JONATHAN COE: Good afternoon, everyone. It's my pleasure to welcome back a few members of the USA team. We have Captain Nathan Smith and players Ryder Cowan and Jay Leng, Jr. Captain, it's almost game time. How are the final preparations going?
NATHAN SMITH: Well, we feel good. We talked about it a little bit yesterday, and it was great to get another look at the course today, and I think we got our pairings ready to go and lineups. We feel good.
It's been a week; I think everybody is ready to play.
JONATHAN COE: In a few hours we have our flag-raising ceremony. What can these guys and some of the new players on the team expect out of that? Pretty cool scene.
NATHAN SMITH: Well, it's going to be an incredible scene and atmosphere over there. I think when you raise the flag for your country, there's a tremendous amount of pride that goes into it that those guys will feel. It's really a feeling like you've never really had before, so it's really special.
JONATHAN COE: Ryder, you've had a wonderful summer, low am at the U.S. Open and the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur. How are you going to carry that momentum into this week?
RYDER COWAN: I don't know. I feel like I had a good summer, just kind of confidence-wise, I guess. I don't know; it's just another week for me. It's just another day of golf, another week of golf. I think it'll be a good week. It'll be a fun week, and I'm excited.
THE MODERATOR: We were walking out there today and you said that this wind is nothing you've ever played in before. How are you adjusting to this style of golf?
RYDER COWAN: Yeah, I told you earlier, I play in a lot of wind. In Oklahoma we play in a lot of wind, but there's nothing like this. It's like eight times stronger. Yeah, adjusting -- it's hard, but we talked about it earlier, and it's like, everyone has to play in it. Everyone has got to play in these conditions, so it'll be good and we'll figure it out.
Q. Jay, you've had a wonderful summer as well. Was the Walker Cup a goal of yours this year or did that become a clearer picture once you started playing well this year?
JAY LENG JR: Yeah, so funny story. Coming into the summer, it wasn't really in my reach, I would say. I asked one of my buddies, my agent, what I needed to do to make the Walker Cup team, and he basically told me I needed to pretty much win every event I play in this summer, so I was like, okay, I'll try not to think about it too much.
Then after the second at Northeast and the fifth at Southern, I was sort of in the picture, but I tried not to think about it too much. Then obviously after the Western win, it kind of was in my reach.
Obviously with the U.S. Am there's already enough pressure as it is, so I just tried to play my best and see what happened.
Q. Same question I asked Ryder. You're just a kid from San Diego; how are you adjusting to links golf and this weather?
JAY LENG JR: I've always wanted to play in some links golf and in some wind, so I'm actually looking forward to it a lot. I've spent a week or two here already, so I feel like I'm already pretty used to it.
Q. It was obviously pretty windy today. Jay, especially being from San Diego, have you done anything equipment-wise, switched anything out to maybe better handle not only the wind but the turf and kind of what you'll see with this links that you probably don't see too much back home?
JAY LENG JR: No, I haven't really changed my equipment much. I have a new wedge, but that's not really built for links. I think my game already suits links pretty well, so I don't think I really need to do too much. I already hit it pretty low and flight my shots pretty well I'd say. Just doing more of that.
Q. Ryder, you're kind of known for being able to flight your golf ball better than just about anybody. Any equipment changes as well? Hopefully you got enough golf balls this week.
RYDER COWAN: Yeah, we brought golf balls this week.
No, no equipment changes for me. I kind of switch wedges every week, so it's kind of a stock thing for me. But yeah, I hit it low already, so we're just rolling.
Q. Was there a thought about maybe not switching wedges? Sometimes with this you want the ball to not grab as much and trundle a little bit more?
RYDER COWAN: I don't think so. I think it's kind of my routine and what I do week to week. I like to kind of stick to what I do. I love to see the ball spin. I like to be able to work the ball on the greens. To be able to do that, I think that's important for me and my short game.
Q. The 4th and the 5th, the Klondyke and The Dell, have you enjoyed those so far? How have you found them?
RYDER COWAN: I enjoy them, yeah. It's a really cool -- both those holes are really cool. We never really play anything like that. To be able to do that is definitely different. But yeah, really cool golf holes, and we're excited to play them.
Q. Nathan, Lahinch is going to test this team in every way this week, whether it's the partisan crowd or the weather, the course. It'll truly be a character builder. I'm wondering if there are players on your team this week that have revealed themselves as guys that you can lean on when things get really challenging, guys that can make pick up some of the other players that may be down after challenging conditions? Has this week revealed some quiet leaders that you may not have thought you'd be leaning on going in that truly revealed themselves?
