Q. And your favorite Jackie Burke story of the week so far?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I don't know. It's been great having him around. I've really enjoyed watching a Chris Riley, or a Chad Campbell, get to know Jack Burke. I've been fortunate enough to play at Champions and be around and also hear the stories for a long time. But it's been great to see him get to know the players. And this is a week, whether it's getting to know Chad Campbell better or getting to know things about our friends that we never really knew, because you spend a lot of time with them. We get all with that Jack Burke. Because we spent a day here or a day there. But to spend a whole week with him is going to be a thrill. And the stories are great, but getting to spend the time with him and then be able to, at the end of the week truly call him a friend, will be, I think, will be the best story of all.
Q. Can a guy like Chris Riley kind of add some enthusiasm to the team because he seems like the type of guy where you could kind of have a laugh at his expense and think nothing of it?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well he's fun. We have been having fun with him ever since he came out on TOUR. He tried to cram as many people as he could into the elevator last night. Right off the bat he was having fun. He's the youthful and enthusiasm that we all had on our first team. And to see him and Chad and all the guys that are first timers experiencing it in their own way and Chris is a wonderful putter, a great player, but he's a bright spot, somebody to keep you laughing. All of us get a little serious and head down a little too much and he's got us laughing and having fun. And that's what a team's all about. That's what Michael Jordan said, he said you guys don't get to experience team enough. And the more you bond together the better you'll play. And Chris, no matter what he does on the golf course or off the golf course, he's going to help the team a whole lot.
Q. In the past you teamed very well with Tiger, you meshed with him quite well. Could you talk a little bit about the chemistry of playing with Tiger Woods in a match such as this, please.
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, I was fortunate to play two matches with him. As I said I'm always really good when I play with the top player in the world. Whether it's Fred Couples or Beth Daniel or Tom Kite or Tiger Woods, I'm a pretty good player. And I like playing with the people that you can rely on. So it was a fun two matches. I don't know if I'll get to play with him here or not. Hal's been very quiet about it. So that's the kind of partner you want to have. Somebody who is always in the game and competitive and is a great player and a great partner. So whoever gets him this week obviously has an advantage because he's very easy to play with, because he gives you a lot of confidence. And sure, you're playing with Tiger Woods, you don't want to mess him up or want to try too hard to help him sometimes. But also, once you get going and you start playing. It took me -- and he'll tell you -- probably three holes that Saturday to get relaxed and start playing. But it made me play better playing with him. And gave me a lot of confidence because I didn't have to worry about what was going on on the other side of the team. I knew he could handle his end of the bargain.
Q. Hal talked about a picture he brought from his house this week that had David Duval himself and Payne Stewart spraying champagne over the crowd at Brookline. It's been five years, how often do you think of Payne and what is the U S team missing without having a guy like him?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, we miss him a lot. The PGA TOUR and golf in general misses Payne, not just during Ryder Cups or major championships. We miss the -- the game misses a lot because of him. He was like Chris Riley, he was a bright spot in a sport of guys that we don't have enough Payne Stewart, Chris Riley type players out there. But he is missed in the team room, he's missed as a competitor. And I told Hal a story of Payne and I playing in the '99 Ryder Cup that I'll always carry with me whether I'm playing Ryder Cups or not. It was a big, I think a big learning experience for me and he's going to be missed every time we play one these we think about him, because he should have been captain, he should have been another, played on another couple teams. That was an important picture to Hal and it struck me when I first walked in the room, that's the first thing I saw was that picture. And some of the other guys it might not hit as hard as maybe me or Tiger or guys that were on that team. But we also miss David Duval as a competitor too. So hopefully all those guys in that picture will be back together. I kind of think David might be on that next team. Hopefully I'll get to play with him.
Q. If you were the captain, who would you pair yourself with in both foursomes and four-ball, if they would be different and why.
DAVIS LOVE, III: If I was the captain I would have to have a lot of my friends like Hal has assistant captains to help out. Because that's the hardest thing is pairing guys up. But I would enjoy -- I told Hal, I said I would be happy playing with anybody on this team. I'm not more comfortable with one guy than another. And I would put me out there in the best ball matches for sure and watch who else was playing good for the alternate shots. But Hal said he's going to rely on me heavily, so hopefully I'll get out there enough times to make an impact. But I wouldn't mind playing with really anybody on this team. It would be, this would be the hardest team for me to pick. If Fred Couples was on the team I would automatically tell you I would be more comfortable with Fred. Or if David was on the team, I would automatically say I would be more comfortable with David. But this team I know all the guys very well and would be real comfortable with any of them.
