What I think that is going to impact it the most is a real demand by the consumers and investors even in these big funds, sovereign wealth funds or even VC, public money and institutional money. Welcome to the Smarter Building Materials Marketing Podcast, helping you find better ways to grow leads, sales, and outperform your competition. All right, everybody. Welcome to Smarter Building Materials Marketing, where we believe your online presence should be your best salesperson. I am Zach Williams, alongside my co-host, Beth Pompey-Glove, and we're talking about crypto today. We have been planning for this episode. We're so excited about it. For our listeners, Beth and I had actually been prepping with our team to talk about crypto. Then, I think it was you, Beth, right? You saw our guest post on this on LinkedIn, and I don't want to steal your thunder, but do you want to introduce our guest, Beth? Yeah. We're really excited to welcome back Tim Sims. Tim has decades of Building Materials industry experience. He's one of the leading thought leaders, specifically when it comes to prefab and modular construction. When I saw Tim, who I know goes real deep, real fast on anything that he cares about or is interested in, when I saw that he posted on LinkedIn about NFTs in the Building Materials space, I sent a screenshot to Zach, and I was like, I got our episode on lock. This is what we're going to do, and then Zach made it happen. By making it happen, I just slacked him. I was like, Tim, we're doing a podcast, and I just sent you an invite. I didn't even ask him if he was available. Tim, I know we literally talked yesterday, but... I'm glad the time you worked out.  That was a really interesting, exciting conversation, and I'm glad we get to talk a little bit about the subject today. Yeah, and for listeners, just a quick side note. If you don't know what crypto is, if you don't know what NFTs are, if you don't know what blockchain is, that's totally okay. We see you. We're going to put some links in the show notes to some materials and videos about that, but for today's episode, we're going to dive, I don't want to say pretty deep, but we're going to talk about things that are currently happening in reference to building materials in crypto, and then things that we see and believe are going to happen and how it's going to impact your business. Cool. Okay.  And last, I mean, I'll say two, two, three years, like since I don't know if I want to see Elon Musk made it big, but like Coinbase got really big in 2020 because people were stuck in their houses, you know? And so they're investing on Robinhood, investing on Coinbase, saw this huge run with Bitcoin, and then we saw the emergence of NFTs, which I don't know if you all remember when you first heard about NFTs, but you're like, what in the world was that? I'm going to pay money for a JPEG. How much money for a JPEG? And now we're starting to see it impact our industry. You know, like Tim, we were just talking about this before we started the show, but you can now pay for your mortgage with Bitcoin. You can now use Bitcoin as leverage for a down payment and a large portion of people, if you haven't all seen this and we'll link to this in the show notes too, a large portion of people that bought their home in Q1, sold or liquidated or used crypto in some capacity to pay for that purchase. Right. I thought it was going to be a small single digit number. And I've been following this space for a little while. And even with that, I thought it would be a smaller number. And it was in the double digits. And that was surprising to me, but it shouldn't be because it's becoming more mature and quickly. I mean, there's a coffee shop here in Cozumel called a key order is one of my favorite places. And they had a QR code on the window a couple of weeks ago that said they take Bitcoin and Ethereum. So I just use my Coinbase wallet and paid for my breakfast at the little cafe. That was really interesting. And then of course, a lot of people have seen the Super Bowl ad for with Matt Damon for crypto. And then copper.co had this huge ad campaign with Rebecca Ferguson, who was in the Dune movie. So there's just a lot more awareness, but I think with more awareness come even more issues. So I think the kick is off. Maybe, Tim, you can share with our listeners about the post that you mentioned, because I think that's actually a really good launching point.  Right. So I think the customer had listened to a podcast because there are a lot. There's a ton of content out there on YouTube and podcast platforms about crypto and DeFi and, and NFTs and blockchain and smart contracts and all these things. And they had been working on a plan to try and figure out how to make a digital representation in, you know, the metaverse or some, somewhere digitally of the physical products they make so that they contract basically and transfer knowledge about the chain of custody of their product from the forest by the trucking company to the mill, you know, that basically geocoded two by fours or whatever. You know, it is, it wasn't a lumber company, but let's use that as an analog. And so they could see the chain of custody from when something is, is grown and harvested or mined and all the way until it becomes a building material installed in a building so that there's this kind of immutable or this record that people can't disprove, but can be proven on the blockchain. So that was kind of what was behind the conversation. So I just posted the, it is like my second conversation about this topic by what I think a lot of folks feel is everyone's, oh, the, the building industry is so far behind and archaic and so forth. And there's all these legacy companies, you know, that aren't, aren't doing what they should to kind of move the industry forward. But these are real conversations happening right now. And so without giving too much away, I just posted that that was something that, that this, you know, big Fortune 500 company was interested in. And I think that if where there's, I don't want to say smoke and fire, but I guess where the conversations are visible and happening, you know, there's probably 20 other people thinking about it. And different brands and, you know, builders and forestry management is actually doing a lot with, with exploration in this field. So that's kind of what, what spurred it. And so then what happened was a lot of people messaged me and all of a sudden I got a bunch of followers on Twitter and LinkedIn from, from the crypto space. And it was just kind of shocking how fast the conversation escalated. Tim, for our listeners, you know, if I work at a manufacturer who's maybe not in the early adopter persona, can you help me understand what, what implications would this have if there were more manufacturers who started to look into things like this for their individual products? How is this going to impact our industry at scale? That's a thoughtful question because it really gets into, um, there's two kind of parts to the industry. There's sort of the, I guess self promotion or, you know, um, kind of, uh, gimmicky sort of things that they're cool. You know, it's kind of more like swag type things.  And then there's kind of the bigger kind of macro picture of, of, um, what this means, what I think that is going to impact it the most is a real demand by the consumers and investors, even in these big funds, sovereign wealth funds or, or, uh, even VC, um, you know, public money and institutional money, there's a big demand, uh, by their investors in the fund or in the company or public investors in the stock market for, um, you know, what are you really doing about, uh, ESG, environmental sustainability and governance in your company?  So it's kind of like if you're in a vacuum, it could hurt the brand. If other companies actually do make a headways in, into tokenizing and tracking their, their chain of custody and their products, um, Tim, just for listeners who maybe aren't familiar with some of these terms when you talk about chain of custody and on the blockchain, if we break that down, what that really means is, you know, if you're talking about forestry, for example, you can track where a particular tree was even harvested or forested where it was milled, how it got transported, all of that. And there's actual data on the blockchain to authenticate that. And the benefit is to, let's say even to the end, homeowner or consumer or even architecture, whoever it might be, there's a level of reassurance that like, Hey, what they're promising and their marketing is actually true. Right. And there's value there associated with that too. So I think there's that when you talk about tokenization, but I want to get back to one point, Tim, that you said, I think it's interesting you saying it was gimmicky, which is the marketing side of NFTs and tokenization, which I think is it's totally going to happen. You're already seeing it happen. It's going to be the new carpenter pencil and hat, you know, which is fine. I love carpenter pencils. That's one of my favorite things to give away on the job site. You're seeing it in like concerts and things like that, or even when someone drops a new album.  You've got a show or you've released an album and a part of the album, you get an NFT, an actual digital asset that accompanies companies that which could potentially increase in value or even you own a portion of the album and the success of the album, the same type of thing. You're starting to see that infiltrate other industries where let's say, I might even been a toy. I think it was like, uh, was it, what's the name of the, the little car company, like toy car company? Matchbox. A matchbox. Yeah. There was like actual NFTs associated with like matchbox toys. So you got the little car and then you got an NFT alongside of it. And so the thing is like the matchbox driving or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. And so I think you're going to see, so if you're manufacturing like, okay, this sounds a little gimmicky, but I think you're going to see influencers leverage that too. Like, Hey, I'm an influencer in the space. I'm partnering with so-and-so brand. My name is on this product. Oh, by the way, if you get the product, you get my limited edition NFT, you know, so there's like this added value benefit to the consumer. Right. So to take it one step further, kind of the digital representation of those concerts and so forth. Well, now these artists are going, okay, we're going to go into these metaverse type spaces and we're going to set up a concert venue and we're going to have this work where people that buy my token have access to see my live concert in the metaverse. So that, which of course they have to design all that and they have architects and designers do all that. So which is really interesting where you could see it come into play and where some folks are doing this. Gary V does a great job of this where he is tokenizing access. So basically for the community, if there's a, if there's a brand that's trying to form a community to have thought leadership or, or kind of a startup mentality or entrepreneurship at their organization or something like that, they could take that and be like, okay, this is a very exclusive group. This is how we're going to kind of incentivize it and make it, you know, very, a very special experience. And that I think that the difference between gimmicky and special is, is a fine line in any format because you go from being sort of maybe like not thoughtful to where you can, you can tell when you walk in somewhere, you smell the restaurant, you know, you get a feel for something that's really special. And then you also get the, the inverse of that. So I think that can be done well. And I think you're probably going to see a lot of, you know, consultants and, and other folks, you know, pop up in our space from other spaces that are going to help brands in this area. I mean, Beth, think, think about it this way. Like what if you are manufacturer and you've got different tiers of your partners? So like you're an installer partner level, you get an NFT associated with that, that authenticates your level of partnership, that gives you premier access and additional digital benefits. Like I think that is where we're going to see things go even further in our space. And Tim, I mean, is that gimmicky or is that just like, I don't think so. I think it's a response to the generation that's coming into the industry. I mean, Tim, you said at the beginning of the episode, something that we say all the time, which is the building materials industry is typically tracked at about 10 minimum, you know, maybe seven to 10 years behind other industries that have a typical more early adopter edge or a bit more cutting edge. But my immediate thought when you said that is, I wonder when we're going to have to stop saying that because we are actually seeing an increase in change and an appetite for the pace of change to increase across the industry. And I don't mean this rude, but statistically the generation that doesn't want change is aging out of our industry and the generation that doesn't just want change, but demands it requires it is moving in and millennials are kind of like, I mean, fine, like we're just in the middle, like, sure, you want to change. Great. You don't want to change. Fine. It's like a little annoying, but we'll do it. Why is nobody doing warranty registrations as NFTs in some capacity? Excellent. Yeah. I mean, like utility. I mean, it's not a modernization, but it is, it is like, um, well, think about you sell your house and to the person you sell, you're like, here's all of the NFTs associated with every registration for every product I have versus like handing over a stack of papers and you're like, good luck that like maybe you get access to something with this registration or this warranty. Instead, it's like, here's your entire digital asset that companies, this physical asset. Like that is where, I mean, it sounds funny, but like give it five years, maybe less, like that's a hundred percent going to be part of our daily life. Yeah. I mean, you could even have like CEUs tied to that, um, because I was thinking back to the old days when I was at James Hardy and we did, we had a realtor training program and they get, they would get like a $10 gift card or something for attaining the program, but that was hugely successful. You know, having that where they could easily like put all the warranty information in the binder and kind of add that new level of customer experience in a very analog form where they understood the product and so you could have that sort of thing going on. In fact, right now there is, um, there are actually crypto certified real estate agents and that's part of the realtor brand now. So, and why is that? It's because tokenization is happening with homes. I guess fractionalization of a home purchase where people can buy a share of a home instead of a $600,000 home and kind of, I guess, participate in the upside or the cash flow or, you know, whatever their metric is. Uh, and institutional investors are already, you know, playing in that game as part of their portfolio. So, uh, or you want to be part of a $30 million apartment building. Oh, yeah. Like a syndicate, a syndicate is a perfect example of us. Exactly. So syndications, you're going to see that a lot, a lot more. Tokenization is a game changer for real estate. If it's a game changer for real estate, then that has to go up stream to the building materials manufacturer. It has to go upstream, you know, through the builders to the building product manufacturers and the LBMs. So I don't think it can be ignored, but also, uh, one of the things that I always tell folks is, you know, you see on Shark Tank or something like that, where the investor will say, I'm going to put $25,000 of my own money in this just so I can get your, the founder newsletter. So I know, so I can follow you and know what's going on and be in the inner circle, you know, so you'll put 50 bucks in or something like that. Just so you kind of know what's going, you got a little skin in the game, you know, so you can kind of follow some of these things, uh, and as opposed to kind of a lot of folks aren't going to jump deep in the water, but but, um, I want to share this, this one quote is from Paul Doherty. He's a really cool guy. He's, uh, with the digit group that a Memphis architectural firm, they have some software they sold to Autodesk, um, and I'll see them advancing prefabrication next week. Well, he, I'm just a quick quote from, from his podcast. It says, this is our time. Everything is disjointed. People are looking for leadership and this leadership taking into account the human centric point of how a building goes together. Stop feeling guilty. He's talking to you like the architectural community and the builders stop feeling guilty about carbon footprint and how much we waste and all that stuff. Because guess what? We're only one half of the story. The other half of the story that I want to start wagging a finger at are the building product manufacturers and building material suppliers. They're creating the carbon bombs that we're blamed as constructors for to put into place. They say contracting is 40% of the carbon footprint. It is not, it is 20%. The other 20% are the fortune 500 companies that are giving us carbon bombs. So let's start taking a look at things like blockchain with immutable smart contracts that we can now start to take into account the materials as an internet beast, the internet of materials of the building. We know exactly what goes into the building. If you NFT those, you now have a life cycle immutable response to see the performance of every single material that goes into the building. Now as an industry, we can start to say to these fortune 500 companies given us carbon bombs for our buildings, we can say with that immutable data, you're not performing right.  And now we get into the real conversation of moving the needle. That's the bigger picture. You have these other, you know, the other parts of kind of the promotional and the digitization of physical assets. But then it's kind of like this bigger conversation. I think that's what's going to bring an interest young people coming into the industry because they're very sensitive to ESG.  And also digitization is kind of the tie of the realm to realms, physical and virtual worlds. And they're right in the middle of these young folks. And I think that will really help to interest them.  And one of the first things you always say is fragmented. Oh, yeah. It's incredibly fragmented. And I think, you know, the companies and people that find ways to leverage this technology to solve that problem, all the disjointed information, communication right is are the ones that are going to lead the industry and the ones that are going to be the most successful in the short term and long term, because it's not just about being in crypto because it sounds fun and it sounds sexy. It's about solving problems that otherwise would not have been able to five, ten years ago, because you have a new tool in your tool belt. No pun intended, right? And if you look around, I mean, I think this is honestly a surprisingly important conversation because crypto does seem silly. If you're on the outside and you're not interested, you're not watching what's happening. It seems silly and it's starting to lose that. I mean, when you get mortgage companies behind it, it starts to be a bit of a different discussion because mortgage companies are anything but silly. But I think this is a really important conversation because if you look at what's happening around us, it's consolidation, it's moving away from friction. It's simplification and simply to say, like if you are a company who has no plans in the next five to ten years to make improvements in your fragmentation, to make improvements in the friction that you cause, frankly, to make improvements to all the things that Tim is saying about sustainability and transparency. And you just think you're going to be able to continue to do what you've done for the last hundred years for the next hundred years, you're going to end up in a bad spot. And we're not saying you're going to end up in a bad spot in 2023. But everything that if you look at every other industry or multiple other industries, I suppose you could find an exception, nowhere is really just allowing the status quo. And you've got to follow the demand of the consumer. And consumers are starting to ask for more consumers are going to start to look at the home buying process and be like, this is dumb. Building owners are going to look at the construction process and say, this is dumb, I'm not going to do it and someone's going to fix it.  And it was easy to play catch up when it was digital. When we were like, now you just like, make a website, build social media. But if you didn't do that five years ago, you're feeling the pain now. But imagine how much easier that is than what we're talking about right now. That wasn't huge uplifts of infrastructure shifts, right? That's a huge point. It's a great point. I mean, Beth, it's why we've got a Slack channel all about crypto and then via just because we're like, we need to know as much about this as possible. Yeah. And how this is impacting not only decision making in the terms, you know, in terms of audiences that buy building products. But how is it impacting? Like Tim, you're talking about macro. Yeah, I mean, if there was some action to take near term and something as simple as, you know, a lot of organizations have some sort of chat internal chat now, like what you did with Slack, you know, raise awareness. And you never know what ideas will come out of that and encourage conversation around it. It's kind of like what we talked about before with modular, you know, and I know Mark Mitchell has talked about this a lot. You guys have talked about this a lot. If you're if you don't have someone in the company that's a champion for the space, kind of leading the conversation, other companies are going to do that. So if you if you do have that set up internally, even if it is very casual, but somewhat, you know, trackable, then when questions do come up from customers or investors or management that someone can jump in and at least know where to start looking for it. And I think that's a really, a really good place to start in the organizations, you know, the listeners. That's great. Tim, this has been awesome. Thank you so much again for coming to show. I feel like we could probably talk about this for a few hours. You know, it's a really interesting. Yeah, I have a lot more notes I'll have to show you guys. We'll have to have it back on deserves a part two. It's a big topic. It really is. Just deserves a part two. That's cool. Tim, for our listeners, if they want to connect with you or follow you or NFT with you, what's the best way for them to do that? We just turned NFC into a verb. It's now a verb. They want to send you some people don't know. Yeah. Well, I could give my public key. People could just drop money in my coin based wallet. No, I'm kidding.  Well, most people reach out to me through through LinkedIn. And so you can find me there and I respond to messages on there or my email is Tim dot s e i m s Tim dot s e i m s at gmail dot com. And that's where people can find me now. So hopefully, hopefully this has been helpful and I can help spread the word as well. People follow up. That's great. Tim, man, thank you so much again for coming to show. And for listeners, if there's something interesting you're doing in relationship to crypto and your company, your organization, drop Beth and I note. We'd love to hear about it. We're looking for more subjects to talk about this with. You can send us a note at podcasts at Venvio dot com. And if you enjoyed this also go to Venvio dot com slash podcast to subscribe and get more. Until next time, I'm Zach Williams alongside that coffee glove. Thanks


What's going on guys welcome to another vlog Just hopped out of the shower a little brief on what's going on my parents are actually in town today I'm looking at some house in for next year. So I have a few things to do I mean the guy we're meeting the real estate agent to go look at houses at 1030, but At nine it's like eight 20 or 830 right now and nine were actually meeting up with Isaac Which is my fishing coach and we're having breakfast with him at IHOP This is what I'm going to do right now get like a 20-minute drive someone push it show up on time Let's go I told you I could change the world with a sense that collect a bunch of words in a shot I don't mess a lot of moves watch your stance.  Don't be dumb I actually got My my truck washed and I didn't need I left my camera in here So I haven't been able to film but we went to a few houses and started looking and we just got back a cookout We're about to go look at some more. I'll take the camera and show a little bit of what we're doing But we still uh, you know the one I've been one house. I've been looking at it seems like the best one There's a lake in the backyard and I have to show you guys it looks pretty nice Just got the one of the houses, you know pretty nice, but I Have to show you in the backyard something behind Just this area is kind of a little far from what I'm looking for walking the backyard be aware of dog That's just perfect, you know You know, I didn't realize this tall walk back Got us a little pond Look at that Great area.  They're definitely fishing this place So just hopped in the car our real estate agent. He's actually gonna meet us back at six o'clock We looked at a few more houses I only have like a two more minutes on this car to my camera and I'm actually going back to the apartment So it's like four ten right now And so I'm going back to the apartment I'm gonna chill out for a bit put a new card in this thing and continue filming so we still have a few more houses to look at at six o'clock So we'll still look at a few more but overall head back to the apartment right now and I catch you guys Just looking at some things on Instagram right now. I mean look at a hundred thousand views That's killer. That's awesome. I can't think you guys enough for that. What else we got? I mean two hundred thousand That's great. You guys are awesome for that. Seriously, you know, Instagram is growing Pretty solid, you know, we're at like two hundred and thirty thousand, but I can't think you guys enough for that. Seriously, I mean It's really grown and really got really big over the past couple of years and it's still growing, you know every day It's going crazy.  I'm actually Fishing at one of these houses. I was looking at I just want to see if there's a fish here I'm kind of curious. I don't have any of my tackle. I was tied like a burner spinner bait on Actually, I have it on break. That's really all I had. I just want to see if there's fish in here So I'm pretty sure there there are um, but yeah, I don't have a bait anymore You know, sometimes braid gets stuck So that's how you fish boys and girls getting on your braid and I Don't ever listen to me about fish I literally just that's my only bait pretty much in my truck. I was like, I'm gonna tie it on I want to start recording That's break. It's pretty crazy I've never seen anything like that in my life Following the real estate agent to some other houses. Um, the two that I'm like most interested in Um, are actually in this neighborhood that we just looked at They don't really take I mean, there's people living in that house right now. They're not there, but it's like someone You know like bring a camera and you know Um, but they're both on the lake the ones that are in here that I'm most interested in this neighborhood Do you know really nice? There's a lot of cops. So there's safety here.  There's a fire station outside of this neighborhood like everything sets up right It's a safe neighborhood, you know, it's really presentable. All the yards are pretty nice. It's not like You know, really trashy once so ever is like people are actually taking care of their stuff, which I love Just the two houses in here. They're really small.  It's just like perfect size, you know, when I have a little office area as well For when I do my videos and just Chill out and get everything done Um, that I have to do But right now we're going over to look at a few more houses.  Oh my god, so far away from my water, isn't it? Do that This is a house in a whole new neighborhood still going through everything It's pretty nice yard's a little more messier, but I could probably fit the boat in the back I Has actually just got dinner with uh chance and his Dad and his girlfriend with my parents, but uh Overall, I just wanted the vlog today, you know to show you like the day in the life the whole type deal Because obviously you guys just want to see that you guys want to see me live my life That's what I want to do, but thank you guys so much for watching if you enjoyed this video Please hit the thumbs up button leave a comment below and I'll catch you guys At the next video


Welcome back to the 43rd Ryder Cup here at Whistling Straits. We are with Shane Lowry. Shane, 34 years old, is there any extra gratification being on this team, and Lou, of how hard you work to get here, especially because perhaps it didn't come earlier in your career in an easier fashion? Yeah, I suppose I haven't really thought about it like that. Look, I'm just happy to be here. I think it shows how hard it is to make a Ryder Cup team. I've had a pretty decent career so far, and it's all led up to this now. And I'm here this week, and I'm happy to be here playing for Europe, and so excited to get out there competing and hopefully winning points at the weekend. OK, let's hit the floor here. We'll start right behind me, number 20. Hi, Shane. Can you give us a little bit of insight into what the guys have been getting up to behind the scenes, team room last night, anything like that? Not much, to be honest. We've been just chilling. We've got a great setup back in the hotel. We've got a great team room. There's a great buzz every evening, good atmosphere, and everyone's just kind of sitting around hanging out. Yeah, not much, not a whole lot, to be honest. Just sitting around chatting. We've obviously had a few team meetings, few little things that we've had to do with the captain and the vice captains, but I'm obviously not going to say too much about those. And yeah, it's just been great fun. We've obviously only been here a couple of days, but I'm loving it. Like, I'm really enjoying myself and trying to soak it in as much as I can. Let's go back left. Scott's back there, number 25. Hey, Shane. You said after you got picked for the team that this ranks as sort of a crowning achievement for your career and kind of raised some eyebrows, considering you want to clear a jug in Ireland, can you sort of explain why it means so much to you and why this is such a big accomplishment for you? Just because I've never done it before. And it's something as a European player, look, you obviously want to win majors and you want to compete at the highest level and golf, for the most part, is an individual sport. But as a European player, as an Irish player grown up, you've watched Ryder Copes. Obviously, you know, Christie Jr., Philip Walt, Neymar Darcy, Rory, G-Mac, Paddy, Paul, Darren. All the great Irish players that have played the game. For me, it was something that I really wanted to do and I felt like I had to do. Do you know what I mean? If I want to be up there with those guys when you're talking about really good or a great Irish golfer. So it's something that I've, you know, I felt like I let it slip in 2016 and I should have made that team. I didn't play great towards the end of that campaign. And when I got my chance to share, I felt like I really wanted to take it. Obviously, I needed a pick at the end of the day and I'm very grateful that Paddy has put his trust in me. But yeah, it's just something, as an Irish player grown up, it's, you know, playing a Ryder Cop is just, it's right up there with everything. And obviously, you know, now that I'm here, there's only one goal for us a week and that's to win.  We're going to go straight back, 26. Yeah, do you think that your golfing upbringing kind of equips you well for playing here because it seems to be pretty windy and I'm going to say that way? And if so, what are the kind of skills that you have that help you in those conditions? Yeah, I do think I'm pretty happy with the conditions here, to be honest. I'm pretty happy with the golf course and that cold wind.  So it's just little things like I feel, you know, might help me this week or conditions and, you know, stuff like that. But yeah, how do you go with coping with it? It's just sometimes it's hard to practice for that. You just kind of need to know how to do it. And I feel like I know how to do it. So I'm very excited to get out there competing and, you know, hopefully winning some points. I'm going to go over here to number 6 on your right. Shane, you know, obviously when the US plays in this thing, they carry around the US flag. They play for their country. With Europe, it's a bunch of different people from different places. What's sort of the rallying point that makes, that brings you guys together in such a good fashion usually? Um, I honestly have no idea. But when you enter that team room, there's almost like something just hits you. Like it just feels, it just feels so good to be a part of a group like this and a group of great players, you know. I was sitting back the other evening with Terrell Hatton. And we were just kind of soaking it all in. And you look around the room and Sergio Garcia is there and Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood and, you know, some of the greats of European golf. Obviously the vice captains are there who are the greats of European golf as well. Paddy is our captain who's, you know, one of the all-time greats of European golf. And I just think to be a part of a group like that just feels so special. And it just feels so special to be here competing for Europe. And I think we all believe so much in ourselves and we all believe so much in each other that, you know, we're here playing for each other and we're here fighting for every last point and every last point we can get. We're fighting not only for ourselves this week, but for each other. And I have no idea why that is that way with Europe. But, you know, that's just the way it is and that's the way it has been for many years. I'm going to go back to number 10 in the back row. That's me, Shane. All the best this week. Thank you. Good to see the green hat. How cool was it yesterday when you were called out as number 163 of 164 players to play for Europe in the Ryder Cup, a special moment? Yeah, very special. I think it just goes to show, you know, how few people have actually played the Ryder Cup for Europe and how hard it is to do it. And I'm, you know, very proud of myself of what I've achieved to get here.  But yeah, it's, it is, it is pretty cool when you see how few people have done that. And it's just, it is very special. It's, you know, it was pretty cool on Monday evening when we, you know, watched that video with everyone in the team room and the team room was pretty full and he made the rookie stand up and take an applause. And that was pretty cool. And yeah, it's just been, look, the whole week so far, I know we're only two days in has been, has been an unbelievable experience and I'm so excited for what lies ahead. We're going to go same direction, number 12. Hi, Shane. I think I'm right in saying that Puerto Rico said that every player will have his own special mission this week. I'm just wondering, what's your mission and have you set yourself your own, your own mission, your own promise to yourself? That's the first I've heard of that. My mission, my mission in my own head is to, look, I don't care if I don't make any points this week and we win on Sunday. It doesn't bother me. I don't care if I don't play and we win on Sunday. It doesn't bother me. So there's only one thing that matters this week and that's winning the trophy. And that's, you know, it won't be a successful week unless we're standing there with the Ryder Cup on Sunday evening. So I'll do whatever it takes to be there on Sunday evening with the Ryder Cup as a part of this team. And yeah, whether it be playing loads or not playing at all, it doesn't bother me. I just have to do what I'm told this week and do it well. Straight across four. Shane, as a captain's pick and being selected by one of your real good friends, do you feel added pressure to not let him down? No. I don't think there's gonna be any, you can't feel any more pressure than there's probably gonna be out there on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  We're playing for the European tour. You know, we're playing for a whole lot of things. So obviously I'm a captain's pick but I was, look, I was very close to making the team. I was first man out, felt like I deserved a pick. So yeah, I feel like I deserve to be here. So if I didn't feel like I'd deserve to be here, it'd probably be a bit different but I really feel like I deserve to be here. And you know, I'm, like I said, I'm just excited for the week ahead. Dog on 23. Shane, as a first timer, I'm sure you've kind of had in your head kind of some expectations of what the week would be like. Having been here for a couple of days, has anything matched whatever expectations or thoughts or visions you had? And did anything surprise you? It's everything I expected and way more.  I'm in a part of a group like this. It's, it's, it's hard to explain how special it is. It's kind of, you know, a good chat with GMAC the other day and, you know, he said at certain points, you kind of want to stand back this week and really look at what you're doing and soak it all in. And I'm trying to do that as best I can. And it's just, it's just so special to be here. It really is. And you know, anybody that's known me, anyone that's been my friends and family back home, my teammates or my team, anybody that's been involved in me over the last 10 years knows how much I really wanted to be here. And, you know, I'm here now. And it's just, yeah, it's, it's everything I expect and more. We're going to go to eight over here on your right. Shane, you were asked earlier about what unifies Team Europe. And I was curious, is America itself maybe some kind of unifying factor that whatever status America enjoys in the world of golf does that sort of motivate Team Europe as in we want to beat the juggernauts or however you think of that, is that part of it? I don't know. No, like, I don't know. Like I said, I don't know. Like, I genuinely don't know what brings us together as well as we do. As I say, we, like, just my first one, but like, you know, you watch European Ryder Cup teams over the years and they do seem to have that something that it takes to compete in this tournament. And you just can't teach that or you can't train that or you can't buy that. It's just something that has to be, has to come from within. Like it's something that I think we've had and we have this week and, you know, hopefully we can bring it out and perform our best and then, you know, Sunday evening, hopefully it'll be our week. You wouldn't say there's a special chip on your shoulder in regards to America or for the team itself? No, like, look, we know all the American players. We play week in, week out with them on the PGA Tour and, you know, some of us are friendly with them, you know, it's, they're just, they're just a team that are in our way this week to do what we want to do and we want to beat them. And that's, you know, that's just the way it is. I don't think there's anything there that makes us want to beat them more than just want to be standing there with the trophy on Sunday evening. It's nothing about them or nothing about their country. It's just, they're in our way for what we want to do this week. And yeah. Front left, 19. Shane, when Patrick was winning his majors in 0-708, what role did that have in inspiring you as a younger player? And can you account your first encounter with him? Yeah, I think, I always say, like, look, we've been very fortunate in Ireland over the last since the 2007, you know, when it comes to major golf, how successful we've been. You look at what Paddy did and then obviously GMAC after him and then Rory, Darren and myself.  It's been great. And I think Paddy kind of paved the way for the rest of us to kind of maybe believe more in ourselves and believe that we can do it. And it's obviously been great. My first encounter with him, I don't really know, to be honest, obviously, it was probably when I came on tour. But he was over here a lot. I didn't really get to know him until I was a few years out on tour. Obviously, I would have played a few practice rounds with him and stuff whenever I could. But, you know, I got to know him while over the last five or six years and we've since formed a great friendship and it's just great to be here as a part of his team because he is one of my good friends.  All right, last question, really quick, 24. Hi, Shane. GMAC obviously advised you to sit back and soak it in a bit.  Not sit back and stay out of the way. Sit back and, you know, kind of soak in what's going on around you and then get to work like it's... I do believe I'll have, you know, a big part to play in this team this week. And I do believe that, you know, I can bring a lot when it comes to it on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, when push comes to shove in this tournament. But, yeah, I don't think I meant that.  I just have to be myself. I think I was asked about it, you know, on the Sunday evening after I got to pick, you know, what can I do this week? And I think if I just be myself this week, I think that'll be good enough. So I just go out there and be myself and hopefully pick up some points. And like I say, hopefully win that trophy on Sunday. Don Shane, thank you for your time today and have a terrific day and week. We are joined by Mr. Tommy Fleetwood. Tommy, welcome to what is your second career, Ryder Cup. It's been three years since Paris and your European team is similar but different. Is there, is the concept of momentum, can you carry something over like that over three years or maybe it goes back further with the recent successes of Team Europe? Can you have momentum from previous Ryder Cups? I guess if you look at it like that, I think, yeah, we've got a fantastic record over the, you know, however many years in the Ryder Cup. So I think we always can draw on that and take from that. I think probably what we do is we have a lot of experience in what has gone so well for Team Europe at Ryder Cups in the past. And I think we take that with us and draw from that. And then I'm sure any time a Ryder Cup comes around, it's a new challenge and a new group of players. So it's its own individual week, but I think what we take is experience and a lot of good times in recent years and a lot of things that we know have worked. So I think that's what we do. Okay, let's go to your back right, number nine.  But he's not here this week. And you recently played with him. I'm just kind of curious if he expressed any thoughts to you about not being here, if it feels somehow a little lonely without him. No, definitely, definitely not lonely with the guys and the team that we have. I, you know, I feel massively privileged to be here with everybody that's part of the team and loving every minute. I think Fran, of course, like players that either, you know, anybody that hasn't played a Ryder Cup or when you have been to one, you want to be part of it all the time and you want to be just adding and contributing something to the team. So he would, of course, love to be here. Speak to him all the time. He's a massive supporter of the team and he will be this week. But for me, you know, it's another Ryder Cup.  It's with some new guys, but guys that you see all the time. And I think just being part of Team Europe, everybody feels and is made to feel so at home and so part of it. And I love being in the environment that we create when a Ryder Cup comes around. Again, in the back right, number 11. Hi, Tommy, you probably hugged more Europeans in Paris than you're going to see all week here.  Are you going to be able to get yourself up and show the same energy without the fans out there? I think we create ourselves and we do it with each other. Of course, this is a different challenge, a different atmosphere for us and something that I've actually never experienced before. So even though it's not my first Ryder Cup, it's my first one in America, I'm still excited by the challenge and what the crowds, what a way crowd for us brings to it and that advantage that maybe the Americans have. But I think I'm really, really looking forward to going out with my teammates and going and fighting for this Ryder Cup together and either pulling each other up or whatever it is that we need to do to do that. But I'm looking forward to going out there with the guys and just creating our own atmosphere. Has there ever been a moment when you've looked back on Paris and thought, oh, the hell do I follow that? No, it's memories that I will have and that team will have for a lifetime and hopefully we'll do the same in this one. But whatever happens in each individual event, whether it be a Ryder Cup or major or regular tournament, life goes on and there's always the next challenge around the corner and that's just what this is. So let's just create our own memories this week and keep them in the locker forever as well. Front right, one again. So really, how much do you miss Francesco this week and then if there was a substitute for Bollywood this week, like a different version, would it be like this Patrick Wood, with Berger Wood? I mean, it's not the same thing. I think Mollywood was a great name. I think we have that one given to us. But you know, it's... Listen, like Mollywood was in Paris and I think we're obviously very, very close. I think people may be overly focused on it. It's not around this week, but also we have an unbelievable team and I can't wait to partner up with whoever that's going to be and whatever the captain wants me to do, what sort of matches he wants me to play, who would like me to play with, who we fit well with, it's the same for all the guys. I had an incredibly lucky experience that in my first Ryder Cup as a rookie I had someone like Francesco that was by my side and he was obviously playing great and I was playing well, but none of that really matters at all this week. It's completely different and I'm just excited to play with whoever my partner is as is the rest of the team. Rex, number three. Tommy, everyone talks about how extreme the first experience is, but the first pair seems to be the extreme example of that. How would you describe your experience three years ago before you walked over for your first match? I had a really good experience of it because I think the first team at the Ryder Cup you do hear from a lot of people, you hear unbelievable stories about how nervous you are, can't put the ball in the tee, you're seeing three balls, you just want to make contact and being on that first tee, going into Paris for 18 months my goal for the Ryder Cup was standing on that first tee on Friday morning and I'd pictured it so much, I'd pictured what the crowd would be like, I could hear the roars, I could see the first fair because it was a golf course that we were so familiar with so I had such a clear image of what my goal was that year sort of when I walked onto the first tee I kind of achieved that goal and I had like a, it was by far a calming sensation but it wasn't like the horror story of not being able to put the ball in the tee or anything like that, I was playing with this blue Nike Firewood which was my favourite club of all time that eventually bent but I had a lot of things going for me on the first tee and I had a particularly nice experience I managed to like pull draw one that just about stayed in the fairway but that was a good experience for me and yeah, I think players that have played in a Ryder Cup can all say the same thing about first tee is an incredible place to be in golf it's something that we don't experience ever except for once every two years but at the same time we all strive and dream to be there and experience whatever that is whether it is you can't put the ball in the tee whether it is you feel like you're going to miss the ball whatever it is you've dreamt of this your whole life so thrive on it and enjoy it Back right number seven Hi Tommy, I'm curious do you think the essence of a good pairing is one where your games mesh together or one where your personalities mesh together? I think what is the 24 players there and I think the 24 are the best players in the world games obviously do play a part I think personality is probably if I was to favour one that's more important the other I would probably go with that one just for the sheer level of golf that we all play week in, week out and obviously foursome is a different thing altogether you've got golf balls and what not I know how people play but a lot of it goes down to if you play well then you're a good team and that's all you can really do but I think again Europe is so lucky with the personalities that we have and how well we gel together and everything and we've always come out of it really really good Going over here on your left the Andrew 21 Tommy, I was going to ask you something different but now you mention it what have you done with the Blue 95 would it bend to the base right of Cubshot with? It's in the garage somewhere it deserted me at Bay Earl 1 year where it just sort of bent so Do you bend it? No I didn't bend it it was just out of overuse unfortunately 24 We're hearing a lot about how they've set the course up to suit the kind of bombing game of Dishambo I just wondered if you agree with that if you could describe that for our layman readers what that means on the course and if so what do you need to do to kind of combat it? I think for the majority of time and as a simple rule of life if you're going to hit 350 and straight it's going to suit your most courses so I like setting a course up like that is always going to Bryson it's got an advantage for our Fari it's sitting for our relatively straight I sort of got a sense when I was playing it yesterday I didn't really think it made that much difference that's the sort of obviously first morning and I couldn't really see there was a few holes where you know probably didn't feel like it was that much of an advantage I think at the end of the day you still got to play and you know like setting it up like when you ask a question and say set it up for Bryson they have 11 other players as well so all of those have still got to play the same golf course the same as those and I'm not really sure I think on any given day like everybody has to play and you have to play well I think the wind is going to have a massive effect we played it yesterday and one wind apparently it's a different wind on Friday so we'll see it's hard to judge from nine holes of golf yesterday on the first day when you're sort of getting into it and getting everything ready and all of that but we'll get a closer look today and see how that goes but no matter how the course is set up for whoever you still have to go out and play golf and you know that's just what we'll all keep in mind Doug Ferguson 23 Tommy it seems like for you know we have four days of practice and pictures and team rooms and then Friday morning hits and it goes so quick warp speed almost what are your recollections of that in your first writer cup and is it something you can even try to explain to the three first timers you have yeah the week goes quick and for sure there is so much more to do than anything we do on a regular basis it is it's an incredible week I think it's it's definitely difficult to you have to be mindful of it it's difficult to find a rhythm a lot of the time with the amount that's going on and what you have to do and if you kind of have that in mind and know that not be too hard on yourself out on the golf course on practice days get your stuff done and work into Friday because Friday, Saturday, Sunday is what matters in the week and I think yeah as soon as the week starts it goes quickly and the pressure in the atmosphere lasts from the first tee all the way to the last on Sunday which is unlike anything else that we get as well so we have amazing rookies in our team as the USA and I think for our rookies we're not lacking in experience or winning tournaments or handling big moments so yeah the radical is different I think the guys definitely seem very comfortable in the team room, they seem good at the golf course and everything I think they're going to be great Did you find it hard to go to sleep at night because the buzz, the adrenaline was so great or were you so exhausted you were out quick Even each other out I think I'm always like the first ones to bed anyway I think so I'm always fine with that Right back here number 20 Hi Tommy, for a long time in this event Tiger Woods would have been the scout but every European would have wanted, he's not here obviously this time, who would be the American you'd most like to defeat this week I don't really care you know just whoever if I don't beat anybody in the team wins then great, if I beat everybody in the team wins then great all we want to concentrate on is getting the points for Europe and then celebrating and moving on and having that so we just want to go out and play and whoever your opponents are they're going to be 12 of the best players in the world and you're just going to go out and have to play your game and hopefully get the points that we need Last question, very quick 10 Morning Tommy You're hugely popular wherever you go and probably one of the most popular European players with American fans Have you ever experienced the tackled or the crowd rooting against you? Not very often No, I think this is a very very different experience and yeah like I say this is my first Ryder Cup in America and I have not you know I don't have the experience of previous Ryder Cups and you know the away fans they're all just part of the Ryder Cup that's what it is that's what makes the event so special great I've of course spoke to the guys the experienced guys that have played a few and you have to thrive off that atmosphere and play your game and enjoy it in a way and that's I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like I'm looking forward to getting stuck in and yeah whatever happens it's all just part of the Ryder Cup and you know happy to be here and happy to be competing for Team Europe I thought you might say Sunday and Port Rush I don't remember that day Alright Tommy thank you for the time have a great day and a great stay Thank you We are joined by Bernd Beesberger Bernd welcome to your first career the first Ryder Cup of your career Curious when it became apparent and I guess I'm not familiar with the European notification system but when you were assured of being on the team who was the person that you reached out to that you were most excited to hear that news with and you know just who was that person you wanted to connect with emotionally about making this team Yeah in my case it was I'm probably the given that the free captain speaks of it actually came after me but I was probably the last to qualify for European teams or deep into Sunday afternoon at the PGA championship at Wentworth so I was quite nerve-wracking but I'm here right now you know given that I'm playing my first Ryder Cup it's been obviously a big goal of mine to be part of a European team and as you can imagine we've got all a lot of people who have worked with us or supported us from different stages of our career but obviously it's very personal and very emotional when you get to qualify for those teams so family was the immediate call up once I got the thumbs up after the Sunday round at Wentworth to be part of the team. Let's hit the floor for some questions and we'll begin with Doug number 23 behind me. One of the picks that Patrick did, Poulter went out of his way to mention you as one of his best friends I'm just curious how that relationship will be and what you think of him. With Ian? I think the whole European team knows each other very well we've played a lot of golf with all of the guys I've played a lot of golf with Ian I've played four Europe together with Ian on the Eurasia Cup a couple years back so I think everyone within this team has a long standing connection with each other and you know everybody gets along really well with each other on the team room so you relax the atmosphere and I feel like Ian and myself are very similar in character we have good banter and good fun on and off the golf course so yeah you can imagine it's always quite entertaining when you stand on the golf course with Ian regardless if it's the Ryder Cup week or any other. How are you guys similar? Do your eyes ever get really bug out or? I sure hope you see a lot of eyes poppin' this week from all the European members but his intensity is unique especially during this week I hope we're going to see lots of it as well this week and I'm sure I'm going to try my best as well to channel my inner Ian pool and get some of that going this week as well. Front right, Juan Guillen So Brett, I think it's been an emotional like two and a half or three years until here you were in, then out, then in, then out how do you leave that? Did it put pressure on your game or was it better for your game? You know last time, the Ryder Cup in Paris I was part of chairman speaking TV and tried to give my senses to what's going to be the outcome so I was on this side of the press conference and trying to you know make sense of what's going to happen that week and along this week something kind of fueled inside me and I drove it and took it as motivation to be once my injury was healed that I had in 2018 to be part of one of these teams I never really vocalized it or spoke about it too much but it was definitely a massive motivation to be the first experience of Ryder Cup first hand, it was my first one I've been to but even more so giving myself the chance to be part of that of a European team and those days in Paris definitely started that and everything that was along on that journey were steps in the letter and I've had some really good success since and I'm very proud to have played my way on the European team in that way I know this is a team and you represent Europe but I mean representing your country are you getting that response already from your country man what kind of messages or feedback are you getting? No everybody is super excited in Austria we've had we have some great talent in Austrian golf with you for having an Austrian representing Europe in the Ryder Cup I'm very proud that it's me I'm absolutely certain that I won't be the last Austrian who represents Europe at the Ryder Cup but you know as you can imagine everybody is really really excited and looking forward to the week and as am I to you know get going on Friday and put the Austrian flag on the European Ryder Cup team banner just as much as victory for Norway and you know maybe even write a little piece of golfing history for Austria so everybody is really excited to get a lot of messages and hopefully well I'm sure that there will be tremendous support from home as well during the whole week Bern over here number 19 Jeff I guess you received number 164 of the 164 when you saw that what resonated with you and then what does that mean exactly I think it's a brilliant idea what the guys have done I'm very very proud to to have that number for life everybody is buzzing and the individual aspect of the game that we have but this week we all come together yet everybody has that number and nobody can ever take it from them I was very very surprised that it's been this few actually I could have not told you if you would have asked me how many players would have represented the European team in the history of the Ryder Cup so I'm going to be 164 and it's going to be amazing and the guys really loved it it brings a great theme to the whole week for us back right number 7 Hallo Bern with all the emotions going on and media and everything else how much does this affect your personal routine you usually do before a tournament you know I think we all came here knowing that it's a different different type of week as individuals I think we normally have our all kind of schedule and preparation time that we have for the events but this week is totally different we're all have a little bit of an agenda everyone and the schedule but I was in my case because I'm a rookie I've not experienced this before I was I got a lot of input from former captains and the senior players we've been here many times and manage expectations and manage my schedule and manage our schedule so everybody is rested up and well prepared for when push comes to shove on Friday we're going to go to number 6 what do you think from you were an outsider now you're an insider these guys kind of from different countries really together to be such an effective team at the Ryder Cup over the years I mean it's tough to put it down on one one thing I kind of always stood where you were and thought what is it that makes this European team in a way always getting from the underdog position to a victorious team especially over the last couple of years at the Ryder Cups and being part of the team being part of the bigger picture of what is Team Europe this week but I suppose over the last couple of years it really bonds us really well together obviously all the guys are unbelievable golfers but the way everybody comes together everybody loosens up for the week has fun it's always their time goes out there do their work and get prepared as good as we can but then just detach and have the best time possible is really great to be a part of and experience that and I'm sure that also just feeds into the performance or the victorious side of things for the European team straight across the way Adam for 2-4 I'll go one at a time what was the best tip you got from one of the past captains or veteran players that was very very unique was to absolutely enjoy the week to there's going to be a lot of distractions you know as I said stuff that's going on around it enjoy have fun you know that's what I'm trying to do here as well this week and soak it all in and just let it all out there on the golf course and you've played tournaments over here in the US but I think of the 12 you're probably the one who's played the least hasn't had a pj tour card per se is that something you plan to pursue at some point? you know what happens happens I've played enough golf over here in the states tournaments WGC and the odd regular pj tour event where probably the only guy would call himself purely European based from playing standpoint but again I think I've always enjoyed the challenge of playing globally and getting the chance to play over here in the states yeah so you know whatever happens happens in the future we'll see but as for now I'm really enjoying my time in the European tour and competing on the European tour but also cherish the events that are happening for me up here in the states we're going to wrap it up last question 21 Andrew particularly in Paris the way it's developed first and second as it was it's almost like football stadium atmosphere singing, chanting is that something you think you're relish you'll have an idea of how other sports feel in team events yeah we never get stuff like this happening obviously there's people who love that player this player that player but never you either blue or red I think that's what makes the Ryder Cup the Ryder Cup first one that I experienced was Paris and I did it non-playing wise but still if you go and get on that tee regardless if you're playing the experience there for the guys must have been unbelievable and it will be the same this week but especially Paris for like it really became a big big empty theater we have it this week again and really you know bring the maximum out of the crowds for both teams so really looking forward to stepping on a packed first tee there thanks for finding us today have a great day and enjoy your stay here in Wisconsin we are with European captain Patrick Harrington Patrick the wind is up today I think everybody's seeing and feeling that how much different is this golf course with a little bit of wind let alone a lot compared to pretty docile day I mean maybe describe that and what the people experience out there yeah obviously the course is designed to play like a lynx and you need a bit of wind for that so if there's no wind it's stadium golf hit from A to B and move on whereas if it is windy like it is today and yes there was a nice bit of wind yes the difference today being cold and windy it really does affect the golf ball when the temperature drops so it's it's playing like a true lynx you got to hit wind shots you got to keep the ball down at times you've got to aim off you know off into trouble and trust that the wind is going to take it back there's lots of little issues like that when it gets windy and it's you know nobody wants it too windy I certainly don't want it too windy this week it's not you know that's not conducive to a good fair battle but a bit of wind is a true test of golf okay let's start over here number six and then we'll go to Phil we've got to say that your team's mounting a bit of a charm offence about there with the cheeseheads the colours and everything and how much do you think it's working look the crowds are great you know everybody's everybody embraced that as you would have seen on the first tee that was you know when we were doing the clothing with Laura Piano you know they were talking about maybe bringing some Irish colours in for me I'm not really into that sort of stuff so I came up with why don't we do something with Wisconsin and obviously the Green Bay Packers kind of fitted both the Irish and the Green Bay Packers and then the cheeseheads came in and a bit of you know a bit of fun with it and look it's lighthearted you want it that way it's somewhat respectful of obviously of Green Bay Packers and they were very much on board with this so a bit of fun and we got a nice reception with it and that's kind of what you want on the practice days and obviously business starts on Friday but at the moment the players are enjoying and having a having a good time with it just really remind me of 2004 on that front first tee Bernard Langer had you guys doing something similar just the way you engaged with the crowd is it all related to that do you learn from that even back then? Yeah well look I think Steve alluded to it in his press conference with me the first day that they're going to try and give the crowd something exciting and kind of kind of go back to sort of Val Halla style type thing so yeah look everybody's out here to have to get on well with the crowds there's no doubt about that we obviously can't sign autographs this week which is something that traditionally we would do so these fans have come out and they've come out in a cold day they've come out to watch us and we want to give them something to watch Phil back right Nails asked pretty much the right questions I was going to ask but I was just wondering when you were made right a captain a few years ago did you think you'd be stood here talking about throwing foam bits of cheese into the crowd I suppose not no not at all and that's it is a nod to Wisconsin and obviously the green bay that we've gone and done this we've gone with the colours and obviously the cheese heads and throwing the things up there is a bit of fun for the fans that are here but the Wisconsin fans are very appreciative so we want to show our appreciation back and it's nice we think the colours turned out nice we think the outfit looks really good the players are pretty stoked out there that they're doing something to show their respect for the local stage we're in we're going to go to Jeff over here on my right number 19 Patrick Shane was in here earlier today in talking about the friendship you two have developed the last five or six years or so what's the sense of pride for you to watch him earn his spot on this team and what does he bring to this team he brings an awful lot into the team room all three rookies do he's got a great personality in there and really mix as well and helps the others golfing wise he's a big time player he delivers on a big stage he's good under that sort of pressure and he has that belief so he's ideally suited for this sort of format match play golf course but really for the occasion and he's definitely embracing it for sure very happy with the way he's going about teams and as I said he's the sort of guy who delivers on the big stage so looking forward to that this week we're going straight back to Alex 23 Patrick just to understand the Green Bay thing just a little better when did you make that decision it must have been a long time ago yeah it's at least maybe two years ago at this stage when you're going through the clothing with lower piano you're looking at the different colours and as I said the first the obvious one oh do you want to wear some green for Ireland and I I'm thinking well look this is a European team let's do something different and then I said well why not recognise Wisconsin where we're going to play and it fit it in very nicely then to go with the Green Bay Packers so yeah it was just a really nice idea and obviously it grew a little bit when it came to the cheese heads and the foam and the hats and I said they were very good Green Bay Packers that they we've been in contact they bought into it too and they supplied the hats and that so it was you know worked very well in all sides let's go across way to Derek number five and now I'm a fan for life and considering I'm going to say this I'm a Patriots fan so now I'm a Green Bay Packers fan so I changed the legion somewhat the conversion I just wonder on a long and demanding course like this one do you have to be careful in how much you ask of the veteran players and your team I mean is it really absolutely yeah you know we all know and Ryder Cuffs there's a fine line between playing too much trying to stay fresh fine line 36 holes a day obviously I have a slightly older team experienced team pretty fit team you know that's the one thing about you know we're not struggling in that sense somebody older guys you know like you could put a Sergio or Paul Casey they're fairly fit and strong you don't see them having any issues with playing 36 holes if they have to but yeah it's something I would be aware of that you don't want to burn players out before the weekend before the Sunday front right our friend Juan Guillen go ahead Juan so the American players are coming through and kind of talking more openly about their parents or what the players they play well with that's what we had Candleep talking