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PGA Championship Tuesday, May 18, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Padraig Harrington Press Conference For me it will be the ideal sort of test. THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome back to the 2021 PGA Championship at the THE MODERATOR: Let's turn to the Ryder Cup quickly Ocean Course. European Ryder Cup captain Padraig before we go to Q&A. How are your preparations going for Harrington, is joining us. Padraig, you're in your second September, and can you talk about the way your team is spell of the season playing over here in the U.S. shaping up a little bit? Can you talk about the state of your game today and how it PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, I do see things are fits the Ocean Course where you had a top-20 finish in starting to change for me. You know, clearly with the delay 2012, and maybe reminisce a little bit about 1997 World I think most of the administration work is done, so my Cup and your finish there. intention coming into this year was very much focused on the team and what -- I suppose watching the team and PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, obviously it's nice to be getting an idea for the team. a winner on this golf course, the World Cup in '97. I said this to Rasmus Højgaard the other day that I had won in My team seems to be reasonably settled in the top nine '97 and he hadn't been born for another four or five years positions, and it kind of looks like most guys are playing to or something. impress me. I'd love to play on golf courses like this all the time. It's a I see my own -- I've changed a little bit, especially kind of beauty of a golf course. It's a really nice test. It gives a lot the Masters time was a watershed. I played golf up to that of options. It's a big golf course. It's got a lot of and it was awkward to kind of do things, but since then I risk-reward, but it gives you some leeway in terms of see myself spending more time with the players at different you've got the skills around the greens, you can get it stages and trying to take a little bit more time out of my day up-and-down. to be -- like I played a nine-hole practice round on Sunday with Tommy and things like that. Just a really, really good test. Just trying to be around the guys a bit more and maybe Obviously playing it today -- I played it Sunday in a cross stepping out from what I'm doing. Normally at a wind and you could work the ball and the golf course didn't tournament I'm a busy person, keep my head down, do my play long at all. It was a really -- it was a nice, enjoyable work, but I'm trying to make that effort to step out from that test. and just spend a bit more time. Today with the wind the way it was, it was a beast today. I'm definitely not as focused on my own golf as I would have been pre-Masters. I'm more focused if anything on Look, I'm sure you guys will set the golf course up the Ryder Cup now. appropriate, but I really do enjoy playing it. I think it's a much better test to go out on a golf course where if you Q. You just talked about Kiawah being a good test and shape the ball well you can use the wind, you can work it you won the World Cup there in '97 with McGinley, but on the wind, and around the greens it's interesting. he didn't mention this is your 21st PGA Championship. How much is the accumulation of all this experience There's a lot of excitement around the greens. You can you've got and also the experience of playing Kiawah, really hit a good chip shot. You can get a lot of spin off the how comfortable will it make you feel this week? paspalum turf, so you can play shots that look impossible and you can also mess up shots that look easy. PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, look, people often ask in 107538-1-1041 2021-05-18 20:24:00 GMT Page 1 of 4 a general term about experience. Well, as you gain captains will do enough of that for them. experience, you lose innocence. I suppose if you drew a graph, there's a crossing point of equilibrium where you Q. I don't know if I've missed it, but are you close to have some experience and a certain amount of innocence naming your vice captains? and enthusiasm. As you get a little bit older and you get all this experience, on paper people might think you get better PADRAIG HARRINGTON: You know, I have a fair idea, with experience, but as I said, you've seen a few things obviously, who I want. I must admit I've just mentioned at that you know in your game that you probably never the European Tour that I will be looking to announce my wanted to see, so you kind of lose that little bit of, I next one very soon. I haven't told him that. I have to give suppose, innocence. him the news that -- most of my vice captains are players, and players who potentially could have made the team. It's not everything it's cracked up to be to have experience. I know I've played 21 times in the PGA, and to be honest, So telling a vice captain that we're going to announce him when you come to a great golf course like this and you look is kind of -- is not great news in some ways for that person. back, you realize how many different types of tests we've But look, I actually need more vice captains. Myself, Luke, had at the PGA over the years. and Robert have a Zoom meeting next Monday, and I was just sitting there looking at it and saying, It's time that the I think when I first came out the PGA was considerably other guys get on board. played on probably a pretty typical U.S. golf course, U.S. style golf course. But we've played a great variety now And we kind of need more vice captains at this stage, so over the years, and it's really matured as a major yes, I will endeavor to announce another one and maybe championship from what I would have had an image of it in not make a slip-up and announce it unintentionally, but I the '80s. It really is sitting up there now giving us a good will be doing that pretty soon. variety of tests. Q. Could you talk about the challenge and the You never know what you're going to get from year to year difficulty of the 17th hole? in terms of style of golf course, and it's -- as all the majors, they're putting it up to each, it's upped its game, it's PADRAIG HARRINGTON: It's pretty straightforward. improved its standing, and coming to places like this for a Don't hit it in the water. week where this is going to be a great championship, there's going to be plenty of excitement on this golf course, It was a big hole today. It was a 2-iron, maybe -- I carry a and whoever wins this week will be a worthy winner. strong 5-wood. I hit 5-wood. You've got to take it on. Q. Are you meeting with any of the European probable If you want to hit the green, you've got to be brave, take it players this week? on, take it down the right-hand side. If you want to play to that left-hand bunker, which isn't the worst play in the world PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Probable? We're keeping an -- well, what would be interesting about the left-hand eye -- I'm trying to -- not this week, no, to be honest. I've bunkers is there's no bunkers this week, so you're making tried to say and get it across to everybody, their goal at the the assumption if you play left that you're going to get a moment is to play well in the next three majors and the nice lie in the bunker. Olympics. The Ryder Cup is the fifth tournament in their schedule, so if they can peak -- if I was sitting there looking Let's hope that's the case. It's not a bad play. It's definitely at their training or golfing schedule, they should peak for a very difficult hole. I would assume if we had the same this major, the next two majors, the Olympics, and then conditions as today, we would play that tee box up, which hopefully hold something back to peak at the end of turned it into a 4-iron, 3-iron type hole, which is difficult but September. very reasonable. This is not the week for getting in guys' heads. This is not Look, there's a lot of great holes here. I do agree if I was the week for having dinners and things like that.

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