America REACT to Ryder Cup defeat | Full press conference

America REACT to Ryder Cup defeat | Full press conference

Keegan, heck of a battle out there today. How proud of you are you of you are of your team? Yeah, the boys really fought today. That was incredible. Um, I didn’t expect anything different. These guys are really an incredible group. Um, and you know, they they they played the last two days when we were way down. It looked you wouldn’t have known we were way down. They they looked like they were battling. They their body language was good. They were pumping up the crowd. They were, you know, they they were fighting the whole way, even even when things were not looking good. And I didn’t expect anything different than today than these guys who are determined, proud, and playing for each other, playing for their team, playing for their country. And they showed the world today that um you know, really anything’s possible. That was that was a coin flip there for a second. And um never been more proud of anything in my life. Thank you, Keegan. We’ll open it up for questions starting over here on mic one. Hey, D. At what point uh during the afternoon did you start to get the sense that the chips were falling in place to maybe make something this dark happen? Let me see. Um about probably when Scotty was on 9 or 10 it really started to turn. Um and then you know the boys were we we won the 18th hole. Th those those were, you know, we had to have those matches when when we sent out Cam Young first from New York to lead us out. We had to have that match and he went up there and in front of the whole world, in front of his home state, made a 10-footer to beat Justin Rose, who’s a all-time rider cuppper, and got to celebrate at Beth Paige Black um in front of everybody. And then Justin Thomas, same thing. I mean, we had to have that. Bryson was five down after six. got that batch that got that match back to even and you know when I with 283 references the other night everything had to happen exactly the way for it for them to win and it was looking there for a second like it was happening and um what a what a what a wild ride what a fun day one on two so so maybe you cannot call it a a comeback but in terms of performance today you can say it’s probably comparable or better than mid on Sunday yeah I mean there the Europeans everyone won one won one match today like you think about the odds of something like that happening uh just on a coin flip would be incredible but when you go out when there’s in sports and you know you’re you’re battling your your butt off to to win it just shows you just how proud these guys are and how much they want this and how um you know how much this means to them and to watch them go out all week and hold their heads high and then go out there today and do what they did is it’s close to a miracle. We were we were this close to doing this and um it was just so fun for me to sit back and watch and um say, you know, on the radio say, “We got to have this putt and it went in or all right, now we need JT to make it and he makes it.” It was just uh the the um to be able to do stuff like that under pressure is remarkable. And to watch it up close was special. And talking about under pressure, a quick followup for the matches that were kind of in the middle or JJ, Scotty, Alex or Xander, were you looking at the leaderboard? Were you paying attention to what was happening there? I mean, captain had a message for us to just worry about our own point. Um, obviously it was hard not to peak when there were some USA chance ripping through the property. So, um, but for the most part, you know, captain’s message to us was to to focus on on our point and and nothing else. Um, whether you look at the board or not, however you you operate is how you’re supposed to do it. So, um, that was kind of the mentality that I think all of us carry today. We’ll stay there on two with Sean. Uh, for Justin, you had one of the early matches and I imagine some of the most adrenaline of your life coming off of 18. like in the moments that follow it just felt like something was building. So like what is going through your head? What are you telling your teammates? How are you deciding where to go to watch more golf? I felt like I saw you on three different holes. What is that like? Yeah. Uh I’m definitely good walking up that hill on 18. I did that enough today. But yeah, it’s it’s just it’s it’s it’s really hard to explain how fast I mean not only the week but just the day goes. Um, and I was I think I was maybe behind my putt about to go into it on 17 when I assumed Cam made his. I heard a roar and I backed off and um and then to see that he had won his match and then it was like, okay, you know, it just is one of those things like yeah, we we all we all deep down I’m sure we, you know, we felt like we could, but in reality, you look at it, it is what it is. But it just like like Keegan said, everything just kept happening and happening and happening and um you know it you’re just the next match is the most important when you’re in a position like we were going into today and uh it was just important to get whoever was the closest to to winning their match through and and it just kept happening and happening and um yeah it was it was so cool to be a part of. Up to Mike 6. Hey Keegan, uh what went into the decision to uh with the course setup, particularly the short rough, uh what kind of the did the data and your team set up for that short rough? Yeah, I mean we tried to set the course up uh to help our team. Obviously, it wasn’t the right decision. Um you know, I think anytime you’re the leader of a team or you’re the captain or the coach or whatever, we talked about this last night. you have to take you’re going to get the accolades and you need to take the blame for when things don’t go well and um I definitely made a mistake on the course setup. Um I should have listened a little bit more to my intuition and I I just I just we for whatever reason that wasn’t the right right way to set the course up. We didn’t expect the greens to be this soft. They they were as soft as I’ve ever seen greens without it raining and then you know especially here um you know it can get pretty firm and they just they never firmed up. You said your intuition. Did the data say to cut the rough? No. I mean, we we had we sat and or I did and looked at a lot of info and um we thought this was the best way to set the golf course up to to win. You you look at past RDER Cups and that’s kind of how it goes. But um you know sometimes you you got to you got to make a decision on what to do and um you know if I could go back I probably would have changed that. But you know they the the Europeans played just incredible golf. It doesn’t matter how you set the course up when when you when you play that well and you perform at that high level. I mean, that’s as high of a level as a Ryder Cup team has ever played on for those two days, I think. And um you know, when when that happens, they they just beat you sometimes. Up to Mike 10, please. Hi, Keegan. You talked yesterday about some of the Super Bowls and Sorry, here the comebacks that that told you that this was possible. I just wondered when you said when you sort of gave that message to your team, what reaction you saw from your players that sort of reinforced that belief that this could be possible. Yeah, I think I I’ll tell you what, we were talking with the vice captains last night when everyone went to bed that the team really believed they could win. Like we I was I was honestly pretty surprised. I’ve been I was on a team that got smoked and we did not have that feeling. Um, and when when we went to bed, I I was just astonished at how these guys were like, “We’re going to win this.” And they were they believed it. I They weren’t just saying it. And um, you know, I could see the belief in their eyes. I could see it this morning. I could see their body language like these guys didn’t they weren’t moping around. They were ready to go out there and win and play their hardest and they did that. Kyle, go ahead. Yeah, Keegan, I know you haven’t had a ton of time to reflect on just the last year and a half um and and everything that led into this, but when you think about that, is there anything that you would change or do different in terms of not just for your captaincy, but like for future captaincies that you would advise future captains to maybe go about differently in the leadup to the Rder Cup? Um, no. I I I mean, I’m I’m 3 seconds to 20 minutes after, you know, losing. I haven’t put much thought into it. But I do I do you know I had to learn a lot on the fly. I had to rely on a lot of people. I was going up against you know a incredible team and you know in my eyes probably the well I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup captain of all time Luke Donald and um you know I did the best that I could and trying to balance playing and but I it’s the most fun thing I’ve ever done in my life. I I wouldn’t trade any of this for a second. I woke up every day excited to do this. It turned me into a different person that I that I am today that I um I’m very thankful for these guys. Up to Todd Keegan right here. Um I know Victor was injured and Harris unfortunately had to set out. This has been a long tradition in the captain’s agreement. Do you would you wish that this would be looked at to maybe find an an alternative if a player is injured moving forward? Yeah, it has to change. Do you have any ideas? I have a few ideas, but I’m not going to tell you right now, but I uh I mean, the rule has to change. I mean, I think it’s obvious to everybody in the sports world, in this room, um nothing against Victor, um but that rule needs to change by the next RDER Cup. Over to here, both of you on 13, gentlemen. Um, obviously not the outcome you were looking for, but I’m just curious if each and every one of you guys realize truly how proud the American fans are of you guys and the performance you put on today. Do you guys have a sense of that? What’s going on on the other side? [Applause] There were definitely a lot less Olays out there today. Um, a lot more USA, which was nice to hear. Yeah, I mean I I I certainly felt it. these guys are probably too focused on what they were doing because, you know, these New York crowds are tough and they they had every right to be pissed off at us for, you know, being down and um being at their course and not performing at what they felt like. And um I quite frankly I was nervous about about today. But when you know New York fans and hardworking people and you know people that grow up around here see people playing with that sort of heart and that sort of passion and that sort of grit of not giving up, they get behind that pretty quick. [Applause] I um question for Justin. Justin, you were um you were active yesterday in in whipping up the crowd um before the game against um Rory and Shane Lowry, and you were you saw you witness the abuse that was that was dished out to them. And you also saw, I’m sure, that there were police dogs brought in and there extra straight state troopers. How close do you think we’re getting to to a position where the safety of golfers, both US golfers and European golfers, is in danger? I mean, I don’t think anybody’s safety was necessarily in danger. I understand what you’re saying. I mean, uh, words hurt, too. Uh, there’s definitely some nasty things said, but I don’t think anybody was necessarily fearing for their life or was in any kind of of situation where they were going to get hurt. But um but yeah, I I think it’s anybody that was out there could pretty blatantly tell you that there was there were some things said. Um and yeah, it was I mean I said it to Cam and I said it to Shane and Rory yesterday that we we felt for him. It was um you know, it was unfortunate and uh Cam and I just wish that we gave them something to cheer for instead of uh people to cheer against. I think that was kind of the main the main consensus of the last two days and we we weren’t giving them enough to cheer for. Um, and they were just trying to help us win, but uh, that’s a New York fans. Up to Paul on 18. Scotty, uh, back here. Just wondering the range of emotions you went through this week. You know, obviously ending it on a positive, but struggling through the first couple days. Uh, yeah, I mean, emotions of the week, I think, are always really excited to get get these types of events started. Um, Keegan and our vice captains put put us in a position to succeed. you know, they did everything that was asked of them and I had extreme confidence in what this team could do. Um, and that’s due to our captain. I think I think they did an amazing job. Keegan did an amazing job and I mean my emotions yesterday afternoon when the matches ended. I think it’s hard to put into words how much it hurts to lose all four matches to to have the trust of my captain and my teammates to to go out there and play all four matches and lose all four. It’s really hard to put into words how much that that stings and hurts. And um you know, I’ll go back and reflect on that. Um but one of the coolest things was was these guys picking me up last night and the u the guys on this team. This is a really special group of guys. We have a special captain and I was I was proud to be standing there fighting with these guys today. And I think I think it showed a lot about our team. I think it showed a lot about the job that all these guys did to put us in a position to succeed. And you know, I mean, I can’t tell you how much fun it was watching Bryson in front of me hitting those putts, coming back from five down, walking down 17 and seeing JT hold that putt, walking down 16, hearing the roar for Cam. I mean, I can’t I can’t tell you how much I needed these guys this week. And um you know it’s just a really special group and it was uh you know probably one of the lowest moments of my career but um you know it turned out to be one of the most special just because I’ve got great friends in this room and um and I was really proud to be battling with these guys for for three days here. Allan uh this is for Keegan. U you mentioned how much you had to learn on the fly. Uh Europe always stresses continuity from their captains, their vice captains, their statisticians, the whole operation. What do you think the PG of America could do better, you know, foundationally to put the next captain in a stronger position to succeed? Well, first off, the PG of America put me in an amazing position to succeed. They gave me every resource. They gave me every option. I had everything at my fingertips. This is no one’s fault but mine. I I I you know, when you when you’re the leader of the team and you’re the coach, the captain, whatever you want to call it, and you lose, you have to take the blame. This is no one else’s fault. This is no one else’s PG of America or whatever it is. Sometimes you go up in sports, you go up against an opponent that sometimes beats you and they play better and they play better than us. Um, we gave it a great fight, that’s for sure. But, um, you know, they everybody put me in the best position to succeed. Uh it was a unique approach and um you know I had like I said I had to learn on a fly on the fly but I had also been on a lot of these teams and I had the resources of all the vice captains or all the vice captains but all the previous captains as well that helped me and I think what the goal was to was to give the captaincy a fresh face of a different way to go about things and unfortunately it didn’t work out but um we we have some momentum going forward. Um, I think we can continue down this road and I’ll help out the best I can to to help the next captain or the next whoever it is. Art, go ahead. Yeah. Uh, Scotty, could you just talk a little bit about what today’s match meant to you after the rough weekend? You know, Randy was saying he thought you had tears in your eyes on 18 and you played other singles matches, but what that match meant to you, you to come out with the win against world number two after the weekend you’d had. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think when I go back and look at the first first couple days of this tournament, you know, at times it felt like a perfect storm of things were happening against us and then today, you know, we had had some stuff that that seemed to go right and really at the end of the match, I mean, I was just just proud to be able to get a point up on the board. Um, you know, like you said, it was a difficult week for me personally. Um, and I was just proud to get a point up on the board and keep this thing alive for a little bit longer. And, um, I mean, I can’t I can’t speak enough to the fight and the that these guys have in this room. Um, I mean, the battle that we after the butt whooping we got the first two days of this tournament to to come back today and play like we did, I think I think it really shows a lot of heart. I think it shows a lot of spirit within our team room and you know, like I said, I’m just I’m really proud of these guys and I was I was proud to be able to keep this thing going for a little bit longer. It was the first ever one and two matchup in a Ridal Cup singles match before. In your mind, does that signify this year and what you’ve accomplished and really solidifies for yourself what your position is in the golf world? I mean, I I don’t really can think about that stuff very often. Like I said, I was just I was just proud to be able to get a point up on the board. Um, you know, we needed to get some red up on the board early and we were able to do that. And um you know I I think everybody was surprised how how good of a scare we gave the Europeans today and um you know they had a tremendous first two days. I mean the amount of putts I saw go in I mean they they played amazing golf the first two days of this tournament. That’s why they’re they’re the winners. And um for us like I said you know I’m proud of the the fight and the spirit in this room. Um you know these guys these guys were amazing. um our whole team. I mean, this was an amazing team and you know, I’m obviously pretty gutted to not be sitting here as the the winning Ryder Cup team, but at the end of the day, you know, Keegan, our vice captains, the PJ of America, everybody put us in a position to succeed and at the end of the day, um you know, just wasn’t able to get it done. Over to Shane. Uh over here, question for Keegan or Scotty or Russell. Really small question, but I noticed in Friday and Saturday a different player teed off on number one and was just curious what went into switching that. I’ll just keep it rolling. Um Russell and I felt like with the way the golf course had changed, um you know, we had anticipated the golf course playing a certain way and then things changed for us. Kind of when you see it in competition, I think it was more important for us to have a little bit more length off the tee and then Russell with the way he hits his irons felt like we had a better chance with his his lower ball fight of ball flight of getting the ball in close. Um, that was really all it came down to. It was just really seeing the golf course in competition as we were playing it. Um, you know, when we got done on Friday night, my Teddy and Andy when I went down in the team room to go cold tub, they were sitting there at the table and they had brought up the idea of us switching and the more that they kind of looked at it, it we felt pretty strongly that’s that would give us a better chance. And you know, I think it did. And most of that was just the nature of how much the golf course changed. And um you know, Russell is a guy that hits a ton of fairways. And um we just felt I think a little bit more length off the tea was important. And I obviously don’t hit as many fairways as Russell. And so um the the rough this week wasn’t as penal, I think, as we anticipated. And so when you see it in competition, I think that’s that’s part of the kind of es and flows and um of really team golf. Dumb dumb question. Sorry for the fault. Do you ever in those situations go talk to the scouts guys like the the stats people and and get their opinion on that or is that more of like a we’re going to decide among ourselves? No, I mean first person I called was uh I think I called Gary and he didn’t answer. So then I called Web and Webb answered. Um and we just talked through it for about three or four minutes and um I think he was in the room with you and was one of the scouts in there. I don’t even remember but I don’t either. Yeah. It was just one thing that Russell and I felt like could give us a better chance on Saturday and we went with it and you know we we we did our best. Um you know I’d like to have that wedge shot on 18 back and um yeah I don’t really have much to elaborate on that. Dylan. Yeah. For Cameron and uh Bryson uh you guys had kind of opposite days I guess but both had pretty special matches coming down to 18. and I was wondering if you know you could each just take us through your experience of the day. Yeah. Uh obviously went through kind of a range of uh emotions just through the whole day, you know, got off to a good start and uh kind of felt like nothing could go wrong and then Justin Rose started doing some interesting things, made some putts on me and uh all of a sudden feels like I’m just going to give it away and then, you know, to have a putt there on 18 um to get a full point for the team was was all I could have asked for. Um, you know, like all you guys have been saying, it was a day of trying to put a point on the board and um, you know, went through a lot of different things, but happy to have had that opportunity on the last hole. Yeah, I mean, today I uh didn’t get off to the best of starts. Um, and Matt was playing really well. Um, it it’s one of those situations where I didn’t play bad. I just didn’t have anything go my way. Three putted three um and just didn’t really get anything going until uh number eight. It gave me a little glimmer of hope and I took it and um you know it was one of those situations where I I just thought back to what Xander said. It’s not over till the whistle blows and I wasn’t uh willing to give up for this team. Um they’ve uh been so amazing to me this week and for for however long I’ve known myself to be on this team. They’ve just been incredible and I couldn’t give up for these guys. And so my thought process was to just keep swimming, just keep moving and keep fighting back. And I fought I fought my ass off today for this team, this country. And we all fought hard today. I mean, you can see it reflects in the the leaderboard and what we did today. Um, we’re not quitters. were not uh people to go down easy and uh you know so so proud to be a part of this team and it was great to get a get a half point out of it. Wish I would have gotten a point though. And Cameron, you’ve been clear kind of all summer just how much it would mean to be here at this golf course on this team. You know, how did the reality match up? It’s been incredible. I mean, from the moment I I got the call from Keegan, um, you know, I I feel like this group is incredibly close. Uh, we were incredibly driven to to win this week. And, uh, I think that’s been the coolest part of it for me is to just, you know, be one of the 12 guys that’s here playing for our country, playing for each other. Um, you know, that that last bit there where we were making a run, uh, I I don’t know about any of you guys, but I haven’t felt anything like that playing golf before. I mean, that was truly unbelievable to watch, you know, one after the other just start making putts, um, you know, fighting the way that they did. I I I’ve never seen anything like that and I’ve never felt anything like that. Watching golf, playing golf, doesn’t matter. Um, so I think it’s really just a testament to, you know, how much it means to all of us to be here and how much we all want to play well for each other. It was, it was truly unbelievable. Finish up with one more with Adam. Keegan. Keegan, winning home in a way is going to make Luke a legend as a Ryder Cup captain, but what specifically makes you think that he’s the best winner? Well, I mean, he won home and away and he won uh RDER Cup in New York in Beth Paige. I think I think Luke um you know, I think he’s a incredible leader. Um he’s really quiet and I think he was able to kind of come out of his shell, I guess, a little in these RED Cup years. And you know, I think he turned, you know, this European team into like a really unstoppable force, especially the first two days. And you know, in my eyes, I think he’s the best European Rder Cup captain ever. And um I was really excited to go up against him, but I knew it was going to be tough to to beat him. And he he know he put his team in the best position to win. And you know, to do that at these two places is, you know, a remarkable feat. And I I know you’re taking a lot of responsibility for the defeat. Is there anything that you point to as where you felt like he out captained you? Um I don’t I don’t have no clue. No, not I have. Don’t know. I mean, we need to make more putts. That’s what we need. That’s what Keegan need to do. Make us make more putts. That’s what you need to do. I I I don’t I think in a lot of ways when you’re the away captain, there’s a lot less decisions. So, you know, when I when you’re the home captain, you got to set up the course. And um you know, I wish I could have some of those decisions back. I I definitely feel I made a few mistakes there, but it’s tough to tell that it’s going to rain before the RDER Cup. It’s tough to tell sort of the way the course is going to be when we’re here. We didn’t want the greens to be like this soft. They were perfect, but um and the and the grounds crew did an incredible job.

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Team USA react as Team Europe withstood an incredible final-day fightback to win the Ryder Cup with a dramatic 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black.

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