GEOFF OGILVY: Disappointed, obviously. Thursday, Friday, Saturday went really well for us. That's probably the best we've done, certainly in America.
The plan was pretty good. I wouldn't have changed anything today. Sometimes that just happens. Beating the U.S. in singles in the U.S. is a really hard thing to do.
Q. The strategy you had on paper versus what unfolded, what was the schism?
GEOFF OGILVY: I mean, look, the U.S. Team played really, really well. We always had to win five matches. Sometimes golf goes that way. We had a few matches go down to the last, but we didn't win them. Why does that happen? I don't know.
Like I said, it's hard to beat the U.S. in singles. We saw at the Ryder Cup, that they ended up winning and they had a massive lead. It's a tough place to win singles. The crowd came out. They were pretty one-sided, which was fun. Not so much fun right now.
No, we had a great week. We'll have an assessment later on, but tonight is -- look, well done to Brandt. Congratulations. They're a great team. I loved being captain for these boys. We had a special week, had a really good time. There was a really good bond in this thing, and I'm sure we will get over this quickly, and we'll go have a beer later on.
Q. You had five guys who went all five matches. Did you sense at all they ran out of steam?
GEOFF OGILVY: I think that's always a thing. You can only make the best decisions at the time. Maybe if we had rested them, maybe we wouldn't have been three-and-a-half points up. I don't think you can do that.
Like I said, we'll look back and we'll assess. I feel like we did a lot of things right. We're getting better at this all the time. It's a tough thing to do, beat a team in the U.S. in a team event. We'll do it one day.
We go back to Australia next time, so that'll be exciting. The boys are pretty passionate about the Shield, very passionate about the team. It'll take a little while to get over. This will sting a little bit, but we gave it a pretty good crack.
Q. What will be your final message to the guys at the end of the week?
GEOFF OGILVY: Look, I love all of them. We had such a good time. The spirit was great. They gave it everything. The energy has been amazing on the bus, in the locker room, in the hotel. We've had a really good time. The boys were all into it and they were all very passionate about this team.
The message is look, come back in two years and we'll try again.
Q. In a position to do something you hadn't done in three decades, but how did this day unfold in your eyes?
GEOFF OGILVY: Well, look, obviously we came here with high hopes. We had a really good team and a great environment. We had a pretty good plan, and I feel like the plan went pretty well the first three days. First four sessions, you couldn't ask for more than to have a three-and-a-half point lead going into singles in the U.S., that's a hard thing to do. We did the hard work the first three days.
The guys tried their hardest today. A good bit of red on that board, and Chicago got louder and louder and louder as that happens. I feel like it's such a momentum game. Just somewhere in the middle of the day -- it was sort of on a knife edge for a long time there in the middle of the day. You have a couple putts go in at the right time and the momentum goes our way, and it just didn't do that today.
I wouldn't do anything differently. I feel like that plan was pretty solid. The pairings were great all week. I thought the singles lineup was -- I don't think I would do anything different. We'll have a look again later and see if we would have.
Sometimes you've got to hit the shots and make the putts. The U.S. just did that a little bit better today.
Q. It stings now, but what are you most proud of for this team this week?
GEOFF OGILVY: It's such a great group. They're so committed to this team. It's a different thing to do to commit to sort of the Shield and the International Team when we're all from somewhere else. But we're bonded by that fact, that we're all from somewhere else and we've all traveled all around the world to play out our dream in the U.S. That's the bond.
This was a really, really good group. We've had a really good time this week. The spirit is great; the vibes are great. The bus ride is fun. The team dinners are good.
Look, we came up a little bit short. We just have to go back to the drawing board and keep getting better at this and see if we can do it in Australia in '28.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports