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VIVENDI SEVE TROPHY

September 16, 2011

Paul McGinley

PARIS, FRANCE

GORDON SIMPSON: Paul, thanks very much for joining us, and it's a case of all to play for then over the weekend.
PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, today was the result they would have wanted, not the one I would have wanted. But when you play professional golf, I just said to the team in there in our meeting, when you play professional golf at this level, you have good days and you have bad days. We didn't have as good a day as we did yesterday. It's not the end of the world.
We've lost the series today, which was disappointing, but that's what happens. As I keep saying, this is a very, very strong European Team and we don't underestimate them and all credit to them. They came out very well today and won the series.
So, yeah, it's a disappointing day but it's not the end of the world. I tried to put it in context, like we shot 62 yesterday; if we were playing in an individual tournament, we shot 62 yesterday, shot 72 today, but we are still leading the tournament. And we haven't even played for a third of the points yet. So there's a long way to go.
GORDON SIMPSON: I suppose the intensity gets ratcheted up a bit with two sessions tomorrow and a bit of tactics, as well, deciding who to leave out and who to play.
PAUL McGINLEY: Obviously this is where you have to put in thought. Yesterday, putting the team in yesterday afternoon, it was quite simple for me after the way the boys performed today. The ironic thing about it today, the group that lost today were the only group that won today and that's just what happens in golf.
So I'll give it a lot more thought for tomorrow. I'll rest two guys in the morning and two in the afternoon, and based on that and based on how everybody is playing, I've obviously made some decisions. I've changed some groupings. Others I've kept in place. But I don't want to get things out of context. Today was a bad day but it wasn't a disaster by any means.

Q. Just specifically Irish question here. Darren only had one birdie today. Did he explain to you what went wrong? He's the one player we have not been able to talk to.
PAUL McGINLEY: He's been on the range since, that's why. He went straight from the 16th green on to the range or whatever green he finished on.
Yeah, he didn't play very well. Darren knows better than anybody, you have good days, you have bad days. He didn't play particularly well today and they got beaten, they got down on their match early and it's always tough when you get down on your match early. No big deal. You have good days, you have bad days, played very well yesterday, played a big role yesterday and tomorrow is a new day.

Q. Are the pairings in for tomorrow?
PAUL McGINLEY: Yes.

Q. Can you talk about them?
PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, have you got a copy of the draw? You can have mine. I have a spare copy here. Do you want me to read them putt.
First match is Colsaerts and Manassero against Dyson and Donaldson.
Second match is Peter Hanson and Alexander Noren against Horsey and Clarke.
The third match is BjÃ¶rn and Jacquelin against Poulter and Fisher.
The last match is JimÃ©nez and LarrazÃ¡bal against Westwood and Jamieson.
Just based on my counting here, although it is an Irish count, that leaves Anders Hansen and Molinari out for them tomorrow morning, and Rock and Foster out for me tomorrow morning.

Q. Can you talk about the changes to your team that you've made?
PAUL McGINLEY: Obviously my first two pairings, I've gone again with what's worked. The f first two pairings I haven't changed. I've swapped Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher. They have played in World Cups together and played extremely well. They have played Ryder Cups together. Strong pairing. I've obviously gone with them.
And you know, Lee, I put the most experienced player in our team with Lee with the most inexperienced in Scott. That's our team for tomorrow.
And you must understand that my team tomorrow morning was decided on very much with tomorrow afternoon in mind as well, too. It's kind of a different scenario. I was picking two teams at the same time not knowing how the guys are going to play tomorrow morning. But unless something unusual happens tomorrow morning, I know what I'm going to be doing in the afternoon, but obviously I can't say that now.

Q. And sorry, as you head into the business end of the tournament, how important do you think it is that all your players have already contributed at least a point to the cause?
PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, it's important they have all got up and running and that the inexperienced players have all had somebody on their shoulder who has helped them through the first couple of days. That might not always be the case now over the weekend.
I think I might cut loose at some stage. You never know. We'll have to wait and see how things develop as they golf as I said to my team at the start of the week, I have a number of strategies in my mind depending on how the situation evolves. I said, the easiest way to win this tournament is to get momentum on the first day and ride that momentum to victory.
But if we don't get the momentum the first day and it goes the other way against us, I still have lots of strategies in place that we can crawl back. It's no panic. We have had a bad day today. They have had a really good day. They have come back very strongly. All credit to them after really getting walloped yesterday.
It makes for an interesting weekend, and we are under no illusions, again. I'll say it again that this is a very, very strong European Team and they showed their form today and their fighting spirit today. They really came out firing today and all credit to them.
Personally, I think a hugely instrumental match today was the second match. Them getting 4-up after five holes against Poulter and Rock was a huge boost for them early in the day, something exactly that they needed. That's probably, if they were to write the script about one thing they wanted it was one of those first two matches getting 4-up after five, and they got it. That provided -- for me that provided the foundation from which they went on to have a very good day.
Ian Poulter, as you can imagine, is very upset about what happened today, very upset about getting beaten. He's very proud of his record. And I'll be reminding him tomorrow as well that he's got to get back to the Ian Poulter that we know (smiling).