NATHAN SMITH: Well, I think I've got 10 of them. I think it's something that we talk about as a team. I think when you go on the road, I think that there will be a great crowd out there for GB&I, and I think that it's pretty much -- we feel that it's kind of the guys in the room. We've got to get it done. I think whenever you travel as a team, you start off with a red eye, you're practising in conditions like this, you're eating, rain, wind. I think this is -- to me it's probably one of the closest teams that I've ever seen because you're kind of forged that way with the travel, maybe with the crowds, maybe just going through everything together, rather than if you're home and you all kind of show up there and do it. It's kind of just you guys; you almost feel like at times it's you guys versus a little bit of the world.
We feel good about our team. We're a very tight team. I feel I've got 10 guys that I've really gotten to know real well, and I think all the guys feel that way about each other. It's a very close team, and we'll need that this weekend to hang with them because they're a really deep team, and the crowd is going to be rocking.
Q. Back home there's been quite a bit of conversation this week about amateur reinstatement. Colt Knost took to social media to inform people that the USGA has slowed down his application for reinstatement, and his purpose in getting reinstated is to become a Walker Cup captain. How do you feel about amateur reinstatement for guys that have played professionally for an extended period of time and have made more money than we've seen previously in reinstatement cases?
NATHAN SMITH: Well, it's above my pay grade this week, and I'm making nothing. I think Colt is -- I've known Colt for years. He's a good friend. I wish him luck. I think he'd make a great captain. There are a lot of guys out there that are alumni and Walker Cuppers that would be great captains. I don't really have a strong feeling about it, and to be quite honest, I'm not even sure what the reinstatement policy is. It's changed. I think it depends on the guy. I'm not sure how much -- what his particular status or pension or anything like that was, so I think it's -- I really don't have enough information to even comment. I would just say anybody that wants to come back to the amateur game, it's well worth it. They'll love it. They won't regret it. I'm sure Colt and a lot of those guys will eventually find their way back and love it.
Q. Nathan, we saw seven of the team on the first tee heading out today. I know Ethan joined up with the team. Do you have an update on how Preston and William are doing and how the health of the team is going into tomorrow?
NATHAN SMITH: Sure, it was great a couple of those guys came out and joined the team, which was kind of a shot until the arm. Just a quick bug for them, and they feel great, and they were bouncing around today and they felt better than I think they said they've felt in a while. I think it was great to get them an extra day of rest even though they were maybe feeling a little bit under the weather. It's tough. It's a lot. It's different. You take that red eye and the travel and it's different and the time change and the food and everything.
But they all feel great, and I think we're all glad it happened a day or two ago, and should be good for the weekend.
Q. All 10 available for tomorrow morning?
NATHAN SMITH: They're all 10. We can only play eight, but all 10 would be available.
Q. Did you have to change your schedule in regards to your pairings? You said they're available, but did you have to decide, make a change because of them?
NATHAN SMITH: Well, there were some thoughts of that, and it turned out we really didn't have to do much because they're all available. Obviously we can only play eight three out of the four matches. But the guys are ready. We were ready to pivot if we had to, but I think we feel good about our teams that we're going to be sending out in the morning.
Q. If, in fact, one of them couldn't go, did you look into being able to bring an alternate in?
NATHAN SMITH: We did. We contacted the alternate, which was Max Herendeen, which was the first alternate, so he was on standby. The problem with that is you're into Thursday or Friday; I don't know how he comes over on a red eye. We knew the guys were going to be fine, but we decided to take that precaution so if nobody is over anything.
But the guys are ready to go. How much they sacrifice and go, they're going to go no matter what. It didn't matter what was going on. They love it. They love representing their country. There's no way we could have told them they're not going. They would have been on that first tee no matter what.
Q. Would you recommend in the future that the alternate be with you guys in these situations?
NATHAN SMITH: I think that's a great idea, yeah. I think that's a great idea, sure.
Q. What was the reason you didn't turn?
NATHAN SMITH: I don't know. I'm not as good as these guys, I guess.
Q. When you were younger you might have been.
NATHAN SMITH: I don't know. That was so long ago, I can't remember. Thank goodness I didn't because I'm right here in front of you.
Q. Jay, you were here earlier. You played some links golf. Did you play Corballis I think I saw? Tell me a little bit about where you've played before getting here, and how much of an adjustment to your normal game did you have to make for the 40-mile-an-hour gusts and the heavy wind you're taking on here?
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, so I was more in Dublin and a little bit north of that, that area. Played seven courses, highlighted by County Down, Portmarnock and Highland. But I think playing those courses, I think they were even more of a links test than here because they were a lot firmer than here. The greens were a lot slower, so I had to get used to that.
