An Interview With s5

1 October 2010

An Interview With: finish The Ryder Cup on Sunday, the chosen day, while maintaining the integrity of The Match. If you look at what we are doing now, we are still playing for 28 points. Both captains have GEORGE O’GRADY fully agreed that after the four fourball matches which are playing now, the second session will be JOE STERANKA extended to six foursomes matches, and then we anticipate that starting mid-morning tomorrow. We KERRY HAIGH will then get straight into the foursomes, six, and JOHN PARAMOR then restart the fourballs, the third session. The third session will comprise two foursomes and four fourballs. That means by the time they are completed, sometime on Sunday morning, we will have played for 16 points, eight of GORDON SIMPSON: Thank you very which are foursomes, eight of which are fourballs. much for your attendance, ladies and gentlemen, Then we'll have time to schedule the singles on and thank you again for your patience today in Sunday afternoon and finish, as planned on what has been a long, difficult day for many people schedule. here at Celtic Manor. This all depends on the sky and whether But I think it's fair to say that some of the the rain comes back again. We don't have a good logistical elements are about to be explained to forecast for Sunday, but they are not always you for the remainder of the 2010 Ryder Cup, and accurate, and if that happens, we will roll into I'll first of all introduce the top table here. On my Monday, keeping the singles sacrosanct, whatever immediate right, we have Joe Steranka, who is the happens. Chief Executive Officer of The PGA of America. Next to Joe is George O'Grady, Chief Executive of Q. Just further explanation on that, The European Tour. On George's right, we have George, if the singles were due to start at Kerry Haigh, who is the Managing Director, 11-something on Sunday, what time do you Championships and Business Development for hope they will start now? And are they going The PGA of America and on the far right is John all off the first tee? Paramor, Chief Referee of The European Tour, GEORGE O'GRADY: We are going to and George is going to open the conference with a actually end up on the same times if we don't have few words. George. anymore weather delays. GEORGE O'GRADY: Ladies and We have agreed with the captains that we gentlemen, welcome to this conference and thank will be starting the sessions, I think a bit tighter you for your support of the 38th Ryder Cup than we normally would have done, so the gaps Matches so far, and your patience today in these are being completed and The Match Officials have very adverse weather conditions. the precise times. I think you've been given a copy of the alteration to the playing schedule, which we have Q. As a follow-up, on the ticket agreed and announced to the captains and the situation, what would it have taken under the teams. We felt we must do everything we can to terms and conditions for spectators to have a refund? 1 GEORGE O'GRADY: We have agreed on backup for the players was rain gear. So I really our terms and conditions, you've got to get through can't comment on the bags. nine holes. One match has got to play nine holes, which we'll be comfortably in excess of tonight. Q. What time will play restart on (**Agreed on our terms and conditions Sunday morning? that there is no refund if a ball is struck.) JOE STERANKA: Well, we'll resume play tomorrow at 8.00, finish this session, and then go Q. I'm assuming the draw for the singles through that order of play that you have outlined, matches will not take place Saturday night. resume again Sunday, weather permitting, at 8.00, GEORGE O'GRADY: No, I don't think so. and hopefully finish again Sunday night. KERRY HAIGH: Yes, that is correct. Q. Given the problems this has caused Q. If it runs on and on and does rain on and how fortunate you were at The K Club, and Sunday and we get to Monday, what would be the fact that Gleneagles is scheduled for even the cutoff point on Monday? How will it end in later, isn't it time to look at the whole timing that eventuality? issue of The Ryder Cup and try to find GEORGE O'GRADY: If the modern day something earlier in the year? weather forecasting is pretty accurate; and we GEORGE O'GRADY: Ideally, I think we don't have a good forecast for Sunday morning have to have the best week when the players are and we have a good forecast for Monday. And so available. Whereas it's quite easy for us to move far, our forecasters have been pretty much dead our weeks quite simply, this is difficult with the on this week, with it being a valley, it's quite hard; scheduling in the United States, and it's a constant it's localised. But our cutoff point I think is 6.40 discussion with The PGA of America, the PGA Monday evening, and if we are not finished by TOUR and their schedules and where the players then, I believe any match unfinished on the golf are. Everything is reviewed, all the time, and is course is considered a halve. negotiated. JOHN PARAMOR: Correct. KERRY HAIGH: Correct. Q. Is it too late to change the date for Gleneagles where we are going to anticipate Q. Can you weigh in for us on the issue surely similar problems? with the rain suits and how that occurred, how JOE STERANKA: If I can maybe add a it was allowed to happen? And secondly, was comment, we have spoken to the PGA Tour, as it also true that the players bags have gotten recently as this morning, I spoke to Tim Finchem soaked and their clubs were soaked this about a number of things, which include the morning? schedule for Ryder Cup. JOE STERANKA: Any time you're going We are earlier in 2012 when we play at to deal with weather like this, it's going to test the Medinah. The 2012 season is the last season in extreme performances of the uniforms and the current television agreement for the US PGA equipment and everything. TOUR, and the PGA Tour has pledged to work Yeah, we would have liked the rainwear to with us on dates in their new television agreement have performed better, and we have filled in that can give us, again, as George says, the best accordingly and don't expect that that will be an week that all of the players would be available for issue going forward. Ryder Cup. And we know that is preferably earlier than Q. What about the bags? it is this year when we are playing in October. JOE STERANKA: Many bags will have moisture that comes from the bottom up with an Q. Just one more follow-up. There extreme weather condition, so players are taking seems to be widespread perception that the some steps to insulate the bottom of those bags. PGA TOUR have been almost bloody-minded with this, with the timing of the FedEx; but are Q. The European players said they had you saying that isn't the case at all? no problem with bags; is it just the American JOE STERANKA: No, there is very active bags that was the problem? communication between The European Tour, The JOE STERANKA: The only thing that we PGA of America and the U.S. Tour. made a provision for to make sure that we had a 2 Q. By your calculations, what is the and take them for what they are. And the fact of reformatting save in terms of time? the matter is, they didn't perform as well as they GEORGE O'GRADY: I think it saves one needed to. clear session, apart from the extra two matches, Now, there are a number of players that which I think will sit us in at about 45 minutes, 50 were quite comfortable with the rain gear, but not minutes of extra playing time. everybody was, and you know, we have got to So compared to a whole session of, one, represent all 12 players and 12 caddies, as well. the playing time and two, the organisational time, I Just a point on the scheduling. It's as think we put it at about five hours, four to five much a function of daylight and so every week that hours. we can get earlier, we pick up more daylight. And as this week again points out, that's a premium. Q. We are talking a little bit about the We like the intensity of three days of competition date, as to what week it is and whatnot, but is for The Ryder Cup that sets that apart, and so there a consideration when you see something every day that we can move earlier in the schedule like that, and also what happened four years allows us a little more daylight to manage things ago at The K Club, that maybe this area of the like this. world is not the place to hold a Ryder Cup at this time when you look at the next possible Q. Can I ask, a lot of problems that we venues of Spain or France or Germany? encountered today were speculated by people GEORGE O'GRADY: Well, I think we all in the buildup who spoke about the location know the weather can change all the time. In fact, and the weather around here. Do you have some Japanese visitors came to Muirfield for The absolutely no regrets about choosing this Open Championship once, and they thought it was place as the venue at this time of year? a great championship and why didn't we play it in GEORGE O'GRADY: Well, I've just been the summer; that was July. talking to Peter Dawson, who is the Chief We do look at it. The last time we played Executive of the R&A, and it's not exactly ideal this at The Belfry, the weather was perfect for all four particular week in Scotland. It's not good in the days, hardly a cloud in the sky. We are becoming Midlands, because I think a depression has come unlucky; we went to Spain and we were told it over a large part of the country. never rains in Spain in September. And I think we Yes, after we go to Gleneagles in four lost the first morning it was played there virtually years' time, we are in the middle of talking to and it kept on raining the rest of the week. bidding nations from Europe. But we won't be This is a localised thing. Golf tournaments immune to it raining there, as well, on the week. It have lost days of rain before. We play The Wales does rain here. We have been here in the buildup. Open here, and we have lost a day's play, as well, We have had some beautiful days in that time in which is just unlucky. It's happened in other the last couple of weeks. We have also had some tournaments before. horrendous ones. That's the climate.

Q. If I can follow-up about the rain Q. And can I just ask, if it does go into suits, I understand you said you would like Monday, what are the plans for the spectators them to work in extreme conditions. The to get tickets? Europeans from what we can tell are not having GEORGE O'GRADY: Any Sunday ticket is any problems with the rain gear. Theoretically, accepted on Monday. I think that's the only way you have your choice of any company to you can do it reasonably I think and fairly. provide your rain gear, if you're coming to a The reason I think both sides are rainy venue, wouldn't it make sense to determined to give it every chance of finishing on somehow test the rain gear and make sure it Sunday, and I'd compliment the captains on taking can stand up to these type of conditions so you this ground-breaking step, you might say, because don't have to run to the merchandise tent? we feel for people who have invested their money JOE STERANKA: All of the companies and their time. that produce this rain gear meet the technical We know that if they have to come back on specifications that you would want to have for Monday and take a day off work and all that goes extreme conditions. with it, they will do so if we have to, but we feel it's They do more testing than we could ever our obligation to do everything we can while do on our own, and we look at the specifications 3 maintaining the integrity of The Match to finish on autographs, giving gifts away to people who were Sunday. there. We feel for them. So there's been tremendous support. The Q. One thing on the scheduling of support on the first tee today was electric in the Monday, marshalling and police and all of pretty grim -- very supporting on both sides. We these issues, are you confident you can turn like to see people enjoy their day and get full value, those around quickly; two years ago at and you can't -- it's luck of the draw. Valhalla, we were playing on the 16th of We take carry the cost as Ryder Cup September I think, and next time in the U.S. we Europe. We have all realistic insurance policies in are playing earlier in the year. Why are we place. We learned a lot when The Match was always playing later in the tougher climate in postponed about insurance (2001). Europe? It seems slightly odd, the FedEx has been there. Q. About safeguarding the sanctity of JOE STERANKA: 2008 was early in the the singles, if the weather is bad on Sunday formulation of the FedEx series and THE TOUR and you can't start singles until, say, four Championship, the conclusion of that followed The o'clock, does that mean you will start singles Ryder Cup that year. then, or will you hold all 12 over until Monday? We think it fits better to have that series, GEORGE O'GRADY: That is something the Playoffs conclude prior to The Ryder Cup, as which we can look at at the time. I think there's a they did this year, and leave The Ryder Cup as the balance, whatever; we would like to get them all culmination of the season for many of us. going in one go, but I think we haven't quite got to That's the schedule we'll be following in that point, yet, because we know the last of the 2012. It will mean that we will be one week later third session of fourballs will be on the course -- there in Medinah in 2012 than we were in 2008. they will come off the course at the close of play on But we think we can still manage with the Saturday night. They will have to finish and there daylight that time of year at the venues that have will be time on Sunday morning to make that been chosen. decision.

Q. About the marshaling point? Q. Can you tell us whether there was GEORGE O'GRADY: The marshals have any consideration given to scrapping one been already, if you like, predicting it. The police session altogether, or if there was have been tremendously helpful down here, the consideration given to the fact if there were local authorities, as well. We think we'll handle fewer matches, the captains might be tempted that quite easily. to top-load the order to chase early points in case the singles had not finished? Q. On that point, who covers the cost GEORGE O'GRADY: We considered a lot of an extra day's play if it goes into Monday, of different things, and obviously the easy one if and do you have insurance for this kind of you like is just to scrap one session. But we thing? And secondly, is it not very harsh on wanted to maintain the 28 points. the people who have toughed it out today that The unique flavour of The Ryder Cup, of they don't get a second bite? this particular format, is the four players, top GEORGE O'GRADY: Well, it's just players, have to sit out each session, and it won't impossible really to do that. We have already put a surprise you to know that nobody likes sitting out. statement out, I think that you've got in your press They all want to play all the time. packs, that we are taking grounds; we have So we felt this was a way to keep the 28 advised everybody who has got their tickets today points, keep it on track; yes, lose that little bit of to keep them, and we will make announcements four people sitting it out, and the fact that not one on RyderCup.com on some form of recompense. player wanted to sit out, they all took this without It will be by way of ticketing of other European Tour huge convincing. We spoke to the captains, and events or The Wales Open next year, and we will they wanted to speak to their own teams and vice just look at how badly people are affected. captains, and they were pretty good. They can see We will now play until dark tonight and the it is a slight change of the schedule, but we spectators have been tremendously loyal and preserve 28 points. We have got a chance to get it long-suffering, and the American Team and The in. European Team were very good at signing 4 If we do get really bad weather on Sunday, we are probably going to lose half the day. We will have to finish the fourballs then and the singles will be ready for Monday. But we have got options now to definitely get in by Monday night. But we are doing our level best to look after the public, look after everybody, and get it finished on Sunday if we can.

Q. And then top-loading consideration? GEORGE O'GRADY: I don't think that came into -- the fact is these two captains, very, very evenly-matched teams. If we had to drop a session, you drop foursomes and fourballs, but we are not bright enough to work out which side that favours, or not. It was a question more to the administrators if the foursomes play quicker than fourballs, but this way it will be eight series of foursomes and eight series of fourballs and then the singles. And so combined up here with our Match Referees and ourselves representing the boards of The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, we all felt this was the absolutely fairest way to bring in what looks like is becoming just a great match. GORDON SIMPSON: Thank you very much for your attendance and back to the golf. Thank you again.

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