OLIVIA McMILLAN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to once again be joined by the GB&I team here for the Walker Cup. We have Captain Dean Robertson, Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver.
Dean, final preparations, they are complete. Are you and the team ready to go?
DEAN ROBERTSON: We are ready to go, yeah. We only really had one hole of practice today and rested after that. The guys were able to do exactly what they wanted to do. A few of them went to some different holes. But we're ready and we're exceptionally excited for the weekend.
OLIVIA McMILLAN: It's a long time to prepare for a Walker Cup. As we're on the eve of the match beginning, what's your advice to the team tonight to get them into the right mindset for tomorrow?
DEAN ROBERTSON: I think last night after the Walker Cup dinner, I think we were already in the mindset to go from yesterday. So today has really been about staying as relaxed as possible, and then this evening after the opening ceremony, everything is going to get real when the foursomes are announced, and then we're going to congregate in the team room. We'll keep it fairly relaxed, and I'll have a few words to say to the team but nothing that I haven't already said before.
OLIVIA McMILLAN: Connor, this is your third time competing in the Walker Cup. How have you seen your role in the team evolve over this time?
CONNOR GRAHAM: To be honest, it hasn't changed too much. I feel like the first time I was just kind of there and some guys were more kind of taking me under their wing. But I feel like it's not changed overly much. I think I'm just still one of the guys in the team, and if any of them have any questions, I'll answer, but it's not changed too much over the years.
OLIVIA McMILLAN: What do you feel like you've learned in the past two matches that you're bringing into this week?
CONNOR GRAHAM: I feel like just the experience of knowing what's going on, how busy it's going to be, how important it's going to be to conserve energy going into tomorrow. It's a long buildup and knowing it's a very high level of golf, you kind of know you need to bring your "A" game to try and win some points.
OLIVIA McMILLAN: Tyler, this is your first time competing in the Walker Cup on home soil. Talk to us about the team dynamic. The team room sounds like there's been a lot of fun going on there. Share a little insight.
TYLER WEAVER: Yeah, definitely the team dynamic is really good this week. I think a lot of us have known each other from junior golf, so that really helps. We already have that bond, that connection. So yeah, there's a few good characters in the team room as well, so we've had a lot of fun. It's good to have them just to relax, and you feel comfortable around the guys. It's been great.
Q. On the eve of the match, how have your preparations gone, and are you ready to get out there and compete tomorrow?
TYLER WEAVER: Yeah, I'm definitely eager to get out there. Like Dean said, trying to stay relaxed because you're so ready to go and it's been a long week. Yeah, just doing my final preparations and making sure I'm ready to go out there and compete. It'll be the first time I've competed in a while. The nerves are high, but I'm really excited to get out there.
Q. Tyler, on that topic, what's been the thing that's been, I guess, fastest to feel normal again and the thing that's been slowest to come around because you haven't played competitively all summer?
TYLER WEAVER: Yeah, that's right. It's just another competition. I've done it for a while now, competing a lot. It hasn't felt too different. I'm just ready to get going now. I feel really excited and the body feels great. Yeah, it's been good.
Q. Are you available for all four sessions?
TYLER WEAVER: I believe so, yeah.
Q. Was there any conversation around the risk of playing today, given the wind conditions first thing in the morning, and how do you prepare them to play in a wind that maybe is going to be stronger than what we'll see over the weekend?
DEAN ROBERTSON: Absolutely not. Going out on the golf course the wind is going to change direction tomorrow. It could be strong throughout the weekend, but it's perfectly playable. You have to adapt. You have to improvise. You have to be able to control the ball flight in these very difficult conditions, and it's exceptionally tiring to play in these conditions, but we were good to go.
We've staggered, we've prepared well and thoroughly, and we were ready to go last night. So today was always going to be something where the players could really choose themselves as to what they required as a last-minute touch-up to any area or learn a few different parts of the golf course.
We're good to go.
Q. We saw you implement a little short game challenge there with the players. Is that specific to here? Is that an expectation that there's going to be missed greens and players' short games need to be sharp?
DEAN ROBERTSON: So the short game, you're obviously walking the back nine with a few of the players, with a few of the players, both Tyler and Connor and another three, and that was more to kind of bring a focus for them from a captaincy/coaching perspective where just giving them a little bit of challenge.
High winds the short game becomes really challenging, and we gave them exceptionally challenging short game shots to play in over the last four holes and not only demonstrate their skills but have a little bit of fun too. They were holing out as well and having to deal with the wind.
That really just brought a little bit of a focused approach to those holes whilst everybody was still having a great time and it was very relaxed and people were enjoying it.
Q. To the two players, how did you find the short game challenge there at the end? When the wind is this strong, I know it might not be as strong but it's a windy place to play golf, what aspect of the game do you think is the most challenging in the wind? A lot of people think tee shot, but putts are moving, chips are spinning in different ways.
TYLER WEAVER: I think the chipping challenges we did were very valuable, especially in the wind. When the wind is like that, you're almost expecting to miss some greens, so hitting some shots from difficult positions is good practice.
In terms of the hardest part of today, honestly the putting is probably the hardest part. When it's blowing that hard, you can see the ball kind of moving as you're putting, and you're looking at the slope, but at the same time, you're trying to read the wind and how that's going to affect the break of the putt.
Everything, all parts of the game are hard in the wind like that, but for me, especially the putting is probably the hardest.
CONNOR GRAHAM: I think it's good as well to do a little bit of short game. As Tyler said, when it's windy and the greens are hard to hit, your short game needs to be pretty on it to try and make up-and-downs, especially in that wind.
