STEVE TODD: To all our colleagues from the media who just joined us, it is an important day for Team Europe, confirming our six captain's picks. Delighted to be joined by one of them as you can see on the screen, Sepp Straka.
On live show just about an hour ago, you were confirmed as one of the six, just describe how it felt when you got the call from the captain.
SEPP STRAKA: It was great, it was a great relief because unless you qualify, you just don't -- you don't know. It's up to the captain's pick and it is an honour that he had faith in me, and hopefully I can reward that with a good performance in Rome.
STEVE TODD: How did you like the shape of the team when you saw it announced, a nice blend of appearances and some rookies there?
SEPP STRAKA: I think it's great, especially a lot of the young guys who are going to be part of The European Team for years to come, and I think that the experience, as well, they have kind of got us because we don't really know what to expect at all. I think there will be a lot of talent on this team, I've seen it, and I've played with just about everybody, and it's incredibly talented. Really looking forward to getting going.
Q. Apologise for the fact my camera is not working, old laptop, I think. Sepp, one of the things Luke said was that you've had such a great two years that he couldn't leave you off the team. Could you describe what the two years have been like and what even that felt like?
SEPP STRAKA: It's been an incredible ride. Kind of all started at the Honda last season and thankfully I was able to ride that and gain confidence and just keep improving my golf game. I feel like it's in a place where I give myself a lot more chances now than did I early in my career and yeah, it's been an incredible ride the last few years.
Q. Could you have imagined Luke saying that you were impossible to leave off the team when qualifying began?
SEPP STRAKA: No. You always obviously dream about it, and you prepare for it and you wish that that's the case but you just never really know until it happens.
So yeah, I probably would not have -- would not have guessed that back then.
Q. Luke referenced the fact that you made the journey from Hawai'i to Abu Dhabi for The Hero Cup. Can you just talk about how important that was for you at the time, and just what you gained from that week obviously with Shane, Bob and Nicolai also playing and also now heading to The Ryder Cup?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, it was great to kind of get to know some of the guys I didn't know and also to gain experience in that format because in professional golf we don't really get to play those type of events very often except for obviously The Ryder Cup, so I think it's a great move kind of getting my feet wet a little bit to go over there and experience it.
Obviously The Ryder Cup is going to be a different scale and it's going to be maximised but just getting used to that format, getting used to playing in those formats, I think is nice because we haven't had that since probably amateur golf.
Q. What do you feel the main strength is that you bring to this team?
SEPP STRAKA: You know, I think iron play is pretty good. I drive the ball fairly well. Ball-striking, I feel like my putter has been pretty good over the last few years and I feel like I can kind of match up with a lot of different players, different playing styles so I think that's my adaptability maybe is the biggest thing.
Q. Wondering, where were you and what were you doing at the time without being too private, when you found out you had the pick from Luke Donald?
SEPP STRAKA: I was actually driving in a car. I was not expecting it right then. So no, it was a great relief when I got the call and just so special to hear from him in that way and you never know what to expect.
So definitely a little nerve-wracking, too.
Q. How are you going to keep your brother away from caddying in Rome? Has he caddied for you?
SEPP STRAKA: No, I'll have Louis on the bag. He'll be there though. He'll be cheering on.
Q. Looking back on The Ryder Cup, what's your fondest memory of a Ryder Cup?
SEPP STRAKA: I would say my favourite is just the Molinari, Fleetwood combo, those guys were incredible and them all of the videos that came after that were just incredible. I think that's probably my favourite team in Ryder Cup history, and probably my favourite, you know, moment.
Q. I wonder with your American upbringing, when it first sort of occurred to you that it would be a good thing playing for Europe in a Ryder Cup?
SEPP STRAKA: Well, I've never played for America in golf. I've always played under the Austrian bag since my first start at The Lyoness Open back in Austria, my first professional start. I played all my junior golf for Australia on The European Boys Teams and the European Amateur Team, so yeah, I kind of always assumed it would be for Europe and I've always played for the Austrian flag and proudly representing it.
Q. I wonder if among many players who came to Italy to practice in wintertime, and what is your experience in Italian golf and what do you think about Marco Simone and golf?
SEPP STRAKA: Yes, we always had our camps in Italy when I was growing up in junior golf, and it was always a special time. Kind of that same thing, just the team environment, team building, and just a bunch of guys trying to get each other to play better golf. Those are very special moments.
And yeah, Marco Simone, I've never played it. But really excited to get over there on the practice days, and try to get to know the golf course. I've heard great things. I've heard it's pretty hilly. So probably resembles maybe a lot of Austrian golf courses, and yeah, just really excited to get there and get to know the course.
Q. Quick question about your caddie. How much do you think a caddie change made the difference on you making this team, and secondly, the caddie that I know is pretty red, white and blue inside, so how is that going to work out when you get to Rome?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, it was huge. Dewey is a great caddie. He's been awesome to have on the bag and it's helped me so much over the last few months.
Yeah, he is definitely red, white and blue. A bunch of the European caddies have been giving him crap about his yardage book cover being a US yardage book cover but he's already changed that. We're working on him. He's a professional. He'll do his best job that he can and yeah it will be great.
Q. You just talked about getting crap. Do you expect to get any crap for your American accent? Or you going to try to go all Austrian when you're in Rome?
SEPP STRAKA: I was thinking about maybe getting a translator. Maybe my brother can translate for me for the week just so we don't have to hear it.
I was thinking about getting a translator for that week, maybe getting my brother to translate for me. But yeah, I don't think I can fake the American accent. I've got a few accents in me but yeah, it will be funny to kind of hear that accent all week.
STEVE TODD: Thank you for joining us. We've got Justin on, as well, so Sepp, we'll let you go. Thanks for the time and we look forward to seeing you in Rome.
Justin, good to see you.
JUSTIN ROSE: You, too.
STEVE TODD: You talked a little on the live show there about how determined you were to return to Team Europe. Now that the dust has settled a little bit, just give us your thoughts on how much it actually does mean and how much you're looking forward to playing in Rome?
JUSTIN ROSE: I mean, it means a lot, it really does. I've just been practicing some putts in my gym there. There's a nice array of five Ryder Cup trophies, and No. 6, like I said, I don't think I was ever -- I always was hopeful that was coming along but four years, it slips by pretty quickly and I know there wasn't a ton of good golf in there for me.
As this opportunity came around, I felt like it was a huge motivator for me. I lost my form a little bit in the summer, and one of the biggest inspirations I had was The Ryder Cup to really kind of prove that I was still playing well and that obviously my form was good and not give Luke too much of a headache in terms of trying to justify a pick in me, because experience is always a great thing to have in a team. But at the end of the day, you need a guy who is playing well. There's no point in having experience and no game.
So my real energy and focus through the FedExCup was to sort of prove that I was playing well and I kind of canceled a couple of family holidays that we had planned just to really put some work in and make sure that my game was kind of on hand, and like I said, try and prove that I was playing well enough to sort of make the team, the European Ryder Cup Team. It was really front and center for me the last couple of months.
Q. This is your first ever wildcard pick, which after five is quite a lot when you consider Poulter has so many.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, this is. I've always said, obviously when it came to Monty, I was incredibly close. I won a couple of times that season and felt like I was really in line for a pick, and then given the circumstances last year, I felt like I played well right at the death. I'd probably be 13th man, worst case, obviously, for Whistling Straits, but never kind of got the love, really, from our previous captain.
So never have taken being picked for granted. Obviously Luke changed the qualification criteria quite dramatically this year to six picks, and my mentality was to try and make the team, obviously. But I kind of was also a bit more philosophical about how well you were going to have to play to make the team given my schedule as well.
I just felt like I had to prove that I was playing well enough, and obviously Luke and the team, in terms of how they are recruiting guys and choosing guys, you have to stack up. You have to play good enough golf statistically. They look at things very much in depth these days rather than reputation.
So to me, it was just all about proving that my game was in good enough shape to justify a pick, and there were going to be a lot more opportunities for a pick this time around but nevertheless, super grateful for the opportunity because it has not gone my way in previous Ryder Cups.
It's not something you want to keep relying on. You want to make the team fair and square and that's been the goal forever. But my main motivation is to show that I am Ryder Cup ready and really, now my goal for the next three weeks is to make sure I'm winning points ready.
Q. Does it bring other pressures, the fact that you are a wildcard?
JUSTIN ROSE: Historically, yes, I think in this team scenario, no, because it's half and half. Half the team are picks. I truly believe that there's less pressure this time around on guys who have been picked quite honestly.
Q. You are the senior man in this European Team now. How do you feel about that? Will you be taking a leadership role with some of these young guys, Ludvig and Nicolai who will be on the team for the first time?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, listen, first and foremost, I want to contribute on the golf course. I think that's my job. That's what I've got to try and take care of and that's my ultimate focus coming into the week.
But if I can be of any use in any way, absolutely. I'm going to kind of go there with a holistic kind of approach, and I'd certainly be on the front foot in terms of looking out for guys and just recognising if I see something or something that might resonate from my past experiences or how I might have felt in similar situations, and yeah, if I can be of any use in a certain situation, I'm more than happy to kind of play that role. I think it's a role that it has to be organic. I don't think there's anything that I can go in there and force and sort of press my views upon anybody unless asked or unless I feel like it's natural.
So I'll just have to kind of see how the week unfolds from that point of view but yeah, listen, my goal is to be the best teammate I can be and offer as much as I can offer and off the golf course.
Q. Can I ask when you were first aware of Ludvig and what you had made of his rise to get to this point which has been quite meteoric, really.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it has. I guess I just saw his name pop up. I don't follow the college scene that close legal I wasn't really aware of all the names coming through but obviously I was very much aware of this European stud, I suppose, turning pro. His name was very quickly on the leaderboard.
It became easy to follow him, I suppose, and I'm not going to lie. He's kid one of the those players that has a very impressive game to the point where in the evening sometimes, if you haven't watched any golf coverage, he's the kind of name that you click on and go to his shot tracker, and you go, oh, my God, he hit it 340 yards down the middle of that fairway and flicked a wedge in. You follow him with a bit more curiosity because he tends to have a couple weapons that are not at necessarily everybody's disposal.
So he has been fun to follow, and then obviously his name started to be thrown around regarding The Ryder Cup, which seemed incredibly premature in a way, I suppose, back in July. But he's absolutely backed it up week-in, week-out and he's thrown enough good rounds and good statistics, which is how this team is being put together that reputation is one thing. But you have to sort of have some type of profile statistically that's going to give you a chance to play some good golf in Rome on a golf course that's going to suit a certain type of player, and I think his profile suits her probably better than most.
Q. You experienced five Ryder Cups. Which is your best memory ever in your game in your situations in The Ryder Cup?
JUSTIN ROSE: I think it boils down to Sunday at Medinah, it really comes down to that. It was an incredibly tough week for The European Team, playing in Chicago, the crowd were incredibly pro USA. It was a difficult environment. We were seemingly getting battered, really, I think is the only word I can use.
And then there was just a little bit of hope late Saturday afternoon. I think Luke was a big part of that. They won a late point. I think Rory and Poults won a late point to give us 10-6. If it had gone 11-5, I think it's done but 10-6 just suddenly felt like, oh, we have some hope.
But then the Sunday happened and this magical day, Seve was on our sleeves. There were airplanes flying in the sky that made amazing shapes and patterns and Seve's name was appearing in the sky. We got off to a good start with momentum. We just felt like there was some really -- and obviously José Maria being the captain, he was channeling Seve all week, and it just was like very much like Seve's golf game, it was like the great escape. So that was just something amazing to be a part of.
Obviously everybody who was on the golf course that Sunday just had a very simple mission of going out to win their point. Every match was important. We had to really sort of sweep the table with them. And my match came down to the end. I kept forcing myself to be aggressive, be aggressive, I had one down with two to play and was really pushing myself to try to get more than a halve.
Sometimes you think one down, two to play, see if we can get a halve out of this thing at least. I was like, that's not good enough. We need to win the last two holes, we need the points.
Obviously I was able to make a couple great putts and have those moments of closing out a match where you have your teammates around you, and you get that feeling of being able to celebrate with them in the moment, and obviously everybody else did their job that day, and it just turned into the most special and somewhat unexpected victory.
And I think that's the one day in Ryder Cup history that really swung the perception of Europe's dominance in The Ryder Cup. For me, it's very much gone with home-course advantage in recent years with Medinah being the one outlier. So to be a part of that Sunday I think was something very special.
Q. You mentioned getting, as you say, "winning point ready," could you explain what that means?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I just think, you know, there's one thing -- I think every player who is on the team will contribute something in some way, shape or form, whether it's anecdotally, whether it's just cold, hard points, and obviously cold hard points is your preference.
I know everybody is going to play a role on the team, win loss or draw this Ryder Cup. But your goal as a player is, okay, making The Ryder Cup Team is not the finish line. It's really the start of the mission.
So just kind of reminding myself of that, and you know, really the next three weeks, I've always really tried to, and enjoyed, the process of trying to prepare for major championships, trying to peak at the right time and that's my challenge now. As a player, it's just what can I do over the course of the next three weeks to be winning point ready just to go out and give my game -- put myself in the best opportunity to win a point, which is why you're on the team.
Q. And is there any specific thing that you can tell me that you might do over the next three weeks to get yourself to that point?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I've got some tricks that I like to use. It's a combination of working hard at the right time and then hitting the recharge button at the right time. Just sort of like so you can kind of like peak, sort of trend into the tournament.
Yeah, just from a preparation point of view, I'll use some tried-and-tested routines that work for me, and I think the BMW PGA at Wentworth comes at the perfect time in that cycle for me. I know a lot of the players are going to be playing in that event.
And yeah, just my mindset on the golf course, that week I might tailor a little bit to suit match play and start thinking about the game in that form.
Q. Further describing you as a Ryder Cup animal, can you please explain to me exactly what it is about it? You obviously like it. You're obviously very good at it. I'm reminded that Tait gave me a severe ticking off after Valhalla where I didn't point out that you were the top scorer. What is it about The Ryder Cup? And secondly, just to go back to a point you made to Ewan about Ludwig, you said he has two weapons, and one weapon is clearly described because you mentioned 340-yard drives, but you didn't say what the other weapon was. I don't mind which order you answer the question. Sorry to give you two.
JUSTIN ROSE: Just honing in on Ludvig, he's shown the second weapon of late, calmness under pressure. I think the fact that we've been talking about him for The Ryder Cup for a long time relative to his career, I mean, he turned pro I think in, was it June? He turned pro in June and we started talking about Ryder Cup it felt like in July.
So the fact that he has almost played 75 percent of his professional career with the pressure of trying to make a Ryder Cup Team immediately is quite impressive to then on the final day of the campaign, make it a bit of a no-brainer for the captain.
So obviously birdieing four of the last five and yeah, just taking care of business like that, I think is his second weapon. From where he hits the golf ball off the tee, I feel like if he's half-decent with his irons and wedges and putter, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of golf.
But yeah, I think his driving coupled with his ability to clearly handle the situation is a good combo.
Then, you know, going back to me, I don't know, I don't know what it is, it goes back to representing England when I was an amateur, it goes back to playing county golf. It goes back to all those experiences.
But as soon as I wear something on my chest that is something bigger than just myself, I just feel like it forces me to be the best version of myself. It forces me to try to be as disciplined as I've ever been and try to bring forward all the lessons I've learned.
Sometimes as an individual when you're playing 30 tournaments a year, it's difficult to bring your best every single week. At the end of the day, the only person you're going to let down is yourself. I'm not saying that that's the mindset at all, but it's much easier to have weeks where things just don't quite come into focus.
Whereas the magnitude of the situation when you do wear a crest and you are representing something much, much, much bigger than yourself, I feel like reminds me to be the best version of myself, which hopefully then in turn makes me play some of my better golf.
STEVE TODD: Many thanks for joining us and taking the time. We'll see you in Rome.
JUSTIN ROSE: Nic, congrats, my man, haven't spoken to you in person yet, congratulations.
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Thanks.
JUSTIN ROSE: See you soon, bro. Take care, mate. See you soon.
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: You, too.
STEVE TODD: If you can describe what it actually felt like when the phone went and Luke was on there and gave you the good news. How did you feel in that moment?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: As I said earlier, I was quite disappointed with the finish in the final round in the mountain, and I felt like I needed a good Sunday to prove myself to Luke. I felt like I did a good job most of the week with the pressure on me.
Yeah, I got a little bit down on myself that afternoon, and that night on the phone, Luke basically said, let's cut to it, I want you in Rome and suddenly a big smile appeared on my face.
It's hard to describe. It's thea most amazing feeling I've had in golf, and it's a dream come true. There's one thing to be a part of one, and there's one thing of delivering points. My goal is to go out there and deliver as many points as possible.
Q. I guess in the whole team, you are the one with the best memories and maybe the best course since what happened in Marco Simone. How does the course suit you, and which holes in your opinion will be the most important in the matches?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Yeah, I really enjoyed Marco Simone. I played it three times now, and I've had some success on the course, and it's definitely -- it suits good drivers of the golf ball, long irons, mid-irons.
So I feel like on Team Europe, we have got a lot of strong, strong players. I feel like I'm suiting the course pretty good, as well, with my previous record on it.
Yeah, I mean, key holes, obviously down the stretch is going to be important. 16 is going to be a crucial hole. It's going to be a drivable one. It's going to be a tricky one as well. There's a lot of things going on on that hole at the same time, but it's also a short hole.
I feel like there's a few holes on the front nine, 8 and 9 is going to be quite crucial going into the back nine, strong par 4, and then you've got a gettable par 5.
I feel like that stretch is so important, so that's how I see the course. Obviously a strong start is very important in match play, so the first couple holes, 8, 9 and obviously 16, I feel like that's the important holes on Marco Simone.
Q. Do you think the knowledge of the course will be a factor?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: To some degree it will, but it's obviously going to be in completely different circumstances. That's going to obviously affect me playing but I feel like I enjoy playing there. I came in 2022 when I didn't play well and got good vibes straightaway and played well, and this year I played well at Marco Simone as well.
So it will be a little bit different but I feel like I have a good knowledge of the course and how to play it. I can't wait.
Q. Luke said he regarded you as one of the most in-form players in the world of golf at the moment. He might be slightly overstating, but do you feel you've really turned the corner with these last two performances?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: It's always nice to get praise from the captain. Felt like I played some good golf lately to get my name in there and super excited to get the pick, and they put their trust in me to help the team.
The only thing I can do now is try to prepare and do the job when we are playing but obviously it's always nice when you get some pressure from some really good players and important guys in Ryder Cup.
Q. Rasmus was in with a chance of making the team by qualifying automatically. How has he reacted to your selection?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: He was excited. Obviously I know how it feels -- nothing like this before, but you get similar feels in the past when one of us gets picked for a European championship or World Cup or whatever it is. He was happy for me but we also know it's just going to fire him up now to perform well.
He called me and said he was super excited for me and he was happy for me. That's so important for me knowing my brother is backing me up. Yeah, he's going to be there in Rome, as well, supporting, and it will be great when we both make the team one day.
Q. Just to take it back to when Rasmus was picked for The Hero Cup, you weren't, and things have turned around now, and you made the most of that opportunity. How do you feel when you missed out on that and then got into The Hero Cup and the opportunity, how big was that?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Yeah that was obviously a bit of a weird situation in some regard and Ras getting injured just before Hero Cup, and I got the call to replace him. At the time I was a little -- this feels a little weird, me coming in now when I wasn't supposed to play.
But I made the most of it. Played well that week. Went unbeaten, which was a great week for me. I proved myself to Luke. Obviously a week where Rasmus was supposed to play and he was in good form, but I made the most of it. I'm sure one day we'll make the team together.
Q. The new era for European golf in the Ryder Cup, yourself, Ludvig, Bob and Sepp, how exciting to be part of that?
NICOLAI HØJGAARD: Very exciting. Great group of guys and a lot of talent. A lot of talk about Ludvig, he's a really impressive player, and the same with Bob and Sepp. There's a lot of really good guys coming up. The future is bright for Europe and also this year, I think we have got 12 strong players ready for Rome.
STEVE TODD: Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing you in Rome.
Ludvig, thank you for joining us and likewise, congratulations. I know you obviously had an impressive day yesterday in Switzerland and plenty of cause to celebrate with winning a tournament on its own, but just try and describe after that, getting the call and how good that felt to hear from Luke?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, absolutely just like you said, yesterday was quite busy but it was fun busy as well.
Obviously getting that call from Luke, I get goosebumps just thinking about it, and it was the same thing yesterday to be in the conversation, to be with those group of guys and to be able to have those people next to me competing for a Ryder Cup in Rome will be very cool.
Q. At which point in this extraordinary summer did The Ryder Cup realistically come into your head?
LUDVIG ABERG: I think the first time it really hit me was when I played with Luke in Detroit. We got paired in the first two rounds together and I ended up playing pretty well those two days. You know, to be honest, I felt like I've done a pretty good job of not thinking about it too much.
I feel like it's always been there and it's always been a motivation for me, obviously growing up in Europe and in Sweden, you want to be part of these teams at some point during your career but I didn't realise this was going to be this quickly.
I've enjoyed the challenge. I've enjoyed the kind of journey to get to the team, and I was just listening to Justin Rose before and he said it very well, this is just the starting line and starting point of the whole kind of thing, and I'm looking forward to it.
Q. What would be your first Ryder Cup memory as a kid watching it? Who were your heros growing up?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, for sure, I think anyone growing up in Sweden, we were watching The Ryder Cup, anyone who was interested in golf. My earliest memory is the 2012 when we won during that Miracle on Sunday. I remember following the Swedes, and I just thought it was so cool to see those guys, and now to actually be in those shoes myself is pretty surreal.