Q. Jones I guess played here Sunday morning, it was his first time back on course since he won here. I was curious what kind of recollections you had when you first got back on the course having had such a close call?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well I remembered the holes kind of as I got to them. Certainly I remembered 17 and 18 very well. The first hole of the tournament I got the wrong yardage and flew it over the TV tower. So I remembered that hole very well. You seem to remember the mistakes. But the more I play the more I remember how I played and I was telling Chad Campbell when we were finishing on 9 it seemed like when I played here I was putting uphill over a hump like every hole. And so the memories are coming back of the tournament. But I scrambled very well here. I didn't hit enough fairways really to win the golf tournament. And so I've been really focused on getting good lines off the tee and things like that. The worst memory I have is sitting in the room watching the guys finish, knowing that I should have finished better. But any time you play good on a golf course you feel comfortable and I feel comfortable here.
Q. You didn't go back up to the top where you were on 18 and give it a crack, did you?
DAVIS LOVE, III: And try to putt down the hill? No. But I did think of Freddie calling me Sunday night and asking me, that putt can't stop going down that hill. It just can't stop. I said but it did, Fred. He goes, yeah but it can't stop going down that hill. I understand what you're saying, but I left it short. So I didn't want to go and putt. But I thought about it and I hit a good tee shot off that hole and hit a good 6-iron just like I did in the tournament. Hit it up there on the right side of the green. I learned from those mistakes and the next year I did win, but that was one of those moments that all top players have. It's a would have, could have, should have. And you just got to move on. But I do have good memories because this really was the first one that I had a great chance of winning. So it kind of spurred me on after that.
Q. You mentioned the crowds and how excited they were through the first two days of practice. Is this typical of a Ryder Cup and how much do you anticipate I guess the buildup leading up to Friday, Saturday, Sunday?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, it's typical, they're excited. They're here to see the Ryder Cup team and it's the Olympics for golf. The people are excited starting on Tuesday morning as soon as we walk out there. They're cheering, they're yelling, "Good luck today" and we're going to practice this morning. We're just like, "We're going to practice, you know, it's not a tournament." But they're charged up and ready. We're trying to downplay it until Friday morning. But the enthusiasm is already there.
When that opening ceremonies get started tomorrow, it's just going to get ramped up to a fever pitched. We just hope that the fans treat both sides the same; that they let us play the game. And we've tried very hard, I've played since '93, it's been the same basically every year. The fans cheer a little too hard for the home side, the players get a little too excited. But we're all friends and we have fun and we want to see both sides treated equally by the fans, and I know that this is a great sports town and that they will do that.
Q. Just to pull back a little bit, you've played since '93 at Valderrama, Belfry. If you look at the lineup of courses: K Club and Celtic Manor and everything, do you wonder or wish that a Ryder Cup had been played on a true links, and would you enjoy that if had been in your time?
DAVIS LOVE III: Oh, I would love to. Maybe, well, you've got three more years there, right? I have to play -- how many more years? I have to play hard to get to a links course, wouldn't I? You.
It would be nice to get there. Links courses are very hard logistically, and I understand to get that many people on basically four holes on the golf courses, it's hard. It's hard to ask Troon to host two tournaments in a short period of time.
But it would have been nice. We've played some great places. We're going to some great places and you know, you could play the Ryder Cup pretty much anywhere and I think it's going to be exciting. You know, the question earlier was a good match-play course, this is a great match-play course, but so is the Belfry. Most places we have played have been great match-play.
It's just going to be exciting no matter where. They are finding some new places, different places to play, and I think you go here one year and maybe someplace new, switch back and forth like the PGA Championship has done. They have branched out and played some new places like we did this year, and then they go back to some traditional places. And I think that's nice not to play really the same old school courses time after time and do something new, and hopefully I'll get to see all those places up there on the wall before I'm done.
JULIUS MASON: Davis Love, ladies and gentlemen.
End of FastScripts.