I think I kind of in a sense got overadjusted to links golf playing last week, so coming here was actually kind of nice because the grass is a lot greener here and the greens are a lot better. It was actually pretty nice playing here after playing over in Dublin for a week.
Q. Ryder, what's been the biggest adjustment for you to your normal game compared to what you have to do this week?
RYDER COWAN: I think the biggest adjustment that I really had to make was kind of the time change and everything. Kind of getting used to everything over here. It took me probably until Wednesday to get adjusted fully to this time change. I couldn't really do my practice schedule how I really wanted to. I was tired.
But golf-wise, just kind of going about it the same. The greens are definitely different here and the wind is really strong. Being able to adjust to that, those are kind of the main things.
Q. Have you been acclimatising to the local culture and sampled a few pints of Guinness or been down to the pubs, or has the captain put some sort of curfew on you guys?
RYDER COWAN: We have a curfew for sure. No, we had a couple dinners early in the week and they were good dinners. It was good.
Q. Jay and Ryder, has there been a moment for you since being named to the Walker Cup team where it's kind of hit you on an emotional level? Obviously the play here is going to be concluded on Sunday, but you're going to be Walker Cuppers for the rest of your lives. Anything that's hit you emotionally and maybe you've seen the gravity of what it means to be a Walker Cupper?
JAY LENG JR: To be honest, I don't think it's really even sunk in yet. I think tomorrow on the first tee it'll really sink in. I've been thinking about that first tee shot for a while now, and playing in front of that many fans, I think that's when it'll really feel real.
RYDER COWAN: To piggyback on what Jay just said, I don't know if it's quite sunk in yet. I think that tomorrow when we're out there and you're representing the United States at such a high level and in such a great event, I feel like it'll kind of sink in at that point.
But I don't know; it's been such a great week being with everyone and learning about all these guys and just kind of almost becoming family with Cap and everything going on.
It's sinking in slowly but surely, but it will for sure.
Q. Nathan, you were named the 2025 captain way back in March of 2022. More than likely this will be the end of your two-team captaincy. Do you feel you're leaving the U.S. Walker Cup team better than you found it, and how would you like to see -- what would you like to see the future of the Walker Cup become after you return to civilian life?
NATHAN SMITH: Well, I hope I left it in a better place. I think that the Walker Cup is one of the best sporting events in the world.
Something I tried to do was maybe bring some guys in that might be future captains to kind of get a feel of it because it's different. You have to get a feel for the week and all the dinners and commitments and things like that, and I think of future captains -- you've seen it with Ryder Cups and different things, but if you bring guys in, they can kind of get acclimated to even being around with the younger guys and different things because they might be possibly on their team too.
I've tried to do that. I think amateur golf is in a great place. I think there are obviously some things that are changing that we have to adapt to, but you're going to see two great teams that love the game of golf, and it's in a great place. But I feel like it's good, and I'll be excited for the next captain and root them on and help however I can.
Q. Jay, you've played a lot of golf, a lot of really spectacular golf. When you're on a heater like you've been for multiple months now, is there anything that you have to remind yourself to do? What's the key to keeping a heater hot?
JAY LENG JR: I think sort of reminding yourself how good you've been playing when you're not playing so great and sort of knowing that if you have a bad day, it's just -- that's just how golf is. No one can play great every day, but if you proved it that you've been playing at such a high level for such a long time, I think there's no reason to look down on yourself for one bad day or even one bad week.
Q. You've been really working hard in the gym the last year or so, kind of rededicated yourself to that aspect of the game. How do you feel like that work has helped you, especially now? You're talking about playing seven rounds over last week near Dublin and now you're playing here, U.S. Am. How has that work helped you now stay fresh and 100 percent?
JAY LENG JR: Yeah, I think it's helped me. Not really immediately; it didn't help me immediately. It sort of had a delayed effect, I think. I kind of noticed it in the beginning of the summer. I've been hitting it a little bit farther and hitting it a little bit higher, and I think that has a pretty direct -- was effective from the work I put in the gym like even six months ago.
I think playing more and more golf has really just got me ready and got me prepared for anything that's to come.
Q. Do both of you guys favour more of a draw?
RYDER COWAN: I'm a fade guy.
Q. Which doesn't fit this course too well, right?
RYDER COWAN: We make it work. Yeah, it's different. You've got a lot of holes with a left-to-right wind, so if you're going to hit a fade, you've got to hit it way out there left.
I started working today kind of hitting a lower cut, which kind of stays a little bit underneath the wind, goes a little straighter. I'll probably be hitting that quite a few times this week.
Q. You mentioned the dinners. Who's the best on the team at splitting the G? Did you have a champion?
RYDER COWAN: No. We haven't clarified a champion.
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