Friday, September 28, 2012

What the players said about first day match ups

MEDINAH, Illinois (Reuters) - A selection of quotes from players involved in Friday's opening morning foursomes at the Ryder Cup.

Jim Furyk/Brandt Snedeker (U.S.) v Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland)

FURYK: "I think it makes a good pairing. We have similar styles and I admire his game and the way he played this year. Good short game, good putter, and I'm looking forward to playing with him."

SNEDEKER: "Jim is a straight down the middle kind of guy, been playing really, really well and obviously driving it pretty straight and a lot of quality iron shots. Look for us to go out there and have a lot of fun out there and I think we'll team up perfectly for each other."

MCILROY: "To be honest they are not the opponents we were expecting. We know that their team is so strong all the way through but it was a little surprise to see a rookie in their first group."

MCDOWELL: "It's huge. Tomorrow morning's session is hugely important and Jose Maria has stressed that. We know they are all important but we really feel that it is very important to make a fast start."

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Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley (U.S.) v Luke Donald (England)/Sergio Garcia (Spain)

MICKELSON: "His (Keegan's) energy gets me excited and helps me stay focused on the next shot and get up for the match. We need to play our best golf to beat a very tough European team."

BRADLEY: "It feels great. I'm looking forward to playing with Phil. We have a great relationship and I think it's going to be a great partnership. I pride myself on hitting fairways and Phil is a great iron player, so that seems to match up."

DONALD: "I'm really looking forward to it. We've obviously both got unbeaten records in Foursomes and we have played well together in the past."

GARCIA: "He's my best friend on Tour. It's going to be a tough match against two very good players but we are looking forward to the challenge."

- - -

Jason Dufner/Zach Johnson (U.S.) v Lee Westwood (England)/ Francesco Molinari (Italy)

JOHNSON: "We thought (teaming up) would be good for a number of reasons. Similar games, similar demeanours. I'm pretty calm and cool out there. He might be borderline dead, but I think it's a good thing."

DUFNER: "He's going to guide me around a little bit, I think. He's a good little rock to lean on. He's been through this a little bit."

WESTWOOD: "You never have any easy Ryder Cup matches so we have just got to go out and play your own game and play well."

MOLINARI: "It's fantastic for me and a huge honour for me to play with Lee."

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Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker (U.S.) v Ian Poulter/Justin Rose (England)

POULTER: "It was my gut feeling that we would get Tiger and Strick and that is what we have got. Tiger and Strick are a very good pairing and they are going to come out at us with all guns blazing."

ROSE: " From a crowd perspective if we do manage to go out there and get a point, it could be one of those huge swing and momentum moments."

WOODS: "Strick and I are pretty comfortable together. We've had some pretty good success over the years and we both have been playing well."

STRICKER: "We are excited to go back at it again and try to win a point. It's going to be fun. A lot of excitement and anticipation leading up to the start of the matches."

(Compiled by Larry Fine; Editing by Julian Linden)

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Friday, September 28, 2012

What the players said about first day match ups