Q. Were those your first conversations with Luke in Detroit, and if so, have you had other conversations either before or after Detroit about Ryder Cup?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, so the first time I spoke with him was in Detroit when we played together. I felt like we kind of got to know each other a little bit better those couple of days, not necessarily a lot of Ryder Cup talk but it was just basically building a relationship and he kind of got to know me a little bit better and I got to know him a little bit better.
We briefly kept in touch ever since, a few texts here and there and ended up with a phone call yesterday, yeah.
Q. And then I guess the other part of this is, did you believe that you needed to win last week? What were your anticipations to get on the team? What did you have to do last week?
LUDVIG ABERG: I believe so. I think as a competitor you're always trying to go into tournaments trying to win. I felt like I had that bit of a carrot motivating me in terms of a Ryder Cup spot. So I felt like it would justify me getting pick for the team to win, which would be really cool. So yeah, absolutely, I tried to go in yesterday and tried to win the tournament. Played pretty well on the back nine, and luckily ended up with a trophy. So yeah, my intention was to do that.
Q. This has all happened so quickly. Do you feel ready for the pressure of The Ryder Cup? Do you feel any trepidation or any fear at all going into the event?
LUDVIG ABERG: I don't think "fear" is the right word. I think as a competitor, these are the events that you want to be a part of. You want to have that shot; you want to have that putt to get a point or to win a match or whatever it is, and I've been fortunate to be a part of these teams events with the amateur events, which is on a completely different level, and I understand that. I'm super excited to get to Rome and I think it will be cool to be part of this team and get to know the guys a lot better, and absolutely I'm up for the challenge.
Q. What are your ambitions in the game? Do you want to be world No. 1?
LUDVIG ABERG: Oh, absolutely, for sure.
Q. And just generally your ambitions in the game, this has happened so quickly, how soon do you want to be competing in majors?
LUDVIG ABERG: Well, my goals and my intentions are to be winning tournaments quicker and quicker. I was able to get a first taste of that yesterday which was pretty cool, and that feeling kind of wants you to have more and more and more, and that's kind of how I left the golf course yesterday.
So to answer your question, I want to do that as soon as I can, and to have those moments again, that's why I play golf and that's what I want to do, and absolutely I would love to do that on a major stage as well.
Q. Justin was talking just now about two aspects of your game, the one was your ability to hit the ball a long way off the tee which numerous people talk about, Luke Donald mentioned it, too. The other was, he talked about, for want of a better word, your poise. Do you feel that you are good at controlling yourself and your emotions and keeping things in check and dealing with the problems that arise? I probably mean more of the problems off the golf course than I do whether or not you should use a pitching wedge or a 9-iron on a particular hole.
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I mean, I do feel like that. I do feel like that's one of my strengths. I would say that I'm pretty good at staying in the moment, staying in the present and not get too high up, not get too far low and not get too far ahead of myself, too. I think that's one of the reasons why I was able to stand out in college in amateur golf is that I was able to have my emotion intact, and that's what I try to do.
I think these last couple of months has shown that pretty well, as well. I know there's been a lot of talk and a lot of noise that I would call it, and I've been able to play pretty good golf during that same period of time.
So I've been able to, you know, yesterday winning a tournament when I knew that I needed to win a tournament to get a spot into The Ryder Cup. So you know, I view it as receipt of me doing some good stuff, all I try to do is prepare for each event the best way I can and see where that takes me.
Q. Is there any way in which you can explain the success in which you finish on Sunday? That's a pretty startling finish that you produced. You know, there was one very experienced player in Matt Fitzpatrick, who failed singly to do that. Is there anything you can tell us about the way you did that? Obviously you stood on the tee and said, I want to try and birdie this putt; producing it at the very end of the tournament when you know you needed it most, can you explain how you did that?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I think yesterday was a little bit -- because, you know, I was behind pretty much the whole day. I don't think I had a lead until I got to the 18th tee box. It was a little bit different. It was more of a chasing mode for me. I knew Matt was behind me and I knew he was playing well, and he had a couple of par 5s coming up in 14, 15.
So for me it was all about trying to make birdies, trying to make birdies and I was able to roll in a few birdies on the par 5s, and on 16 as well. So I think it kind of hit me when I made birdie putt on 17 when I had the lead.
And I was nervous on 18 tee box, absolutely. But it's also something that I enjoy. It's a feeling, I can't really describe it, but it's such a cool experience and to be able to do that, to be able to hit good shots, even though you are in that situation is something that I'm going to bring into The Ryder Cup week as well, to use those experiences to my advantage.
STEVE TODD: Congratulations. Fine achievement. We look forward to seeing you in Rome and thank you for joining us.
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