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THE PRESIDENTS CUPNovember 16, 2011Jason DayMELBOURNE, VICTORIA Q. Jason, make some comments on the course and what you've seen so far and talk about the pairing. JASON DAY: The course is in great shape. Obviously you know, it's very quick greens considering the Australian Open last week was obviously a little softer and slower. But you know, it was a good week to prepare. It was pretty gusty last week and I know Melbourne weather can change really quick but obviously the course is in immaculate condition and they have done a really good job, the superintendent has done a wonderful job obviously this week to set the course up. But it was a little softer. Obviously we got a little bit of rain last night but still bouncing ten to 15 yards on the greens. We are looking forward to getting into tomorrow's round. Obviously it's going to be tough with Dustin and Kuchar across the tee from us. But I think we are just looking forward to the test and foursomes is a kind of funny game, so anything can kind of really happen. We just have to kind of keep at it and hopefully at the end of the day, we win the match. Q. When did you and Badds become a pairing? JASON DAY: I think we were talking about it -- I knew we were kind of talking about it a little bit over yesterday but it was official today obviously since we saw the names go up. But no, we are both young blokes and I think we are really looking forward to trying to get the crowd into it. Obviously like you said, foursomes, it's kind of a funny game. But as long as your partner is getting it on the fairway or getting it on the greens, you can have a really good score. Obviously really looking forward to it. We know it's going to be a tough test. Kuch hits it very straight and Dustin hits it very long. It's going to be a tough one tomorrow. Q. Where do you watch the pairings go up? Were you on the course watching? JASON DAY: No. I was in the team tent. All of us were in there watching it, and we were all waiting for -- obviously we were waiting for the whole names to come down but we were waiting to see when Stricker and Tiger were going. Q. What was the reaction when Scott was asked to take on Tiger? JASON DAY: We were all clapping. I think everyone is kind of pumped for it. I think everything -- it was a little, you know, these last three days have been kind of fun, but I think come tomorrow it's going to be a little bit more quieter. We are still going to have fun but it's going to be a lot more intense. Q. Do you feel now that the actual matches are up, do you feel more apprehensive? What's your feeling personally? JASON DAY: You know, it's funny. When you are playing by yourself, because golf is a very individual sport, obviously you know, I feel a lot more nerves playing with a teammate because I don't want to let him down. So I just have to go out there and just play my own game and prepare the best I can. I had a good day yesterday. I played 18 holes yesterday and obviously did some chipping and hit some balls on the range today. Went out for a few holes with Badds and just tried to tinker around with which kind of ball we are going to use tomorrow. We figured that out and we are going to sit down and see which holes we want to hit off. Obviously there's a lot of planning from now until tomorrow between me and Badds and we just want to get as comfortable as possible. Q. Have you played a lot of team never? JASON DAY: Never. This is the first time I've played team golf with Badds. We don't get a chance to play much team golf. Obviously the Americans get to play each year, The Ryder Cup and then The Presidents Cup. So obviously they are kind of used to it. They know what to expect. So with us, the rookies, we don't really know what to expect so we are kind of feeding off of the veterans to help us out and push us in the right direction. Q. Do you think you will complement each other well in the foursomes? JASON DAY: We both hit it a pretty good length and at times we can be a little streaky with the longer stuff. But I think we both want to win really bad. Badds wanted to get on this team really bad. I was talking to him at Cog Hill at the BMW earlier this year when we were over in the States, and he really wanted to get on this team so I know he's pumped and I'm very pumped to get out there and play. I think we'll just kind of try and support each other as best we can. Q. Is it smart to have the Woods/Scott matchup early in the week, rather than later? JASON DAY: I don't see it as a big deal. I think all you guys are making it out to be a big deal. But obviously I think that's probably one of the matches that everyone wanted to see obviously with what's gone on in the past. It's going to be a very intense day tomorrow because they both hit it very straight, and Adam's longer putter now, he putts it very well actually, and K.J. has all been solid on the greens. Steve and Woods have been a great partnership in the past so it's going to be a very, very tough competition tomorrow between those guys. I'm just really looking forward to see how that pans out. Q. Greg and Freddie said that you're all mates and know each other and the Americans love the Internationals; how is that going to change tomorrow morning? JASON DAY: I think this is the only one week where I hate them. (Laughter). The other 51 weeks of the year that we're together, we really do love each other, and I play in the States and I'm always seeing them and they are a great bunch of guys. But obviously they have won over the last six years. I think everyone is starting to realize that on our team and we have got a home crowd advantage. Obviously we have that to our advantage, so we can't let it off a little bit. Obviously if we know that we can play these golf courses, we have got to go out there and just bury them if we can. Obviously it's going to be tough but we just can't let our foot off the pedal. Q. Is this like being on a football team? JASON DAY: A little bit. If the team fouls, it just feels like everyone fouls. I just want to go out there and try to do the best I can. I want to go out there and support them as much as I can and whatever I can do to help the team along, I'm going to do. But I just want the best for the guys. I think a lot of the guys are feeling a little nervous going into tomorrow but I think a lot of the American guys are feeling a little nervous, too. It does feel like a footy team, but I think everyone's in a good spot with their game right now, and I think they are getting into it fine. Q. Going to give us a prediction? JASON DAY: It's too tough to predict. The golfers on either side are great. Obviously it's just too hard to tell. We have less rookies than the American side. I think they have six rookies. Obviously they don't really play Sandbelt golf courses all the time. It's kind of difficult. We don't know how they are going to react to these kind of conditions, the golf course conditions. They can come out and totally kill us. But you know, we just have to wait and see how they go about it. Q. Kyung-tae Kim is probably the least-known member of your team. How much do you know about him? JASON DAY: I played against him in the Match Play earlier this year. He was a very nice guy. It's hard, because he only speaks a little bit of English, so it's kind of hard to get to know him but he's always been great. The good thing about our team is that we have three Koreans and one Japanese guy on our team, which is good. It's good to have that -- obviously to have a few guys that are from the home country that you can kind of hang out with, because if it was just him and he was hanging out with all of us and we are all taking English and he can't speak a lick of English, it's a little bit harder for us to bond. I'm glad that there are a few guys in our team that are from Korea and Japan. Q. Especially with the English being tricky, what do you to make them feel a part of it? JASON DAY: We go to dinner every night and we are on the bus together, but we have to include every teammate, whether they are Korean, Japanese, South African or Australian, everyone is equal on our team and everyone gets a go. Obviously on any day, anyone on our team could be the best player in the world, that's just how it is. Whether they are the 12 best players in the world that have gone on to this team -- and the Americans are really solid golfers as well. Q. Given that it's your rookie year so far, has it lived up to your expectations? JASON DAY: There's a lot of stuff that goes with The Presidents Cup. We last won here in '98 so I think there's going to be a lot of people out here supporting us. I didn't know what to expect when I came to The Presidents Cup. I didn't know how -- obviously I've seen The Ryder Cup before on TV and I know how intense Europe and America get when it gets to Ryder Cup time. Talking to the guys obviously on the American side and on our side, they have always said it's a lot more loving and fun. But I don't think it's going to be so loving tomorrow and fun tomorrow. So I think everyone's starting to get a lot more intense. Like I mean, it's going to be great. We don't get to play too many team events, so it's good for a change. Q. The American in your family, is she going to be supporting you -- JASON DAY: Someone actually said you can support your husband but you can support the Americans. You can root for your husband and he can win five games, but I think she's rooting for the Internationals -- well, she'd better be. (Laughter). And obviously Badds has got an American wife, as well. I think you just have to root for your own team. She's been feeling a little under the weather lately, obviously I think it's from the change of climate. It's cold back there in Ohio now and she gets over here and it's hot. It's a little hard on her but we are looking forward to it. Q. Making Paul Casey putt from a short range at the Match Play, what does that say about you in a match-play situation? JASON DAY: You just don't know what's going to happen, especially on these greens, because the greens are so fast, you get a 3-foot putt downhill left-to-right and wind it blowing left-to-right, you just don't know how someone is going to react over a putt. And if you put them in a pressure situation, you know, things can change. You might gain a hole here or there if that works. I'm going to go out there and obviously talk to my partner about it and give as little as I can. Q. When you set your goals in terms of winning majors, those type of things, how does a team event like Presidents Cup factor into your motivation and your goal setting? JASON DAY: The radar for my Presidents Cup, it was not on my radar until after the Masters. I was in the Top-50 but I didn't think I had a chance to get to The Presidents Cup, because a lot of the guys -- I think after -- before the Masters, I was like maybe ten to 15, somewhere in that. So I knew it was going to be tough for me to get onto that team. But after obviously the Masters and everything that happened this year, getting to that No. 1 spot obviously is a great honor. It got onto my radar after the Masters. To come back and represent the Internationals, obviously in Australia and in front of the home crowd is something special. I'm not going to be able to do this much. It doesn't come back to Australia very often, but we get only pretty much one shot at life and you have to take anything that they throw at you. So I'm looking forward to the week. Q. The photos of the achievements -- JASON DAY: There's the '98 Presidents Cup photo, the Koreans won Olympic Gold for soccer and Steve Waugh who got the 10,000 runs and hit a 4 for 103 I think in one of the last -- and obviously the South Africans beat the New Zealanders, Nelson Mandela brought a whole country together. Q. Japanese? JASON DAY: I'm trying to remember what the Japanese people -- I can't remember too much. We have been in there playing too much ping-pong. But yeah, just all that stuff together is kind of trying to bring us together. I think the language barrier is a little tough, bud it doesn't matter what language you speak, as long as we are on the same picture here. We want to win and that's all we want to do. So whether that's in Korean or Japanese or Australian, New Zealand or South African, we all want to do one thing and that's win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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