Intro:

United States of America's Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson addressed the media at Gleneagles on Wednesday (September 24th).

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Tom Watson, US Ryder Cup captain:

Q: "Can you still relate to obviously players who are 40 years younger than you?"

"I've answered that question before. Indeed, because they know I've played in the Ryder Cup, they understand I've been a captain, and they know that I know what they're doing. They have a respect for me and I have, ultimate respect for them. We're on the same page. There's not a question we're on the same page. We're needling each other out there right in the practice rounds, which is kind of fun.... we're golfers, we're professional golfers. Doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are. Takes a while for you to, sprout your wings when you are a young professional, but we've got some, we've got some seasoned, we've got some I think very seasoned rookies out there."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Tom Watson, US Ryder Cup captain (on Phil Mickelson):

"Well Phil has been, just a wonderful man in the locker room for the Ryder Cups. I've talked to all the past captains of the last four Ryder Cups, maybe five Ryder Cups, and Phil's been there and he's, he's a leader. He's a leader in the, he's the guy that talks. He talks smack (insults), he talks, he talks the way you're supposed to be talking in a locker, he talks the locker room talk, and he gets people talking back to him, like that. That's what you have to do. There's a lot of pressure, as I said, there's a cauldron of pressure and it's, you're not unique in the Ryder Cup. You look at the World Cup, the matches in the World Cup, and in rugby and things like that, in those locker rooms before the finals, man, there's banter going back and forth, there's always one guy - maybe two guys - who carry it. They get everybody kind of lightened up, talking back and forth, and that's the role that Phil is playing."