golf to be played, but to get off to this start on European soil I think is a big deal for us. You know, our guys, we're all enthusiastic, and we hope to continue this good play. We're going to get some practise in this afternoon and we'll cheer on our guys this afternoon. The captains decided to sit us for this session, so we'll get some work done and go cheer on our guys. But it's been a great start, and the vibe has been good. Q. As you mentioned, it does seem to happen almost every week that somebody gets hit in the crowd. Can I clarify if there were shouts of fore from yourself or other people in the group? BROOKS KOEPKA: I think we all shouted fore. Q. Were you able to speak to the woman when this incident initially occurred when you went over? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. I didn't actually see her at first. I didn't know I hit anybody, and then someone from the crowd yelled, "You hit someone." And I turned around, and then obviously you see she's -- someone's lying on the ground, and you're thinking, oh, shoot, I did it again. It's hard. It's hard to control a golf ball, a round ball, with a square face, and especially for 300 yards. And a lot of times, the fans are very close. You know, they are not far off the fairway, and I mean, you'd love to hit every fairway, but sometimes it does -- you spray it a little bit, and it does go there. You know, the problem is, you shout fore, but from 300 yards, how are you supposed to hear it? How are you supposed to know? TONY FINAU: With the wind. BROOKS KOEPKA: At the same time, you can yell fore, but it doesn't matter. Yeah, if you're 150 yards, you're shouting fore, you can hear it. But from 300 yards, even if none of us said fore, she's going to get hit, and that's the unfortunate thing. They can't hear from 300 yards and wind blowing and everybody's got coats on because it's cold, it's -- fore doesn't really matter, but we did say it. Q. Couple things. What's going through your mind as you hit that shot at 16 as the ball is in the air? I'm guessing you know it's close. TONY FINAU: I know it needed to get up. I saw it rise. It's an elevated tee shot, and when you're hitting into the wind and you're already hitting higher than where the green is, so into the wind, you've got to hit a knock-down shot, and my knock-down shot rose. Even though the line looked great, I hit a great shot; I knew it needed to get up. I'm sure in my head I'm thinking go; in Brooks' head we're thinking go; my caddies were thinking go. And to see it bounce and get a fortunate bounce and go to four feet was a huge momentum changer in the group. I was able to capitalise, and then, you know, we won 18 to win the match, so that was a huge turning point. Sometimes you get the bounces. Sometimes you don't. It's pretty obvious, we got the right bounce at the right time in our first match, and it went a long ways in helping us win the match. Q. How do you get through a round where it's up -- you had the great chip-in, but you're almost in the water, you're in the water, out-of-bounds on another hole. It was a very up-and-down day. How do you stay focused and not let the bad shots affect you and kind of keep yourself in the match? TONY FINAU: Yeah, it's match play, first of all. But you know, I play golf for a living. This is nothing new to me, hitting it in the water, hitting out-of-bounds. You don't want it to happen when it counts, but I've trained myself just in tournament golf; whatever happens, happens, and let's move forward and move on. And Brooks and I were able to do that well today when we needed to. In these type of matches, you can't show your weakness, whether you feel that way or not. You can't show that you have any kind of emotional weakness or you'll get eaten alive. Things like that happen in a match. This is a tough golf course. When the wind blows, it's not an easy course. You don't have to be that far off to be off-off, to be a couple shots and you're out of the hole. But just using my experience to my advantage, I play golf and I know my attitude is a big reason why I'm here -- and not to change anything. It's frustrating not hitting the shot you want to hit, but you've got to control your emotions, and we were able to do that and that's why we were able to pull this match off. NEIL AHERN: Congratulations again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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