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Love sets out his Ryder Cup selection plans

Tuesday, August 30 2016 by SNTV
  • US Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III held a press conference in New York City Monday (29 August), a day after the conclusion of the Barclays in nearby Farmingdale, New York.

    SOUNDBITE: (English) Davis Love III:

    "Yes, that's what I did in 2012 is I went down the list with everybody that made it on points and said, what do you think, who do you like, who do you think you would pair well with. I've said it, you know, 30 times: If my team needs a quarterback and guy draft a running back, they are going to be mad at me. I have to make sure if they say, we want this guy, that he pairs well with this other guy, that we pick that guy. Again, I can't say it enough: It's their team. Golf is different than other sports. Mental side of it is huge. If they go in there believing in what we are telling them, that they have the best team, and that they are ready to go, then they are going to play well. We don't want to start off with any question marks."

    SOUNDBITE: (English) Davis Love III:

    "But those eight players on our team and the four assistant captains, they are pretty good golfers. They know what's going on. They know the players. They know who they want to play with. But if we're looking for one particular reason to choose between two guys, then we're going to dive into the stats a little bit more. Are we looking for a great wedge player to match up with this guy; are we looking for a great driver to match up with another guy. Our alternate-shot is a big part of how we pair, how we pick. So it's going to be looking at Hazeltine, how it suits certain players. I think there's going to be two obvious picks and there's going to be two we're going to have to waffle about a little bit, and the stats will help us narrow that down."

    SOUNDBITE: (English) Davis Love III:

    "All we need is one or two little things - from the doctor, from the stats guys, from the past captains to make a difference. We didn't need to completely do everything differently, we just needed to do a few little things, which will give our team more confidence, which will let them relax a little bit more. If we say hay look, you're a great wedge player, I'm going to put you with this guy who because he's a great driver. We've studied it and there's no way you guys are going to lose. Then they go in with confidence. Like (legendary basketball coach) Dean Smith - look guys we've run this offense for the last 10 years, you guys will run it for the whole season and commit to it and we're going to win a lot of basketball games. And that's what the stats can back up. If you tell a guy, I know you don't get along well with this guy or he's not your best buddy, but you need to play together for these reasons. You have something to back it up rather than just saying, I just think you guys will play well together, I just think you should try it. That doesn't give them confidence, but that doesn't give them a reason to do it, then they'll go out and play better."

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