WGC EMC WORLD CUP

December 6, 2000

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Jose Maria Olazabal

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: We think that it is going to be quite difficult, but we hope that we can change history this time. There are very strong teams on the course. We have Ireland, we have Argentina. We have United States, of course, but we are looking forward to it and we are expecting a good tournament.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: It's going to be quite difficult this week, but, well, we're looking forward. We have faith that we are going to do a good job, and we expect to have both Cups in our hands, the World Cup and the Dunhill Cup.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Yes, because of all the things you've said before, all the things you've mentioned, it is a more difficult type of game. But we have played several Ryder Cups, and we think that we have some kind of experience. On the other hand, we haven't thought how we are going to play the tournament. We have not decided yet. It is the first time we have practiced the course. Maybe when we get to the hotel, we'll think it over.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: We're becoming very technical here suddenly. No, in our case, it is the other way -- I don't think so. Because I think that Miguel, he likes to hit the ball from right-to-left, but in my case, I prefer to do the other type of shot, from left-to-right.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: We think it is a great course. We played 18 holes today. Yes, we hit every single club in our golf bag, so we can say that we have quite a variety of shots that we have played today. The course has a lot of movement. We have water on the left side, the right side. The greens have a lot of movement, as well. So, yes, it is quite an interesting course.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Absolutely. I think that if you know how your partner feels and the way that he plays and you concentrate, etc., Etc., That is very important at the end of the day.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: As a par 5 today we had the possibility of reaching the green in two-strokes. In that case you can do any kind of score you want, from two, three, or eight even. As far as the green is concerned, it really punishes the shots to the flag. You have to be careful how you play it. It has a platform right in the middle of it, right towards the right side, so you have to be careful how you play your shot towards the flag.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: Yes, we had a very good relationship. It started back in August 1998, and it went all the way through to last year. At the end, we could not make some agreements; but, yes, we had a good time and we played well together. It was a good experience.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: You have to sleep about 10 or 12 hours -- (laughs). Wake up about three hours before tee time, have breakfast, and I do some stretching exercises and practice some other physical exercises. But when my tee time is at 7:00, I can assure you that I never get up three hours before.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: He forgot about the cigar. That's part of the physical preparation. (Laughter.) What I do is more or less the same thing that Miguel does. If tee time is at a reasonable time, I try to get up about three hours before tee time, and we try to get to the club an hour or so before, to shoot some balls. We do some stretching exercises. We shoot about an hour, an hour and 20 minutes of balls, and then we get ready to be on the course. And after we play, we usually go back training a little bit. We just practice some more.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: There isn't a logical reason for this. We also ask ourselves andd we wonder why this happens. Maybe the fact that we don't have any public courses in Spain. Usually, all of them are private. Maybe that's why there are not so many people following golfers around and there are not so many people playing golf, even though we have very good players, and we have had very good players in the past as well.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I cannot say it is the best round. I can say it is among the best two or three rounds I have played. I can also compare it to the 61 I shot in Akron when I played the World Series. I can say that those two rounds were the best ones maybe.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: He's older, that's why. (Laughter.) What I can say is that, yes, we are both of an aggressive temper, so I think he hits the irons very well, and I think that I hit woods much better, or very good, in theory. So if we agree this weekend, we play together in the way we usually do, I think that we have a good chance.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: This is my first time here in Argentina, and, yes, I was quite impressed to see how many people came to the practice round today. I am gladly impressed. I think it is a good thing to have so many people watching the tournament. As far as the behavior of the public in general, I believe that they will behave well. Because talking to Romero and Cabrera back in Europe, they usually speak about how well people behave here and how much they know the game of golf. So I say that we won't have any problems. I hope that I am not mistaken.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I will say now what I said back at Valderrama, at the American Express Championship. I think that the main problem concerns dates. The Valderrama championship was placed after both rankings were over. So those players that were trying to get some -- to improve their position in the World Rankings did not have any kind of interests because the rankings were over. This tournament is almost approaching the end of the year, and the following tournament will be at the beginning of the year, the first week of the year. So many players really think that, well, it's not the best time of the year. So they do not look into their calendars and they don't include this tournament in their calendars. It is just a matter of dates.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ: My personal point of view is that Sergio Garcia is a very talented player, he is an excellent player, but his swing and some parts of his game have to be polished. If I see him as Tiger Woods' challenge in the future, no, I don't think so. I don't think any of the players now are a real challenge to Tiger. Maybe in five, ten years, there will be a new junior player that will be able to give Tiger some kind of fight. I think that in the case of Sergio Garcia, if he makes some changes and he polishes some parts of his game, he will be able to be in the best positions among the first players in every tournament. So in that case, yes, I think he is going to be in a great position. I don't know whether he's going to be an immediate challenge to Tiger.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I think that the main difference between the two tournaments was that in between those years, I had a lesion in my foot, as everybody knows. I had a personal problem; I wasn't able to carry on a normal life for almost two years. So, when the time came to win the Masters in 1999, I think I enjoyed it much more, because it was like I had an idea of how to enjoy life. I had a different point of view on life. And even though there was a lot of pressure during the last day, I think I enjoyed the course, I enjoyed my game. And in that sense, I can say that 1999 was more enjoyable.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I think that if you take into consideration both formats, I think that there will be not holes, but days in which we can be more aggressive and days in which we will have to be more conservative. In the best-ball format, I think you can be more aggressive. In fact, you have to be more aggressive, because you have to give everything you can to make your team have a good position. In the case of foursomes, I think that, yeah, we'll have to be a little bit more conservative in the sense that you don't want to risk a shot and have your partner playing from positions that would be kind of complicated. In the end, I think that the team that will win will be the one that plays the best and the one that is a bit more aggressive, I suppose.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Okay, before anything else, I want to state clearly that I am not and I will not be bored of the European Tour. That tour is where I grew up as a golfer, and I will always defend it and support it. I may be a little bit more a critic of the European Tour, because I believe there are things that can be done in a better way. As far as playing the American tour, I would say that is more a tactical decision, because at the beginning of the European Tour, we have to travel a lot to Malaysia and Australasia, and I have done this for the last two years. I realize that I was very tired at the beginning of the year after traveling so much. So this year, or the coming year, I plan to go to the West Coast, California, and play some tournaments there, so as to be not so tired and be able to play the rest of the year in a better way.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I agree with Miguel Angel. I think if you want to consider Sergio as a menace or a threat to Tiger, I don't believe this is the case. Tiger is playing really very well. And I think all of us have to make a bigger effort in order to be some kind of threat to Tiger. In the case of Sergio, I think that he has to make some changes in his swing, he has to mature as a golfer. And if he does these changes, with time, he will be an excellent player.