I think everything is difficult. Trying to hit fairways, hit greens, all parts of the game become a lot trickier when you're out there in that wind.
Q. On the weather again, are you happy with the conditions that we're going to get for the weekend? Do you see it as an equaliser? When you came away from the South in July, were you hoping to get conditions like this this weekend?
DEAN ROBERTSON: I think when you come to Lahinch, you're always going to expect it to be blowing. Getting here in July for the South was fantastic, and they had unusual winds blowing there that came from the north, which we haven't seen. But the wind is going to change tomorrow and it's going to come from the south, and that's not a wind that we have seen at any time during the South or during the practice this week. That's going to bring entire new challenges.
In terms of the weather and the wind, am I happy about it? I'm very happy about it.
Q. Connor and Tyler, Dean talked about you being ready to go on Thursday night. You've talked about a long buildup. How have you individually managed that long buildup in terms of keeping your energy levels and staying focused for tomorrow?
TYLER WEAVER: Yeah, keeping the energy levels is important. Obviously it's a long week. We've just been playing a lot of golf, having a lot of fun, a lot of matches out there to get the competitive juices flowing. We feel ready. We felt ready the whole week. Like Dean said, today in the wind, we didn't feel like we needed to do too much just because we felt so prepared going into today.
Today was just to get everything ready, and then go time tomorrow.
CONNOR GRAHAM: Yeah, I think it's a long buildup, so when you're getting done in the morning so putting your feet up in the afternoons is very important. We've got a good nutritionist in this week that's making sure we're eating and drinking right, which is also huge come the weekend to make sure our energies are on point for the afternoon.
Q. Dean, when we think of home courses for Ryder Cup, captain has a big role to play in terms of course setup. Can you give us some insight into any of the input that you can have on tees, on conditioning, on lines?
DEAN ROBERTSON: On tees, zero. There's no input at all. And I don't know if I do have any input, but I did have a good request, and I requested for the golf course to play naturally as it would be. You don't have to do anything to Lahinch. It's an absolute masterpiece.
In terms of the green speeds, I think the conditions are dictating exactly what the green speeds are going to be. If the rain can subside and the wind lessen a little bit, it would probably be best for the event itself, but walking down even this morning, walking down the last few fairways there with Raymond and referring to our careers and the experiences we've had over the years of playing in Open Championships, this is just really special.
The Walker Cup is -- I can't tell you how proud I am to be leading these players. It's exciting for everyone. It's going to be exciting for the fans. It's going to be a great spectacle across the world. There's truly going to be times that the boys from both teams are going to look back on and cherish forever, but it's going to be fiercely competitive over the weekend.
As Tyler said and Connor said, we are well-prepared but excited, and we're ready to put our best foot forward.
Q. For the two lads, you were here for the practice session. Connor, you played in the South of Ireland. What did you learn those weeks about the course? What are the cool elements of the golf course that you like? Do you feel that those two elements are going to give you guys a bit of an advantage this week?
CONNOR GRAHAM: For me, playing in the South earlier in the year, I think it was great coming to see the golf course. Knowing where you can and can't hit some shots is going to be very important this week, so kind of being able to get good lines off the tees and knowing where we can and can't hit around the greens was very important learning at the South.
TYLER WEAVER: For me, I obviously wasn't there to play properly. I was able to hit some iron shots and chip around the greens and stuff but it was still valuable to see the course so when I got here I knew what I was expecting; I knew what to practise leading up to this week.
I think for the boys that played it, they got to see the course in totally different conditions, like Dean said, with the different wind directions. So being able to play the course in all of those conditions, you just feel more comfortable whatever the wind is going to be this weekend. I think everyone is ready.
Q. Who are your caddies this week, and have you been listening to the advice, and what kind of advice have you had?
TYLER WEAVER: Yeah, I've got a great caddie this week, Peter. We got on really well, so it'll be fun. He obviously knows the course like the back of his hand. He's been here for over 20 years caddying. Whenever he talks, I'm listening. Yeah, any help we can get from them is just great.
Q. Did he tell you anything in particular that you're keeping to yourself or that's interesting?
TYLER WEAVER: Not really, no.
CONNOR GRAHAM: Yeah, I've got a good caddie involved this week. Obviously he plays his golf here as well. I think anytime you get someone that knows the golf course, even just little details here and there about the greens or approach shots, you kind of just listen to them and kind of make sure we're both on the same page about the whole thing.
Q. How many of the pubs have you been in so far this week?
CONNOR GRAHAM: Zero.
TYLER WEAVER: Zero.
Q. Are you going to rectify that by Sunday night?
CONNOR GRAHAM: Sunday night.
Q. Many Ryder Cup and Solheim Cups have been sort of fueled by defeats that the players experienced a year or two years before. I was wondering if you've thought about your memories of 12 months ago and how you might be reviving those memories to let yourselves know you don't want to taste it again?
TYLER WEAVER: 100 percent. It's definitely fuel to the fire. I had a challenging week last year. Obviously playing against Jackson Koivun was hard. He's obviously showed how great he is now on the other level.
But like I said, it's fuel to the fire. You learn so much from experiences like that. I think this year with the crowd being behind us, being on home soil, it's just even more fuel. Everything is just kind of building up to this, and we're so ready to go.
CONNOR GRAHAM: Yeah, after the last two times I've played it, they've been obviously great weeks, but I think if we can come away and get it done Sunday afternoon, it would be pretty special and be a great night Sunday night if we can get it done this year.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports