Welcome back. Still wine in the morning. Thank you for staying with us if you're just joining us. Well, you're still on time for the second conversation. You missed the first one. But not to worry, you can still get it on our YouTube channel at Y254. Make sure you follow us there. For now, we want to move to the entrepreneurship talk, and today we want to speak about the international education, especially being that today is the International Day for Education. So, we want to get to know about the international education, the system, how it works, why is it better if at all it's better than our education system, the CBC, the newly introduced education system that is there. And for this, we have Jean-Francis Cialo to help us with the conversation. She is a professional tutor and a communication specialist. Thank you so much. Good morning. Good morning. So, tell us what you do exactly. I know I've introduced you, but tutoring, what exactly do you do? A tutor, I teach mathematics and chemistry. I have a tuition centre in Rwanda. It's a startup tuition centre, so we're growing day by day. So, we focus on 8 for 4. We do the international curriculum. That is an excellent Cambridge. Okay, amazing.  I used to teach in high school, I used to teach at a school in Nairobi, but I resigned to focus more on the tutoring because I have my own students, both locally and internationally, in UK, in US. So, you have a feel of both the education system 8 for 4 and the international system. Yes, yes. Let's just start with the international education system. How does it work? How different is it from the 8 for 4 system? Okay, there are quite a number of differences. First, looking at the content. Normally, for the international curriculum, it's widespread because from what I used to teach, I used to teach in high school. So, the content, the work that I used to teach from 1 to 4, here it's distributed from year 9 all the way to year 13. So, for my year 13 students, year 12 and year 13 are doing something that I used to teach in form 4, meaning the content that we teach here for 4 years, there it's taught for 5 years, that is from year 9 to year 13. So, it's widespread and it favors students in the sense that if you look at this curriculum, the exam tends to be favorable to all students. There's a question that, let me call it for the lack of a better term, the students will be able to answer, meaning they will not get a zero, as you would expect in our 8 for 4. Because in 8 for 4, the exam tends to be very broad, and the questions tend to be a bit hard for the students. That is where you see so many students getting ease like what we saw in the previous KCSE. Okay. Would you compare it now with our 8 for 4 setting, how we start in pre-premary school to get to class 1, just before the CBC, because at least people have an understanding of the 8 for 4 system really well, and how this other system works right from kindergarten. Well, we start, normally of course there's the primary, but normally it starts from year 1 to year 6, that is the primary, then you do the check point, the primary check point in year 6, you get to grade 7, grade 8, where it's the junior secondary, you do another check point exam in year 9, before you get to year 9, sorry, then there is now year 11 exam, that is the all-level exam, and after doing the all-level exam, you get to go to the air levels, that is year 12 and year 13. So the all-levels, what can we compare to? Is it the KCSE? It's form 3, yeah. It's our normal KCSE, but I can compare it up to form 3. Form 3? Of the Kenyan system, yes. Okay. Well, not everything in form 3, but mostly yes. What about the air levels now? The air levels now, it's from form 4 onwards. Though there are some, let me just talk a bit about what I teach, I teach math and chemistry. So if you look at mathematics, there are some units that we don't teach in 8 for 4, units that I did in campus, in university in Farsi in second year, but here I'm teaching them in year 9, in year 10, something like functions. Well, if I ask you what is functions, definitely you don't be able to tell me what functions is, but you teach them something like Venn diagrams. We don't teach them in high school, but they are taught in year 10, meaning as much as we say it is widespread, there's still content that we don't, it's not included in our 8 for 4, but it is included in the international curriculum. All right. What about the air levels now? You've said it's passed from 4 now, is it? No, it's partly from 3, last class topics, then from 4 work and then onwards. How long is the air level? Basically, a year. One year? Yeah, because the exams are normally done in May-June. There's the May-June exam, there's November-December exam. After that, then they proceed to the university now. They join the normal universities or international universities? Well, yeah, anyway. Now, how do you compare now that system now to the CBC, the newly introduced curriculum? They are quite interrelated because CBC doesn't focus on the content graph, the ability of the student to grasp what we are teaching in class, because that is what we were focusing in 8 for 4. But CBC tends to focus on the general well-being of a student and that is what the international curriculum does. If I tend to compare the two, for the international curriculum, you're able to choose subjects. You're able to choose? Yeah, between 5 to 14 subjects. There's the technical, there's mathematics, that is definitely, then there's languages, the first language, second language and the foreign language, then there's sciences, biology, chemistry, physics. If you feel like your daughter or your son is not so much good in books, there are two students who, you know, however much I will push them, there's a limit they will not pass. As a parent, you can tell that. So if you feel like your student isn't that able in studies, you're able to choose from foundation or the higher. There's a foundation tier and there's a higher tier. One by foundation is very simple. It's favorable to the student. They tend to be very simple exams. Also, as much as you're choosing from foundation and higher, there's also an option of either choosing the edexal, which is the Pearson or the Cambridge. What's the difference between the two? The difference between the two is, for me, I tend to find edexal so simple. Reason being, if you look at the year 11 paper, you have formulas. Imagine you're going into an exam and you're given the formulas. It's just for you to work it out. It's just for you to work it out and you're given marks. And a question like, right 15% is a fraction, honestly speaking, simplify two over four. And you're given a mark for that. Will you expect that in eight for four? Definitely no. I wish we had that. We're doing right now, at least. So, the difference is, one is done majorly in the UK, that is the Pearson. The other one is, of course, Oluva. That is the CIE, the Cambridge International Education. But they are all recognized worldwide. For the edexal, they say it's simpler than the Cambridge. And for the Cambridge, there's the foundation tier and there's the higher tier. So there's the core and there's the extended. The core is simpler in Cambridge. The extended is a bit hard. Okay. And if you compare them to eight for four, eight for four is so much wide and very demanding. Complex. And very complex. That is the reason why, if you find a student moving from eight for four to Cambridge, they tend to do so, so, so well.  But a student moving from the other side to eight for four, it's normally hectic. It's a mountain. So basically, they work with your strengths in the international curricula, just as it is in CBC. So now, what makes the international system, because I believe that's what you're vouching for in this instance. So what makes it better now than our CBC? Well, I wouldn't say it's better than CBC because, of course, we haven't had a test of the CBC really. Well, in high school and the like, but it's growing where we are trying to implement it as much as it's being fought by people left, right and center. But international curriculum tends to give you the global perspective, the global view. You're able to go to places. You're able to meet different people. You're able to network with who is who in the world. You're able to go to different places in the world. If you look at, for example, I will give you an example of an IS, an international school. The students went for a holiday in Europe sometimes back, I think two or three months ago. You get to visit places that, honestly speaking, if you were in our case here, you would not be getting the chance to visit. Because we have students in our schools who have never even said 14, say Mombasa or Kisumu or Masai Mara. And it's just locally here.  You're able to learn about what happens out there, not necessarily what is in Kenya or what we grow in Kenya and the history of Kenya, but you're able to learn about the Europeans. You're also able to meet different people from the world. In a class, you will have Koreans, you'll have Philippines, you'll have Italians, Israelis and the like. So you're able to interact with so many people. So it opens up your mind, again, changes your perception of the world because you're not confined in Kenya or in that village that you are brought up in and all that. So it gives you even more confidence because when you meet even me when I was a kid, when you meet such kids, you feel that they're more confident, you feel intimidated by them because they have seen the world I've experienced it. But again, there's a problem or at least I had there was a problem from my co-host, he was in an international school when he was younger and he was being discriminated against because he was darker than the rest. So there's that, you know. Yeah, these thoughts, yeah, sure. There's that. So how do you convince a parent to take their children to such a school knowing that there's all colors and there's discrimination even by children themselves? You see, as a parent, you know what your kid wants or you know what you want for your kid, yeah? And when you're choosing schools, one thing that you need to know is that you cannot protect your kid forever. That's for sure. You need to tell them that they will be facing some of these things out there, not necessarily even in school, even when you travel, when you go to look at South Africa what is happening, yeah? So that's racial discrimination that is happening all over the world. But to protect your kid from that, you need to make sure that there are schools that you take them, there are schools that tend to protect our kids from such discrimination from the other students because you cannot overlook a student because of their skin color and favor the other one because they are white, you know? So it's all a matter of how a school is run because for me in my tuition center I would not let a parent to feel like they are more superior than their other parent, you know? We're all equal, yeah? So it is you now to know how to promote some of these things, yeah? And how is it for you? Now you are an entrepreneur, that's why we have you here. So moving from the being employed you are employed in an 8 for 4 system, right? And now venturing into your own practice you have your own tuition going on and you're doing both curriculums. So how is it for you? Well, before I moved you can't venture into what you don't know and I keep saying we learn every day. So the first time I heard about it a teacher, a colleague of mine called me and asked me Jane, are you able to teach the international curriculum? I want to give you some students in South Sea. No. Yeah. So I was like, you know, I don't know anything about this but I can try. So I went, I looked at the content and I was like, you know, I really, really need to get these books and go through them because there's no way I can go and fumble in front of a student without knowing what to deliver. So I had to go sit down and look at it and do more research about it. And I learnt about the certificate of international curriculum that is offered in Rihara University. There's another one in Catholic University. For Rihara, you know, they used to pay 36,000.  For Catholic University, I cannot quote the exact amount but it tends to give you a view of what you expect. You also need to interact with more teachers because as a teacher, as a tutor, we go to school to learn. Anyone can teach, I agree, but you cannot teach what you don't know. So as much as you've done education in the university that you did, because you're supposed to, according to TSE, you're normally supposed to pick at least two subjects, two teaching subjects. So when you pick your subjects, you get to know what you're supposed to go and deliver to your student. So for the other side, the content is the same but you need that training to get to know how to handle these kids because they are not the same. You'll go to a class and the student is like, I don't feel like studying. I'm tired today. I want to go home. What will you tell them? You cannot force them but you have to talk them through. You have to be nice to them. You have to make them see the importance of them. Sitting and studying. You get to meet kids who are like, I don't know why my parents are wasting my time paying teachers to come and teach. I'm supposed to be playing my PS5 or something. Wow. You're there as a teacher and you're wondering, oh my goodness, where do I start? So they have different characters. Yeah, they have different characters. Most of these kids, honestly speaking, they don't like studying because they know if I get out here, we have all cars. We have all types of cars.  You want to eat anything, you just tell your dad and he will send the driver. So it's all about how we raise our kids. So as much as I'm advocating for the international curriculum, you need to learn that your daughter or your son will go and meet other kids out there. And these kids are raised differently as much as it happens in our local schools, in the 84 schools in the CVC. So you have to know you're exposing them to too much.  Mom, can you drop me today? Mom, why do you have a small car? I mean, why don't you just talk to the father of so-and-so? They have really nice cars. They can really help you get a car at a cheaper price. Yeah, because there's not peer pressure. It's peer pressure. There's a lot of peer pressure. I mean, when you take your kid there, just know that you are opening them up to a lot of peer pressure from these kids from the rich parents. Because mostly it's not oil. It's so expensive. That is actually one thing about the IG. It's very expensive. Because if you want to get just a math book, normally it goes for 5,000 or 6,000 at the textbook center. One textbook. Wow. And you need like six or more. Tell me, how much will you spend on that? Well, that's quite something. And you know, currently parents are complaining about the prices of books. I can imagine the international students, if it's raised to up to 10,000, but they will still purchase it. Yeah. I mean, it's not a big deal to them. They have the money. Okay. And do you have students who have been sponsored to such schools and how do they cope? Honestly, we have students that have been sponsored. We have people, some of these, let me call them foreigners, they come to Kenya. They tend to get students. You might look for a student and you find maybe one, they are very bright and you want to take them to the best school. So the best school is, in our case, the International Curriculum Schools, or not CBC, sorry, either Edexcel or Cambridge. So when you take them there, of course, it means you have to provide for them everything. You cannot take them to school and expect for them to fit in without all that they need. Okay. So they need to fit in with all the luxury? They have to fit in with all the luxury that is there. Okay. I understand that they also go to school with phones and what we are not allowed to go to school with in this other side. So how does that affect the education? Because for us, we are being told you can go to school with a phone and if you are found with one, you are being expelled for it, especially in high school because one will be distracted. There are so many things to it, but in the international system, they are allowed. Why? The reason why we allow them, in most cases you realize that some of these books, they tend to be very heavy and to carry them up and down, it becomes a problem. So the books are shared in soft copy. I will give you an example of Sabiz. They use e-books. The books are online. So for you to access them, you need to have an internet connection in a smartphone or a tablet or a laptop. So some of these things, as much as we are protecting our kids from social media, from what is happening in TikTok and Instagram and all that, we still need to use the digital era that is there because this is not the time that we used to carry books, we used to use the hard copies. And that is also what happens in the universities. If you are revising for something, you can go online and start searching. Yeah, so it's actually using the university standards. Yeah, they're using the university standards and also they tend to do a lot of research. If I give you an essay to write, maybe for example, I want you to explain to me about fractional distillation of liquefied air. I don't know whether you remember anything. I know the terms. But if I tell you to explain to me what it is, you'll definitely have to go back and look. Where will you look? Like right now. You can go online and start searching it up. So yeah, we tend to encourage that to prevent carrying a lot of luggage, a lot of books, a lot of materials when you're going to school and when you're coming from school. And also we encourage them to be... The education is student-based, meaning the students do more than the teachers do. It's not like in 844. When I was in 844, I used to write notes for my students. So you just read out the notes for them to write? Yeah, I used to dictate notes to my students. When you tell them to write, they used to copy word to word. Why? Because they're being spoon-fed and it's a lot of work. And you see how our siblings and relatives and friends suffer writing notes. But for the other cases, as much as they're writing the notes, it's not as much as it is on the other side. So what are some of the things from much of scene that can be adapted to at least the CBC that we have now without increasing fees because, of course, we can't afford the same type of money that they do. But what can be adapted in our schools, in our public schools? First thing, I would really encourage... Okay, I would really encourage the spread out of the content that we deliver to students. You look at... I really feel for the students who just did their CBC. Those kids did... They could do a whole year's work in just a few months. And as a teacher, you're supposed to deliver, you're supposed to make sure they understand, you're supposed to make sure they able to answer cases in questions within that very short period. So I think the CBC needs to have a widespread mode of delivering the content and also the exam setting. Please, let's favor students who are not really blessed in education-wise. Okay. And do we have that in the international system? Not for the students that are not blessed education-wise, but we have students that are... How do we call them? There's this condition. Is it ADHD? They have low attention deficiency, something to do with that. Yes, yes.  But they can still be integrated in normal schools. So do we have such systems that support such students in the international system of education? Yes, we do. But normally as a parent, you see, it's just like in the normal setup what we've been experiencing around here.  But I'm glad that it is being... I mean, it's now being offered. We have people doing special education. They're able to deal with autistic students. So if you know you have a kid who has a problem, you need to get for them. What most parents do they get for them tutors? A tutor who will be coming home and deal with the student step by step. Okay. Yeah. So as much as we would really, really advocate for, you know, having schools that do that, because I honestly am not sure whether we have one, but I know most people do get tutors for that. Okay. Yeah. But now, what I would really encourage parents, if you look at what is happening, I'm sorry I'm quoting this in South Sea.  And when you go to the university, you're only supposed to do at least two teaching subjects. How are you able to teach six subjects? So you're only trained to do two. Exactly. So you're overburdened. You're not really overburdened looking for ways of making money. So if as a parent you're not keen, you will get a quack. Somebody who will be pretending that they know, but they don't. Somebody who will pretend that they've been teaching this system, but they've never taught. They don't know what is being tested on all the standards or what they're supposed to teach the students. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So we need to be careful. We need to be very careful. And then now, moving to the higher education, now from high school, at least in the international education system, or even from eight to four, now moving to the international education, if you want to study abroad in the international schools. So there's some tests that you need to do for the English test. There's TOEFL. Mm-hmm. And then there's the other one for getting it. Why are they important for people to do them when you're going to study abroad? For those that want to pursue their education? Basically, is to show that you're up to standard. You know. Mm-hmm. It's like, for instance, when you go to a university in Kenya, I don't want to name names. Mm-hmm.  They will tell you, you know what, I'm sorry, we don't recognize this university. We don't recognize this degree, so you have to go back to school. So the reason why they do those tests is to ensure that they are qualified. Yeah, up to standard. Yeah, they are up to standard. Mm-hmm. And if you're coming from an international school that you've studied in primary and high school, do they still need you to do the test? Normally, not really, because you can move from, let's say, a school like Bremen, or Bremen, any of the Bremen branches in Kenya, and you go to any university in the world. Because the kind of education that they offer there, if it's Cambridge, if it's a Dexel, if it's IB, you're able to fit in any world-class university out there. Because all the other students in the other countries are learning the same things. And that is why, at the start of the session, I told you I have students in UK, in US, minus the different time zones, you're supposed to deliver to them. Whatever I'm teaching my students here is what I'm teaching my students out there. In the UK, so it's the same system. It's the same. And we get so many students, we get so many phone calls from, especially UK, because most of the people in UK, when you meet a client, they will tell you, I had to move from UK to Kenya, because their education is not valued as Kenya, it's not valued education. Or the kids, you cannot punish a student there because they will report you. So when you come to Kenya, you'll be strict with them, you'll be forcing them to really study. So when they get kids and they grow to the age of being teenagers, they tend to move from UK to Kenya. So that they can get serious education. So in Kenya, actually, I can really say our education system is somewhere. Quite recommendable. Yeah, quite recommendable. Well, it's quite recommendable, but now when they're moving, they're not coming to do the Kenyan system, mostly. They're still doing their system. They're still doing their system, but now they're doing it in Kenya because us, we value education. Quite interesting. What is the role of education in international development? Well, the role of education in international development. For one, somebody would ask you, where did you go to school? To gain skills, to gain knowledge. Where will that take you? You'll get jobs, right? Where, okay, when you get a job, when you get employed by the top companies, what will that be? I mean, what advantage will that have? So we're able to move from the poverty level. It's able to help us grow to prevent or to reduce the poverty that we tend to be having in most regions in the country. Right.  Well, still in school, because they're very proactive and you see them out there, you'll hear someone who came from Brabant doing some excellent things out there. So is it because they're exposed to things that are happening in the world at an early age and they're coming up with solutions so that when they grow, they're very proactive? Yeah, normally these students tend to be exposed to a lot of stuff. I was talking to a student yesterday and the kid was telling me about the SDGs. Honestly speaking, I knew about SDGs, sustainable development goals just the other day. I knew about Agenda 2063 just the other day. I didn't know about it. Unless you learn it from the students. Yeah, but them, they're learning. They learn it in school. They tend to be taught about it and come up with something that you can do or they tend to compete in maybe promoting the SDGs or the Agenda 2063 or the Porto Protocol and the like. Okay, quite amazing. So we can also have that in our school at least since it's very practical. Yeah, I would really advocate for that. I would really, really advocate for us having some of these things that are happening out here being promoted in schools, because you see, they say charity starts at home. If you're not teaching these kids about some of these things that are happening out here, when will they learn? It's our role as parents and teachers to teach our students about what is happening out there apart from education. Yeah. Okay, talk about assessments like how we assess our KCC, our examinations through the main exams KCC, KCP, how is it with the all-levels and A-levels? There's the checkpoint in year six, sorry, that is the primary checkpoint, whereby after you do, and you do well, you go to year seven, year seven, year eight, you do another exam, that is the checkpoint exam that is in year nine, and then you go to high school, this in year secondary. So junior secondary is year seven, year eight. So these exams are like the international exams that tend to measure the level of the students. It's like our KCP, you see KCP, if you do KCPE and you do well, you're able to go to high school and you cannot go to high school or to secondary school without a KCPE certificate. So that is what happens here. You need to have, you need to do some of these checkpoint exams for you to know your level. Okay, quite interesting, similar at least. Yeah, it's similar. And then now with the KCSE or on KCP, we have experienced some exam cheating. Even now people are saying that there's been some cheating, but at least the CSS said that has, you know, refuted any claims. So now with the international system, do you have cases of cheating or how has the system carved that? Well, they tend to be very strict, especially with the cheating. Yeah, the punishment tends to be immense. So you wouldn't want your daughter or your son to go through that. And as a student also, if you know the kind of punishments that will go through like being banned from doing the exam, you will not engage in any cheating case. So they tend to be very strict. For our case, I think it's because we have so many students for one that tends to do these national exams and trying to manage all of them tends to be a problem. But in their case, you see the exam, you do the exam here and it's marked elsewhere. Not like in Kenya. You see, in Kenya, we are competing. Which school will do better? Which school will perform better than the other one? I mean, it's about competition. But then it's about grading. It's about how will I perform? Will I get a B? Will I get an A? Will I get an A plus? Because for them, they have A plus as we don't have A plus. For them, they have F and G as we don't have such stuff. You know, if you're getting an E, it's an E. The lowest grade we have is an E. Or there's a Y or an X. The exam is cancelled and all that. But for them, the grading system is varied. So they tend to be... It's about how you're performing. Not about how you're competing with your friend. Not like what you're having here. But at least CBC is also now competency-based more than the performance and competition that is there. And you've talked about punishment. I thought international students don't get punishment as we used to have been beaten. But I know they're not beaten. Meeting? No. What type of punishment do they get? You can be banned from doing the exam for maybe a period of a number of years. Yeah, that is just one of them. The others, it's like when you're in class and of course you know according to the TAC you're not supposed to send a student out of the class right now. That is the rule that is there. If you're punishing a student, punish them when they're in class. So if it's kneeling, let them kneel in class. If it's, you know, of course not beating but whatever kind of punishment you're giving let them not miss the content that you're teaching. So that is what is there, what is being encouraged and that is what happens in all the other schools. Right. And for someone they might be wondering for the international schools they charge a lot. So is it more of a business venture or is it knowledge-based? Even for you now that you have your own teaching as an entrepreneur, how is it? It's actually it has good money. That is the honesty of the matter. It depends with how much you charge.  I know what I'm offering. So the amount that I'm charging is because I know my value. I know what I'm giving out. So I cannot really say it's business-based per se but the education is really, really good and it favors the student and as a parent it is not up to you to choose. If you know you can afford it, you can go for it. Okay. So you highly recommend that? Well, yeah. All right. What are your final words as we come to a conclusion this and also maybe you can give your handles if someone wants your services. That is your camera. So the best thing that you can do to yourself as a student is to invest in academics and for the parents get to know the kind of education that you're giving your kid and get to know what your kid needs. Please, as parents let's not make choices for our kids as much as we are trying to tell them what is out there or the expectation that is out there. Let's also give them the chance to choose what they want for their lives. Yes. So my handles are on Twitter as Jean underscore F. Kialo and Instagram and Facebook as Zisa Kialo and ZISAA Kialo. Kialo is K-Y-A-L-O. Thank you. Wow, amazing. Thank you very much, Kialo for giving us such amazing insights on the international education system. Thank you. So that has been Jean Francis Zisa Kialo who is a professional tutor of maths and chemistry and our communication specialist talking to us about international education and now we are going to take a short break and then Bransakwa will be back with that yet interesting, very interesting conversation still on maths entrepreneurship. Don't touch that style.


Good morning. Welcome back to the 43rd Ryder Cup here, Whistling Straits. We are joined by Roy McElroy. Roy, welcome to your sixth career Ryder Cup. This is your sixth straight, so you've been on the scene for a decade, a decade of great prosperity for Europe. Maybe one thing in that decade that you've been around that's changed or evolved, and maybe one thing that hasn't changed and you hope never does. I think as the Ryder Cup has evolved, I think it's become bigger, I guess, every year as it becomes more... I mean, I thought last time in France and the size of that grandstand on the first tee and the grandness of it all, it definitely felt like that was the biggest yet. And then, in terms of things that haven't changed for us as Europe, there's a lot of continuity in our team and I think that's been part of the reason for our success and that's something that I hope never changes because it's worked very well for us. But yeah, I think the Ryder Cup epitomizes everything that's great in the game of golf. It's competitive, but there's also a lot of sportsmanship showing. And obviously there's partisan crowds and all of that, but that's part of being in a team environment. You're going to have a majority of the crowd written for one team or the other and I guess that's not something we get to experience every day. So yeah, Ryder Cup is one of the best events that we have in golf, if not the best event we have in golf and I'm just excited to be a part of another one. It's good to have you here. Let's start right here, number 20 with Neil. Hi, Rory. With yourself and so many of your teammates spending a lot of your lives over here, does it make any less of an away game or will it be particularly away game style this time with very few fans from Europe? Yeah, I don't think so. I think of anything that has evolved over the years with the Ryder Cup is the European team and the US team are probably closer than they ever have been individually. We all spend a lot of time over here. We play predominantly on the PGA Tour. So there is a part of that, but you know you're on there. There's a sea of red everywhere here. It feels like an American Ryder Cup. But then again, I haven't been here in a few years and you first look at the golf course again and it seems somewhat familiar and it doesn't look like a typical American golf course. So whether that makes a difference or not, that's to be seen. But I said this in a few of the interviews before this week. I don't feel like playing away is getting any easier. Let's go to number 21 here. Rory, a little bit of the same topic. The Americans obviously play for America. If your team you're up, there's a lot of countries there. What's kind of the rallying point that brings you all together? We play for each other. I think that's the best thing that you can do. You play for the guys that are beside you. You play for everyone that's helping our team try to win this week. You're obviously playing for your country and your continent and I guess your tour in some way as well. But most of all we play for each other. Dan, 24. Rory, the Ryder Cup could have maybe been played last year, but that would have likely meant no fans. I know this isn't a way game for you this week, but what does it mean to have the fans here and what role did they play in this event? I just think it makes it a greater spectacle. There were talks of having the Ryder Cup last year with limited fans or no fans. My argument was it wouldn't be a Ryder Cup at all. I don't think either team would have been to the European teams' benefit to not have that, but it's not a Ryder Cup then. So it's great to have fans back. It's funny when the Ryder Cup was cancelled last year. I still didn't imagine that we'd be doing this and everyone would still be in masks. Things went on for far too long, but happy we're here and we're happy to be playing. Let's go to number one, Scott. Rory, typically you're one of the top ranked Europeans on this team. Have you ever felt a leadership burden when you come to the Ryder Cup? Or do you defer to some of the guys like Polter and Sergio and Westwood who have been here even more often than you? And is it something that maybe you will have to take on as an elder statesman, so to speak, as the Ryder Cup goes on? Yeah, I think I've already tried to evolve into that role. This being my sixth Ryder Cup 2014, I felt like it was the year that I embraced the role of being a leader. And then going on from then. But yeah, I think that's one of the great things about the European team. It's not as if we're just looking to one guy or one new. There's a collection of very experienced players there that some of the younger guys and the rookies can look at. And then you look at our vice captains as well and you look at all the pivotal roles that they've played in Ryder Cups over the years. So we have no shortage of leaders in our team. Let's go to Mark on four. Hey, Roy. I'm just curious, what's your impression of what Polts and Sergio and Lee have done, the longevity, the success and what's your level of respect that they've meant to this team over these years? It's amazing. You look at someone like Lee Westwood, for example, partnered Nick Faldo in 97 when it was Faldo's last Ryder Cup. It was his 11th. Fast forward, however many years it is, and now Lee's playing his 11th Ryder Cup. So I think that's one of the cool things about it is it does come full circle. We have this thing this week where we've all been given a player number. So there's been 164 players that have played for the European Ryder Cup team, or GBNI, way back in the day. So that's a pretty small group of players. I'm number 144, I think Lee's number 118. But then you just look at all the players before you and you look at Brent Viesberger who's making his debut this year, who's in number 164. It's a small collection of people that have played for Europe in the Ryder Cup and I think that's what brings us very close together. That's been one of our big focus points this week is just being here as very special and being part of a European team. Very few people can call themselves a European Ryder Cup player. Was that Patty's idea of the numbering? Yeah. We played a video for us last night to put it into context. 570 people have been into space. I think over 5,000 people have climbed Everest. 225 have won a man's major. So when you sort of break it down like that, it's a pretty small group and it's pretty cool. We're going to beam out for a question from afar. Here's Herman Fulvic. Thank you from VG in Norway. You had your debut in Ryder Cup when you were only 20-year-old. Victor Hovland is now 24. What's your best advice to such a young player like Victor before this big competition? I think the reason you're on this team is because of the golf that got you here. For Victor, I just tell him to be himself. He's one of the best players in the world. He's already been a wonderful teammate and the energy and enthusiasm that he brings into our team. So for Victor, I just get out on the golf course, be himself, play his game, and that's more than good enough to win points for the European team. We're going back left for you, Rory, number 25. Rory, in your opinion, is the PJ Tour player of the year on Team Europe or Team USA? I don't care. I just care I'm on the winning team this week. Can I ask another one? Go ahead. You made the point that Europe plays for each other. Do you think the American team struggles with that? No, I mean, I was just sort of, from my perspective, being part of a team for six of these things. I'm just speaking from a personal perspective and what I've seen from the European team. I'm going to go straight back here, number 23. Rory? I may be wrong, but I think you've developed a bit of an interesting name in boxing. And I think you've met Anthony, haven't you? Yeah. I just wondered if you'd had any communication with him, because obviously he's got a very big night for him Saturday.  No, because the last time I saw him, he was doing his camp in Miami, and then he went up to New York and didn't have a great night. But yeah, no, it's a big night for him. Pretty big task. I mean, this looks like a really good fighter. Hopefully, the last time I'm rasted on Saturday afternoon, I'll hopefully be on the golf course, so I won't be able to watch it, but I wish him all the best and all the luck. I think how he conducts himself and how he represents himself on the sport of boxing is, you know, he's talking about leadership and talking about doing the right thing. You know, he's the epitome of that. We're going to go for a couple straight in the back right, 11 and then 12. 11, please. Hi, Rory. The last time we saw you playing right-a-cup in America was probably as animated as we've ever seen you on the golf course. Do you think you need to tap into that same level of energy and the fact that it's almost exclusively American crowd, will that help you that cause? Yeah, I certainly will try to not be as animated and I'll try to conserve some energy. It's a long week and whether I play all five again, we'll see, but it's a lot of golf. It's a lot of energy just playing and then trying to beat who you're playing against. You know, if you try to beat the crowd as well, it seems like a bit of an impossible task, so I will try my best for this team and I'll try to play the best golf I possibly can. But I sort of learned quite a few things from 2016 about conserving energy and I felt like I sort of hit a wall on the back nine against Patrick that day and I want to make sure that that doesn't happen again.  Yeah, I think the most animated I've been in my career has been at Ryder Cups. It just brings something out of you that you don't get playing individually. There's something more there when you're playing as part of a team and everything you do doesn't just affect yourself but affects the other eleven players, the captain, the vice-captains, all the support teams. There's a lot of emotion that comes out but you still have to try to control that as well. Okay, we have time for two quick ones. Twelve first and then we'll come over here. Just in the context of what you were saying about Ryder Cup getting bigger and getting harder to win away, if Europe could get over the line, what would that mean in the context of your career? How big an achievement would that be? It would be massive. I think winning any Ryder Cup is huge and it's a monumental achievement for all that are involved but I think over the years winning a Ryder Cup on the road has just become more meaningful for some reason. We experienced it in 2012 which from a European perspective is probably one of the best days in the Ryder Cup that we've ever had in history. I'd certainly love to have that feeling again. I think it would be a huge achievement especially. Obviously this tournament isn't played on paper, it's played on grass but on paper you look at the world rankings and everything. We're coming in here as underdogs with a lot of things stacked against us so I think that would make it even more of an achievement. We're going to wrap it up here at six. Yeah, Rory, just being here at the end of the PGA Tour season, I was just wondering your confidence level with your own game right now and if there's anything specifically that you're focused on? I feel good. I played well the last few weeks. I led the season and Birdie's made on the PGA Tour and Birdie Percentage so usually that works out pretty well in match play. So yeah, I'm feeling good. Should we expect to see you wearing hats this week? They made some for me so that's a start. So I've got some that fit. Maybe, I don't know, it's sort of become my thing in the Ryder Cup to not wear a hat but I don't know, we'll see. Wait with a bit of breath, Rory, thank you for finding us and have a terrific day. Thanks guys. We are very pleased to be joined by Victor Hovland. Victor, welcome to your first Ryder Cup. So as a first-time Ryder Cup or how comforting is it to be in a team room with so much vast experience, not only in golf but especially in this competition? Yeah, obviously it's a very big stage and you know kind of what it means to people so that's why I think it's extra comforting when you get into a team room and you have not only veteran players but also vice-captains and captains. So I feel like just the whole support team and the players and everyone around it just have so much experience that they're having fun but at the same time they're very at ease and I think that kind of rubs on not only me but also the rookies and just makes everyone feel a lot better. Alright, let's hit the floor for some questions. We'll start out with Neil at 20. Victor, how do you see your role in the team room specifically this week? Is it to watch and listen or are you actively trying to contribute something particular there? That's a good question. I haven't really thought much of that. I'm going to list my first Ryder Cup and I'm only 24 years old and kind of what I'm trying to do this week is just play as well as I can and try to be myself. I'm not trying to be anyone else and just try to get to know the people on the team well. I think we're already off to a good start. We've only been here for 24 hours and our chemistry is good and I'm going to learn as much as I can from the guys that have been there five, six, seven times. I have so much experience and I'm just trying to be around it. I should point out to those joining us from afar that we will do some questions in Victor's native tongue in a few minutes so we'll get to you. Next question will go to number 21. Victor, do you have any childhood memories of watching this event on TV and thinking I want to be a part of that? That's cool. The first Ryder Cup that I actually sat down and watched to the end essentially was at Medina. I wasn't too young but I remember a lot of those final putts coming down the stretch very vividly and I was sitting there watching with my dad and I remember just going nuts so there's a lot of really good memories from then and every single Ryder Cup after that I've been paying close attention and as well as just playing college golf in the United States being a part of a team and playing for something bigger than yourself I don't think he gets any better than that. Victor, we're going to go back right for you, number 11. Victor, first couple of things. Was there an eye-opening moment for you when you first linked up with the team something that took you completely by surprise? Not really. I'd say kind of when we just created the group text that we had together that was just one of the first things that made everything kind of sink in. While we were playing the Ryder Cup next week and I remember just really looking forward to meeting up with the guys here and just spending a lot of time together. It's not what we do but just being together and just talking about nothing and anything I think that's really, really cool. I'm being around players that I've watched compete in the Ryder Cup since I was very, very young and it's an honor to be a part of them on the team. You said that it is a bit of an eye-opener for you at 24. Can you imagine what it was like for Sergio at 19 and then at the other end of the scale, you've got Lee Westwood at twice your age? Yes, it's crazy. They bring so much history into this event and those guys are a couple of the guys that the reason why this term in it is what it is because they've brought so much passion and blood, sweat and tears into this event that it makes it so much more special to be on the team and even the same team as them. When you put it into perspective like that, it's really cool. Victor, front left with Jeff at 19. Victor, you'll be listed as a rookie this week. It's been a nice success in match play. What do you like about the format? And secondly, if you were to pair with Rory this week, do you feel you'd mesh pretty well with him? I think so. I think we've got a lot of the same strengths and kind of personality-wise we think a lot alike. I've grown up in Europe. We play tons of match play and we play tons of foresooms and miscellaneous events. So I have some experience doing that and I very much like it.  So for me, when you get a person that you mesh well with, it's a lot of fun. And obviously playing in the NCAAs and college and US Amateur, I've got some experience playing match play and I'd say some of my best golf has been played in that format. So it's all about getting comfortable and you get a couple of putts going and you get momentum. Nothing is much more fun than doing that in match play. Over here on your right, number eight. Hey, Victor, I know you can't name names, but I'm curious.  Or is that still something that you feel like is to be determined? It's still to be determined. You know, as we all do, we say who we want to play with and then we just kind of use these days to figure out, okay, is this a good fit or not? Do we work together? And then we kind of go from there. Other than that, I don't really know. We're going to go to number four, Mark. Hi, Victor. I just wonder if you could please expand a little bit on your level of respect for the veteran guys, the particular guys, Lee, Sergio and Pulse, in terms of what these guys have done over the years in this competition and you being on your first, thinking about Lee in his 11th. Yeah, it's crazy. I probably don't have enough respect as I should have, but you know, you look at their records, how many events they've won, not just in Europe, not just in the United States. You know, worldwide, they've won so many events. And then obviously, time and time again, when they show up to this week, they deliver every single time.  Okay, we're going to do three quick ones in English and then we'll switch languages. We'll start with Damien, number seven. Victor, it seems like the European Ryder Cup competitors, whether they're rookies or veterans, they seem to have this in their blood from an early age. What's your earliest recollection of the Ryder Cup? When did it become something that you paid attention to and that was important to you? Yeah, the 2012 Ryder Cup was kind of the first one that I watched the whole thing, essentially. And I mean, just watching that as a European, that gets your heart going. So I think that was kind of the big part of, you know, making the Ryder Cup one of my dreams to play in. And, you know, it's just all in all, they're obviously great players that play on these teams, but they're also great people. And I think as soon as you're just in that environment, you just want to be part of it.  So I think that's a big part of it, and obviously just a tradition of it. Let's go one on two, and then Scott on one. So Victor, you've been playing in the U.S. for a while, I mean, in college and then PGA tour. You kind of have a fan base, if you want, or people that root for you. And you are not the only one in your team in a situation this week where you're going to have a lot of people rooting against you. So how do you prepare yourself for that? Or do you have mental exercises that you do?  But, you know, if they do end up doing that, you know, that's what they're going to do. We're still going to play golf, and if they do end up doing that, that means we're doing something good. I'm not going to take anything too personally. You know, I can take a punch to the face. I've definitely gotten my beating so far in the group text. So, you know, I think I'm prepared for some y'all here and there. Scott. Victor, I'm curious who other than Padre is the most active voice on that group text, and what kind of things are you all talking about on there? Probably shouldn't disclose too much. But no, it could be anything. It could be logistical stuff.  You know, what are you cooking, what are you eating? Just kind of, just to get to know each other better. And I'd say we're all pretty vocal in it. You know, it's just not, it's not just one or two people just firing off and annoying the rest of the bunch. We're all pretty active in it. So that's, that's, that's good. Yeah. What kind of beating have you taken? Well, there's been some team members that have gotten a hold of some old pictures of me and had some fun with them. So, but it's all, it's all a good banter. And again, just bringing us closer together. All right, we're going to beam out here. We're going to start with Aspen Blaker. Aspen, you are with Victor. Go ahead, sir. Victor, you play, you have both a press conference and play with Rory on the first playday. There are many who have seen for themselves that Dr. Togan played together on Friday. It might not have happened afterwards, or how do you look at it? Yes, it would have been great to play with Rory in the tournament. Of course, it's the first playday and we try to put some people together to see how that works. So, yeah, we'll see how it goes. It's still a few days until it happens. But it would have been great to play with him, together with several almost all teams that I could have played with nicely. So, it's one of the other great guys and it could be a good way to play. All right, we're going to be joined by Fredrik Tombra. Fredrik, go ahead, sir, you're with Victor. Thank you. You were talking about sugar cane all the time when you get a lot of pink reservoir stones. How is it really to get over so many words? No, it's nice. So, if you mean to say that, that's another thing. No, it's nice to get positive words when it comes to your way. And that's just the truth. It's very nice to have people on that team here and you want to be with each other. So, it's not a joke to say anything. All right, we're going to wrap it up with our friend Herman Fulvic. Herman, go ahead, my friend. Thank you. So, what are you looking for with these more routine things? What have you learned the most and are you most focused on these days? Yes, the most important thing is that it's a lot of logistic things, what happens when you play golf. Because it's the easiest, because you know how to play golf, I play golf. But what happens around it, is how they just handle things. They're so relaxed and relaxed, but at the same time they're enthusiastic and they play their eleventh this year. And I can't wait to play on Friday or Sunday. So, it's just to be around people who have a lot of confidence in themselves and just let it sink in. All right, Victor, thank you, sir, for finding me. We are joined by Mr. Lee Westwood. Lee, thanks for being with us and welcome to what is your eleventh career Ryder Cup. Had a terrific career. I have to imagine I'm playing in eleven Ryder Cups now. And especially in such an era of European team prosperity. That must be one of the things you hold in the highest regard about your own career. Yeah, for sure. The first time I ever went to watch a golf tournament it was the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1989. And then again in 1993. I didn't ever go and see the PGA at Wembley or the British Masters at Woburn. The first golf tournament I ever played in actually, I went to actually played in, it was Madeira. So, really the sort of best feel for professional golf I ever got was watching, you know, the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosner and Nick Faldo and Bernard Langer playing at the Belfry in the Ryder Cup. So, when I did come around to play in 1997 it gave me a real feel for it that this was the pinnacle of certainly golf team sport. Nothing really compares to the Ryder Cup, I think. It's very difficult to make Ryder Cup teams and very special when you do qualify for a team and get to represent Europe. And you've done that well. Thank you. Let's start over here with Mark, number four. Bailey, just curious what you believe has made you such a good Ryder Cup player and I ever follow on that? I'm a pretty good golfer, Mark. Always helps, doesn't it? I think, you know, I get on pretty well with everybody. You know, if somebody partners me, I'm pretty straight hitter of the ball, I hit a lot of fairways, I hit a lot of greens, that's sort of what my game's been renowned for. You know, I do make puts when I need to despite what people's opinions might be. I just try to make playing partners comfortable and let them just do what they're doing. That's really what I learned from playing my first one with Nick Faldo. He just let me... He was there to back me up and I knew he was always going to be there and, you know, just let your playing partner get off and express themselves. Best player to ever do that playing with me was probably Nicholas Colsarts in his first ever match in a Ryder Cup in Chicago. He went out and shot 10 under, which was, you know, a phenomenal debut. I only came in once that day but, you know, I like to think that, he just felt comfortable that I was going to be there, you know, if he needed me. And then that's just the way I've always tried to be out on the golf course. Are there any common denominators between yourself and Sergio and Pulse, for example, because you're three of the kind of the veteran guys on the group here and you've all had success? You know, what's your level of respect for those two guys? Yeah, obviously I have a lot of respect for both of them. I think all three of us are very passionate about the Ryder Cup and, you know, we give it our all when we're involved. Let's go right next door to number three. Given this is going to be almost an exclusively American crowd like we've not seen before, have you guys done anything different or have you personally done anything different to prepare for that? No, not really. Just sort of understand that it is and nothing's going to change that.  I'd much rather play in front of a crowd that's solely US fans than no crowd at all like we experienced last year. Playing professional golf is all about playing in front of people and entertaining people.   They've watched me grow up out here and, you know, they really feel like, I guess, they know me now. You know, there's a familiarity there and, you know, the US fans are generally very, very good with me and give me a lot of support. I'll be different this week, but, you know, understand that, you know, this is different this week.  That's what the Ryder Cup's all about. And Rory mentioned a video that you guys watched last night and the numbers that you were given. Can you tell us a little bit more about that video, what was in it and what the message was? Yeah, the video's about, you know, representing Europe, obviously, and there's 164 players that's represented Europe. You have a far greater chance of going into space or climbing Mount Everest than you have representing Europe in the Ryder Cup. So we've all got numbers. Mine's the smallest number, obviously, at 118. But, yeah, it's something to be very proud of, being able to, you know, pull on the clothing with the European team crest on it. Let's go back greatly to David, number 11. Hi, David. Hello, Lee. How are you? Welcome to America. Thank you. Victor was in here just now. Exactly half your age. You're going to be practising with him this afternoon. When you look at that contrast, does it make you feel A, old, or B, even more proud of your longevity? Yeah, it makes me proud of my longevity, really. You know, week in, week out, I play with somebody that's the same age as my son now. So, you know, I'm pretty much used to that. The fact that it was his 24th birthday last week was a little bit surprising. But, you know, I made my ride a cup debut in 1997. I was 24. You know, he's a special golfer, Victor. I enjoy playing with him. You know, I look at his game, and, you know, I think there's not a lot of weaknesses to that game. He's a really nice kid, I would say. You know, credit to his parents for obviously the way he's been brought up. He's just a really nice young man. And secondly, he's a phenomenal golfer, and one that I just enjoy watching and being around. Has he got more in common with your caddy than with you? Yeah, I'd say they chat about more things that they can both relate to than myself, Victor, can relate to. Certainly not music, but all that heavy metal stuff. We're going to come over here at number 21, right here. Lee, another question about being old. I'm sorry, but... Well, I'm not old. I'm about 48. Come on. How old are you? Older than that. Well, there you go. Fair enough. But... Mature. Can we use the word mature? No, actually mature doesn't apply to me either, so... In 2018, you were a vice captain, and I'm just wondering, kind of, back then, were you sort of thinking this might be the end of my playing days? How did you take all of that? And did you see this coming? Yeah, I think when you become a vice captain, first and foremost, I enjoyed being a vice captain. I enjoyed watching the guys play and obviously performing very well, but it does give you a taste that you want to still be involved.  It's obviously nice to be back holding the clubs again, rather than other people. I said to the lads in the team room three years ago, I said there's one thing worse than playing Ryder Cup practice rounds, and that's watching somebody else do it. So it's nice to not be watching somebody else do it and doing it myself again. Same direction, 27 in the back. Lee, the Americans have made a point to cite that their youth is something that's a positive for their team. What do you read into that kind of comment? And do you think that is something that could be a perk coming to the Ryder Cup being young and maybe unaware? Well, I think it's good that they've got a lot of young players coming through. I think golf in general, there's a lot of good young players coming through. We've got players on our side. And on our European tour. The Hoigard Twins won recently. They're both 21 years of age or 20 years of age or something like that. So there are good young players all around the world. It just so happens that at this moment in time, the United States have got a few good young players playing for their team this way around. And that's a balancing act, I suppose. Because the Ryder Cup is so different, do you think that experience counts for a lot this week? Or do you think because there's a lot of golf youth it's going to count for a lot this week? I think it's got to be a balance of both. And I think in an ideal world, you'd like to filter your young players in gradually, a few at a time, not necessarily bang all at once and have half your team as rookies. But that just, it happens like that every now and again. And listen, when I look at the United States team, I think they've got a lot of strong players and it is almost like a change in of the guard for them. Over on your right, Lee, number seven. Lee, I'm always impressed by the passion of the European team having covered this event for many years. I'm just curious, back in 97, did Monte or Ali or someone put their arm around you and tell you how important the Ryder Club is or did you know from day one, even before you ever struck a shot in these matches that this was as important as anything you would do in golf? I knew from day one, really. Listen, that week the captain was Seve Ballesteros. There's nobody, there may have been one or two people over many generations been as passionate as Seve about the game of golf. But I doubt there's been many as passionate about the Ryder Cup as Seve was. He was my captain at the first one and you just fed off him, really. With Nick Fallow as my partner, Seve and Nick both held the Ryder Cup in high regard and just being around them, you could see how much it meant to them. So passion for the Ryder Cup was never something that I had to learn or gain. Pretty much like the European team spirit, it's not something we have to work on. We've got about three minutes left. Let's go rapid fire. Let's start with number 24 here in the middle. Lee, how long did it take you to get over the defeat of 2016 and do you feel like you have unfinished business this time? A couple of days, I guess. Obviously you don't want to be on a losing Ryder Cup team and I've only been on three out of ten. I've tasted success more than I've tasted defeat in the Ryder Cup. When you go into the Ryder Cup, you have to understand that it's going to come out one or two ways.  You prepare yourself to play the best you can and you hope you win but on the other side of that coin you might lose, the other team might play better. I think the United States team did that week so you just have to accept that. If you accept defeat in sport then you probably shouldn't be playing it especially as a golfer. 26 and then 20, we'll wrap it up. Lee, you have a bit of a history in the Ryder Cup with American captain Stricker, two four ball matches and a singles match. What do you recollect about those experiences with him that might show us how he carried himself and what these matches might mean to him? Yeah, I think Steve's a gentleman. I've always gotten on really well with him. We've been through the same things in a career together. Been high up in the world rankings, had slumps drop right back down. I remember playing with him in Tiger's tournament at Sherwood many years ago and we got drawn together and we had a great conversation on the way around about how we brought ourselves out of the slump and he's a nice guy, he's the kind of person that you'd want to sit down and have a beer with. Wrap it up here, number 20, Neil. Hello, Lee, what's the best line you've heard from a crowd at Ryder Cup? I got called a turd in Hazeltown in 2016 and that's the first time I've been called a turd since I was about 12 years of age in the playground I think so that really made me and Billy chuckle that one. We'll leave it right there. Mr. Westwood, thank you for being here and have a terrific day and week. We are joined by Mr. Sergio Garcia, Sergio, welcome. Thank you. 10th career Ryder Cup, you've hit double digits, my friend. But the other number I want to ask you about is 25.5, all-time leader in this wonderful event in points. I mean, that's just an incredible thing. How aware are you of that and just blows me away? How does it impact you and do you take that to the first tee with you Friday, Saturday and Sunday? No, not really. I don't think that means anything once you step up there. I think to be totally honest, I really wasn't aware until Sunday, three years ago in Paris because it's never been a goal of mine. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of it and it's something that obviously I'm going to have at least the rest of my life personally. But once you step on that first tee, it's not about you, it's about the team and I've always said it, I'd rather go 0-5 and win the Ryder Cup than 5-0 and lose it and that's not going to change, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that Europe plays well, that we give ourselves a best chance to win the Cup and that's the goal. Alright, let's hit the floor for some questions. We'll start with Damian this time in 7, then we'll come to Mark. Sergio, we first saw you in 99, you were running around the golf course like Usain Bolt. When did the Ryder Cup get in your blood? In 95. Yeah, I remember I was at the Junior Ryder Cup and we went to watch the practice round at Oak Hill in Rochester and I remember Sebi grabbed me under the ropes and I think I walked. I think it was the 12th hole, a little bit of the 12th hole and we were talking a little bit and he was explaining things to me. So that was obviously amazing, took a picture and stuff and then I remember I walked into the International Pavilion and saw some of the European crowds just singing and the energy that I felt, I remember as a 15-year-old I was there and was like, I have to be a part of this at some point in my life and obviously it came a lot earlier than I thought in 99 but from that moment on I loved it and then obviously 99 was amazing with Jesper and even though we lost it, the way the whole week went it just felt unbelievable. Alright, Mark on number four. Hey Sergio, what in your mind has been the secret to your success in this competition and as a follower of that, is there a common denominator for guys like Polts and Lee, the veterans on this group all of whom have had a lot of success here? I don't know, I've obviously had amazing partners so I've obviously done some good things myself but I've just been able to gel nicely with all the partners that I've had and we've had an amazing time I've been very thankful for that but I think at the end of the day like I was saying the main goal is the team and where the team wants to head to and that's what we always try so you kind of put yourself aside for this week and just enjoy it with the rest of your teammates and everyone around. Unrelated follow with the video that Patty showed you guys and everybody having a number and whatnot I'm just kind of curious how powerful that is to you guys It was very powerful, I didn't know my number I knew that I've always known that being a part of the Radicap team is very difficult but I didn't know that that little amount of players have made it so that shows you how difficult it really is so that's why every time I'm a part of a team or the rest of our teammates that's why we give it the respect that it deserves because it's so difficult to be a part of it so it's an honor and we treat it like that Going to go front right with Jeff Sure Joe, you mentioned obviously you've had different partners through the years with the Ryder Cups I think you've partnered Lee maybe seven times How early on do you know if something is going to work or not and why would you two mesh so well? No, I mean it just I guess chemistry how you feel, I mean we've had some good matches that we won and then we had some ones that maybe we haven't played as well so it just comes down to how you feel that week and more than anything just kind of being there for your partner enjoying your time with him and in the good and the bad and the ugly so just enjoy it, it's simple as that Right here, number 20 Quick file Sergio, what was your number? 120 120, okay Does Team Europe, does the Ryder Cup mean more to Team Europe than Team USA? I can't respond that I don't know how much it means to us but I don't know how much it means to them I know that to us it means a lot and just being a part of it, it's amazing for us so I mean that's pretty much the only thing I can tell you about it I guess And one more if you don't mind In 2018, John Rom defeated Tiger Woods How big do you think that was in his progression of now being world number one? I think it was important for sure and he'll probably tell you about it better but I think he was headed that way anyway he's just a great player he's got all the shots and it's just nice to see as a Spaniard, it's nice to see how he's evolved and obviously he's grown up and the way that his game has gotten better and better so it's nice to see and you could see that he was kind of headed that way We're on the right there, number five Hey Sergio, it's a little bit of an extension of Mark's question but in terms of, you know, regardless of how you're playing you seem to show up at this event with just remarkable consistency This is maybe a difficult thing to answer but how do you take that energy or whatever you're feeling is around this event and how much it means to you to put that into executing shots and making putts? I don't know I mean, to be totally honest obviously I've had radicals where I come where I come into them playing really well and I've done well and then there's radicals where I've come maybe not feeling quite as well and I seem to hit a switch when I get here so obviously the excitement that I get when I come into the radicals it's something that I can't describe it I can't tell you why it happens but it happens it's just love for it and yeah, it just comes down to challenging yourself every match it's fun to me the energy that you feel around the course not only with the crowds with your partners and with your teammates but it's something very unique and it seems to drive me to a high level I guess and that flipping of the switch that you're describing when does that happen? is it a slow build through the week and then your first match the kind of switch goes or you start early? no, it probably starts as soon as you know you're in the team obviously it grows as you get closer to crunch time and Friday morning or Friday afternoon whenever you're going to play but obviously Friday morning when everything starts that's when it starts hitting the highest point but it just kind of builds up as soon as you know you're in the team it's exciting and I've been like last week with practicing and stuff and every morning I will wake up and I will turn to my wife Angel and I'll say ok you know we're getting closer we're getting closer to going to the Rydecap so it's always such a fun thing Sergio we're going to beam out to Paolo Paciani Paolo you are with Sergio go ahead sir Paolo can you hear us? ok, thanks Paolo we're going to go to Juan who's going to ask some questions in your native language well Sergio yesterday we talked a bit with the captain with Patrick about the importance of having the experience you have and the