Q. Just following to that, can you explain more about Ian's reaction, because obviously he is such a galvanising figure in Ryder Cups and has won a World Cup; did he feel he had let the team down in any way?
PAUL McGINLEY: He's absolutely livid with himself, yeah, and I'd expect nothing more or nothing less from Poulter. He's the ultimate match player. To be quite honest, there's very few guys in the world as good a match player as Ian Poulter.
And he's livid that he let them get away the way they did; himself and Rocky who played extremely well yesterday and were in great form at dinner last night and raring to go this morning. I had reminded them, I had got them focussed what I felt this morning to go out but they made the big mistake; they lost three holes to par today. You cannot afford to lose holes to par in fourball competition at this level. He knows that better than anything. It's the first thing he said to me when he walked off the green, they lost three holes to par. You cannot afford to do that at this level.
He knows; he knows he made a mistake. He knows he let them get 4-up after five holes. Two of the big no-nos you don't do in match play. If you go 1-down, understandable. If you go 2-down understandable. Don't get them get you 3-down so early in the round, and they did. And they made mistakes by 3-putting, both of them 3-putting on the same hole on one occasion. That's what happens. Unfortunately it didn't go right for them today, but I'll tell you, he'll be flying tomorrow. If he doesn't think so, I'm going to make sure (laughing).

Q. Does he go straight on to the range, as well?
PAUL McGINLEY: No, he prepares mentally, not physically. He licks his wounds. He goes away into a corner and he comes out like a cornered dog.

Q. Are you pleased that a player has reacted like that, because it shows the commitment and care to the Seve Trophy.
PAUL McGINLEY: Everybody reacts differently. That's the important thing about being a captain is that you don't treat everybody the same. You hear -- in my opinion, and everybody's got different views on captaining, in my opinion, it's such an individual game. Again, these guys are programmed to be individuals. 99 per cent of the time, they play and perform as selfish individuals in order to be successful.
I think if you take away that selfishness, and try to overthink things, you can lose what got them there in the first place. So in my opinion, a good captain has to manage situations and players differently. And Ian Poulter is certainly one of a kind. I mean, the way I'll deal with -- take, for example, David Horsey or Scott Jamieson this week will be very different than how I'll deal with Ian Poulter.

Q. Sorry, I didn't mean to put it that way. What I meant was, it shows he cares.
PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, he cares about everything, yeah.

Q. That's what I meant.
PAUL McGINLEY: He's a competitor, isn't he. He's a terrific, terrific competitor. We all know that. We have seen it in Ryder Cups.
As I said the other day, those of you at the press conference the other day, to me the defining moment in his career so far has been the fact when he got the pick under Nick Faldo somewhat controversially two years ago. To basically disappear off the radar for a month off The Ryder Cup, not play a tournament go, away into his corner, practise, prepare, mentally get ready and come out and play in Valhalla, with all that pressure on him, all that expectation, all that talk that went on in the media; for him to go out and perform the way he did was, for me, the most defining moment in his career. Because based on what he did there, the following year, he went on to have an unbelievable year, winning the World Match Play and having a huge year on the American tour.
So he's one of a kind and great competitor and great match player and a great guy to have in your corner.

Q. Just going to ask you about your decision to put Scott Jamieson with Westwood, because up until this week Scott had never even met Lee.
PAUL McGINLEY: Well, he's met him now. He's been in team meetings with him. Lee has spoken at every team meeting we've been at.
I felt that the most experienced players, as I say, is with the most inexperienced player. Scott is going to be a great player, there's no doubt about that. To come from the Challenge Tour to making the Great Britain and Ireland Seve Trophy team or Vivendi Seve Trophy in is first year is a huge achievement for him. And now to play with the world No. 2 tomorrow is going to be a great boost for him.
I think Lee played extremely well today with Mark Foster, and had a number of birdies and eagles on his own card, never mind Mark Foster's. He's a colossus as we all know, and Scott is in a great position to be able to play with the world No. 2 tomorrow. It's going to be a great day for him.
GORDON SIMPSON: Paul, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow.

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