PGA Championship Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Dave Stockton Press Conference But it was a thrill -- the biggest thrill for Kathy and I to be THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the 2021 PGA able to represent the United States and to be a Ryder Cup Championship here at the Ocean Course and Kiawah captain. It was stressful times, obviously, for us because it Island, South Carolina. We're really happy to be joined by had been six or eight years since the Cup had been back. two-time PGA champion and also a winning Ryder Cup captain from 1991, Mr. Dave Stockton. In fact, the one memory that really sticks in my mind was I enjoyed them flying over and circling the court with the Welcome back to Kiawah Island. I don't know how often Concorde, bringing the Cup back to where I thought it through the years you've been back here. I don't know if belonged. We got to keep it here, which made it this is the first time in a long time, but what's it like for you memorable for us for sure. to come here and walk these grounds and see the sights? Does it all come flooding back to you. Q. I've heard other people say it, but that Ryder Cup in 1991 really kind of launched what is maybe the modern DAVE STOCKTON: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I've been back Ryder Cup. Do you agree with that notion and that it probably 10 times, so maybe even more. Done quite a few has -- there's so many chapters, 40 plus chapters of corporate stuff. My highlights obviously were being the this event, but that one had a little bit more meaning captain here in '91, and also coaching Rory with his short than some of the others? game when he won in 2012. We won't talk about my playing about the PGA Championship in 2007. I don't DAVE STOCKTON: I think for quite a few reasons. remember much about that. Number one, when I was selected as the captain, I followed Raymond Floyd, obviously. I almost got it the No, it brings back a lot of memories. I mean, I can year, and I would have had to be the captain overseas, remember -- obviously none of this was here when we which I'd much prefer to be here on home soil. played in '91. Kathy and I came out and rode around with dye in January prior to it, and there wasn't a blade of grass Theoretically it was easier until Nicklaus got beat in '87 four on the place, and I'm thinking -- I mean, the odds of us years ahead of us at his own golf course and I thought, my having a successful tournament, I mean, I don't see how gosh, this is going to be harder than I thought. they can do it. But it just to me launched the thing, and that's instead of I mean, we had our double-wide trailers down here me being the captain at PGA West, they realized it was somewhere near where these buildings are, but nothing going to be televised and they had a three-hour time else was here. Very different. change, they had to go to somewhere on the East Coast. So they got about as far east as we could possibly go and But the golf course itself was a masterpiece from the start. said okay we'll put the golf course down here and dye was For him to design it the way he did where none of the water the man for the job. goes back into the marshes or nothing goes to the ocean, I can't conceive of it. The hard part for the players now is For us it was a big challenge. I thought it favored the the golf course goes basically one direction, and the wind Europeans, but the Europeans never came in and played a changed every single day during the Ryder Cup. practice round, which I couldn't understand, because I just think this is such a difficult golf course with the winds and If it's going to help you one direction it'll kill you the other the way the golf course is built because you can't hit all the half. No matter which way the wind blows you're going to greens. You're going to be running off all the time. I think have to have nine holes of some kind of hardship one way we prepared better than they did. or the other. 107555-1-1003 2021-05-19 19:41:00 GMT Page 1 of 6 Q. You were saying about the Europeans; do you think it was arrogance? Do you think they took it for DAVE STOCKTON: No, I'm not into that. My fault was granted that they couldn't beat the American team? that I liked to hunt, so I was going to get some camouflage hats. In fact, I went down today and they did have a DAVE STOCKTON: Well, I don't blame them. They've camouflage hat in the tent, so I got a camouflage hat from done a pretty good job of it. But no, I don't think arrogance this year just for my son and for Ronny and I. I don't know entered into it. I was disappointed that we actually had to what Junior is going to pick out. invite them to play. I thought they would come, and literally here I am in January, no grass. The thing I did not like was the term "War By the Shore" because we're all friends. This is a world Tour now. When By the time we played the Masters, it was playable. But I we got here, I called Gallagher, their captain. The only thought some of them would come from Hilton Head or night that was free that we didn't have some obligation to some of them would come from the Masters. Nobody our separate PGAs was on Tuesday night, and I called him came. It kind of reminds me of us flying over to France and I said, "I'd like to have a Lowcountry cookout, and if three years ago now, and I think five of our 12 players had you want to come, to have you invite your team and their played the golf course, and all I heard in France was that it immediate family, no PGA officials, no officials. I want to was a tight golf course. have just our two teams get together." And we did. That's how we started the week. Well, I thought it would be tree-lined. Somebody tells me tight, little do I know you could put 5,000 sheep on there We ended the week, which they were much more gracious and they could have been there for years and not cut all in defeat than I think we would have been. They were that grass down and there weren't that many trees, and unbelievable. In those days we had a finishing dinner, you just had to hit it dead straight and none of our guys which we don't have now, but two buses were there for us had played the thing, and they had played the French to get in. I guess one team and the other. Open there for 40 years. Well, by the time I come down the one bus is like eight Now we come up to Whistling Straits shortly and the seats shy of getting filled with only three seats are going to European players have played it just as much as we have be left over, and Woosie turns to me and he says, "Stocky, so we're going to have our hands full. I'm hoping in two not to worry, Pavin is so small I'll carry him on." He picked years' time in Rome that a bunch of our guys play the Pavin up and carried him right on the bus, and we rode in Italian Open that's going to be played at that golf course so one bus. we don't walk in and get shellshocked. Yeah, you can call it War By the Shore. I never went to the Q. So for the fact that you had a new course in 1991 tent over there because I didn't have time. Oh, my God, I and you were saying France was changed for the had two assistants, both my boys. I'm so proud -- we have Ryder Cup, and the fact that you can build something six American assistants this year, and you need it, because new, and Rome is going to be that way, it makes you you've got to be making pairings, you're only playing two able to set the course for your team in a way? thirds of your field, so four people you need to monitor how they're playing. All these different things going on. DAVE STOCKTON: Sure, absolutely. You can set -- Pete Dye was very disappointed with me that I wouldn't let him It was a whirlwind for me, all the preparation and planning. use the back tee on 14 here, which I didn't see how you could play that hole from 200 yards. He was not happy. The long answer to your question, I can see why this was He would be very -- he's smiling if they play that -- they the start, because the PGA was smart enough to do the won't play with this with wind, I'll guarantee, either 14 or 17, television on it, and it was much watched TV from the but if it changes and comes out of the other side, they'll get-go.