about Trofele we had Justin Thomas talking about speed and then we know that there's probably no chance that the Shambu and Kepka are going to play together so that's it give you an advantage to kind of have this information and how you're going to talk about that mainly I'm focused on my team somewhat when it comes to positioning the players you know yeah I would have a look at who we think we're going to come up against what positions and try and mix a match depending on what we like so yeah not at this stage but definitely when it actually comes to one, two, three or four matches yeah we would look to see well who do we think we're coming up against and who wants what so yeah look it's a little part of it it's not it certainly wouldn't be you know there's no point in focusing too much on the other team you have no idea just like you said with Brooks and Bryce and you know people have asked about that so much and I keep going well we just don't know they could be the best of pals this week partnership thrown out there so I'm not focused on anything really about what they're doing until I'm kind of looking at my order of positioning of my partnerships and then maybe it might go well you know who wants to play against who Captain we're going to beam out to Adam Schupack Adam go ahead you're with Captain Harrington Adreck in 2018 Thomas Bjorn gave his team a little bit of incentive promising them that he would get a tattoo at a certain place on his body if the team were to win I'm wondering if you have made some similar type promise to them this year's team I am delighted that that's all they asked for because I'd given up a lot more so yes I will be getting a tattoo if my team produce a winning week I will be getting a tattoo to mark the occasion and very comfortable that's that they only asked that much of me because I would have given more if they actually asked you to do that I think it's an unwritten rule so it has come up yes in conversation maybe didn't ask maybe I offered and they felt that was enough but definitely it's it's a given now in Europe Captain has to get a tattoo and I don't have any other tattoos at this stage so it would be a new experience for me we're on the body I know it depends no I can't cut that right it depends how long it is I'm going to get you off the hook we're going to go to Eamon here at number 4 Roderick Polter said earlier that he relishes this kind of chest thumping atmosphere and would never apologize to any opponents over the years that have been irritated by him is it useful as a captain to have one guy who's not afraid of being a lightning rod to let other guys on the team kind of fly under the radar if he draws any public criticism I think very much in what you said there in many senses it's useful to have somebody who takes the attention and somebody takes away from others it's useful for somebody to help build up other players to get them into it so there's a lot of emotional swings around about this and you have to be very wary of it because as Rory spoke earlier it's easy to get involved and then burn yourself out for the weekends and then the players play for the glory in this match they come here because they get an experience that they get nowhere else so they want to have the excitement you only have to look at the celebrations of the individual players when they've won matches they're nothing like what they celebrate when they win tournaments the character does change of a player this week so emotionally you have to watch that and good and bad can tire themselves out doing that so and Polter he is who he is and we wouldn't ask him to be anybody different it's fun to him there's nothing in it to him that's in any way it's not a deliberate thing it's a bit of fun to him it's a bit of his personality and he just likes having a he is maybe a little bit of Marmite he's pretty much a crowd favourite because of his personality just filled with other guys on the team to sit back and let Ian get attention for the week so they can go about their business absolutely you have players that just focus on playing golf they're just golfers they want to concentrate they want to know what they're doing just like a regular week and you have other players that want a bit more of a hyped up week and can deal with it not everybody wants that and he can take it and can be a lightning rod to inspire the team and also as you said maybe to give other guys a quiet or an easy run time for a couple more we're going to go back to right number 9 Ewan there's been so much chat understandably about the kind of partisan crowd this week in 90% it's going to be American crowd at what point does that become there's so much expectancy on them delivering here it is an interesting one there's no doubt most of the focus for us coming in is the fact that it is going to be 90% 10% 80% 20% and as I've said all along Europe we'd rather play in front of 40,000 Americans than zero fans but it has maybe when we got here has changed a little bit you can see that there's expectation pressure from the fans going the other way they have a new strategy so yeah there's no doubt home captain has to deal with pressure and stress but it's not like we don't have to deal with it too so a little bit out of no doubt about it and I suppose we just have to wait and see we'll wrap her up on number 10 go ahead it's been long enough out there and quite blustery Shane said earlier that certainly won't hurt from a European team perspective if it's like that over the coming days this would be a beach day at home yeah look my players don't need that they're good enough they're great ball strikers so we're not looking for extreme windy conditions tricky conditions the best we're all happy that the temperature is to go up on Friday we don't have a problem with that we're relying on ourselves not relying on outside agencies and the conditions but yeah maybe there is a little bit of an advantage if it does go that way but as I've always said we really have probably our best team ever of ball strikers so we're not relying just like we're not going to be hiding players or anything like that we're not relying on conditions to give us the edge bonus question 20 sorry Patrick someone just texted me that's in the media center do you have any key holes out here this week that you can think of? all 18 all 18 you've got to start at the first you've got to be ready to go you know you can't just pick out one hole you know clearly 17 is a really tough hole an 18 as well if your matches go there they're going to be the key holes 18 is the key hole if you get to it but you've got to play 17 holes before that so every hole in itself is important I can't see why you would choose any particular hole making a big difference to the match there isn't exactly you know if this was stroke play or something like that you might have a risk reward hole that you could play safe depending on how you're going and if you had to you could chase and go for it but this is match play you've got to play it under conditions today how your match is going at that moment so yeah I can't say a particular key hole even though there would be if it was stroke play you're not getting through this tournament until you finish that last hole for sure but in match play you've just got to play each hole as it comes Captain thanks for your time today I've got to give Brian Kio a question there he's travelled a long way and I can't even put his hand up come on Brian you've obviously made a big effort to get to know your players as well as possible and you know many of them very well just wondering has anybody exceeded your expectations so far this week and surprised you with what they've brought to the party Victor and it's hard to believe he could exceed it but he's been brilliant burnt, very relaxed and obviously Shane is right on expectation there the rookies that are in the team the other guys I knew what to expect they've been great probably as captain probably Sergio a little bit more has exceeded my I kind of knew this but really he works really hard behind the scenes I wouldn't say there isn't a player in that room that hasn't had a quiet word Sergio hasn't had a quiet word so he's continually working working that so probably if ultimately they're all doing everybody's doing their job but nobody is in any shape or form below but definitely Sergio has really I suppose done what he should do what he's expected to do but definitely delivering in the team he's just great fun to be around he really is really good he's embracing it he's at the centre of a lot of the of the banter and fun he's excellent I've got to say he's kind of we kind of knew that a bit about Victor like Tyrrell was that guy the last time in 2018 he came in and you kind of see the personality on the golf course but his personality in the locker room is completely different and I wouldn't say that about Victor but he's certainly living up to it he's certainly the centre the fun in the locker room


I'm a sports injury epidemiologist and some people don't know what epidemiology is. I like to describe it as saying it's the who, what, where, when, why, how of people becoming ill or injured. So it's kind of like being a big disease detective. If I can tell you who's at highest risk of being injured during which type of activities, I can probably try to find a way to intervene to prevent those injuries. Youth sports specialization is actually a really hot topic right now. Intuitively, it makes sense to us that it is probably bad for a very young athlete to specialize in only one sport. We would like to see them play multiple sports so they have a natural way of cross-training. Every year when I leave this I have a little pad full of ideas for new research projects and potential collaborations and this year would be no different. I already have four or five ideas jotted down. It was great for me to be invited to this conference this year. I love the fact that we have an audience that has both elite level, little world-renowned orthopedic surgeons and we have injury epidemiologists and researchers. And bringing those two together is what makes this conference something that I want to come back to every year.