experience of the team and at the end you've been playing 9 Rydecap you've been in 10, 7 European champions all of this has importance and it's intimidating yes obviously I think all of these things are important but then Friday morning Friday morning it's very good but you start from zero so you have to take into account that the Americans won't give you an eye because you've won so many Rydecaps you've played so many this one doesn't work like that but it's always nice to have a good history in an event like this and the important thing is to keep helping the team talking about the experience with Holland and other players who have played in the United States for a long time people support them when they go on the tour and suddenly here they find out that this is not going to work and I think we're very few Spaniards here this week I don't know if someone is coming with you so how do you compensate for that how do you do it obviously it's hard between us but you know it's like this there's no more your aunt it's as simple as that the good thing is that the energy of the public can be used in your favor even if it's not for you, you can use it in your favor knowing that it's one of the things that some of the rookies comment if the field is quiet that's good for us in the United States it means that we're doing good things it doesn't mean that nothing is going on normally if there's no applause or there's not much normally the Europeans are doing it well and then it's quiet it's important that they know that it's good for us so that they don't think that nothing is going on so it's good it's always good that they know playing here in the United States and well, you have to try to take advantage of all those moments and many of you have mentioned this week of course, and there's a history of the Raider that also has to do with Seve and Chema and that role as the older brother that had Seve with Chema do you think that with John it's starting to happen and it can bring an energy that works this week and in the future yes, without any doubt obviously we'll see what happens to see if we play together this week it would be nice but at the end the important thing is what's best for the team sorry if the captain and the vice captain think that we can help the team better being separated we'll do it that way if they think that we can help more playing together to enjoy the two together then we'll see what happens and the last one talking about the experience a little bit, and you said the older brother do you have that feeling that you touch a little or do you have a little older brother with the team and guide them and calm them and do these things yes, without any doubt, but not only me I think that as you said Ian, Westwood Rory, Rory and John as well so it's important that all of us put our part and all of us put our umbrella so that if anyone needs it then come, and whatever it is comment, trust a hug at the moment that touches then you have to be there for all that kind of things and as Augusto said you would have loved it yes, obviously we all know what motivates me I'm happy to be part of another thank you appreciate it, have a good day thank you we're here at Whistling Straits and we're joined by European captain Padre Harrington captain, I'm going to take the leap of faith and assume you've been out on the golf course the last few hours what are your initial impressions of what you're seeing out there and what your troops are experiencing and saying about the layout I came up here about eight weeks ago now had a look at the golf course so we knew what to expect it's in great condition it's set up reasonably generous off the tee and not that it's set up this way but the type of golf course it is it's very difficult at times around the green so nothing, it's exactly as expected it's exactly as we were aware obviously it's interesting playing a practice round at the moment knowing that the wind's going to change to a different direction at the weekend but these guys are professional players they know what to do they've been doing all their life so they can figure it out was there anything different that you remembered I've seen here that you remember when you played in PJ Championships here I've said I've been back a couple of times since then so not really no, I think there's a certain flow and style to the golf course and it doesn't matter whether you shorten the 11 and shorten the 1st or anything like that the golf course has its own feel and that's still there for sure very similar to 2015 let's begin evidently Steve would like to go number 22 where did you come up with the idea for the numbers video that is getting some buzz this has been done before in Europe certainly the lines were famous for starting it out and it was obviously when you're looking for these teams this is a theme that the European Tour came up with and I was very comfortable and happy to buy into it and believe in it and it's really worked out very nicely as you would have seen in the video but just looking at like we have a wall with the role of fame of who played and being able to look at those names and go through it 164 a heartily small amount of players obviously you can blame Lee West for that for playing 11 times like Sergio as well but it's a small group of people when you think 580 people have gone to space and 5,870 people have climbed Mount Everest it's incredible that there's so few who have played in the Ryder Cup it makes it very special for the players to know that they have a place in history they can never be taken away from them they will always have a name on that wall and it's for me myself I'm up there 121 so it's nice for me to look back and remember kind of remember the person I was as a Ryder Cup player and for these current players obviously they're experiencing it the three rookies it was extra special for them to be added in they had their moment to stand up and receive applause of everybody that they're new to this it was a lovely a lovely way to start the week we have more over on your right number 5 go ahead do you and Steve have any agreement or contingencies in place in case any player shows up with a Covid issue yes there is there's lots of protocols I assume the captain's agreement is public is it? just like an injury name in the envelope there's a Covid name in the envelope it's still why we've asked it's still not completely clear what happens when we have if god forbid we had a Covid outbreak but for one player it's pretty straightforward obviously the first two days it's four players sit out so there's no issues on those two days but obviously on Sunday you start losing a few players to Covid it does affect the match in some way but one is in a Covid envelope for sure we're going to go to 7 right behind them you mentioned the wind how strongly once the match starts you know we're all golfers somebody like myself who's been brought up traditionally in a windy lindsey store we like a bit of wind but we're not asking for it to be everybody blowing off the golf course so a little bit to test us what was there today was very nice but we're not I've got a group of great ball strikers I don't want them blowing off the golf course so I'm very comfortable what we saw today but not looking for anymore and I think my guys are good enough anyway if there was no wind as they're familiar playing golf around the world and the quality of their ball striking is right there so no we're not depending on a windy week at all right behind me Rex number 20 just to follow up on Ayman's question on Sunday if you had more than one player go down with either injury or Covid you're still not sure how that would be handled no there's an injury envelope there's a Covid envelope we haven't quite clarified exactly what the position is how many is too many with Covid now so there would be more than one player's name there's an injury envelope and there's a Covid envelope so that's two separate envelopes at this stage maybe the same name as the boat envelopes that's as far as I'm aware at this moment the other issue is actually quite a detail that complicated issue and is possibly above the pay grade at the two captains you know how many would be how many and this is why we have the Covid protocols it's not like it's an individual event whereas if you lost a player in an individual event well it's not great you don't want to be catching Covid but in a team environment you don't want a number of people catching Covid because it affects the actual the actual match so this is certainly something that I'm sure that is causing a lot of thought and a lot of time thinking about what would be too many and what would be sustainable but again it's not really for the captains it's more for the running of the event straight back again after 23 I was going to ask about how the practice went but on the Covid issue are you how do you decide who goes in that and is the person required to be in the envelope on site are they an assistant captain yeah well it's the exact same as an injury envelope the person who goes in the envelope the captain decides and nobody ever knows you know and we hope that stays away but we've had a few injury pullouts over the year so it would be just very similar to that no real difference in how it works as I said it is possible that you could have two different names I don't see why that would be the case but you could have somebody pull out with an injury you could have somebody with Covid so yeah you have to be prepared for these things and as I said it's been there all along so it's nothing really new it's obviously highlighted because of Covid but there's always been a name you know coming into this we were asked to be aware to you know having somebody as a reserve you know somebody as a backup who you would bring along and what happens if somebody pulls somebody pulls out because of Covid because you know it's something that could happen in these times on your left captain number 19 so Patrick you talked yesterday about Ceri Sergio was here this morning do you think Sergio with John Ram could have the same energy that was with Sevilla and Chema at some point and the same kind of success wouldn't I love that that would be yeah you know it's hard to believe that you could have the same energy as Sevilla and Jose over the years I think the biggest picture in our in the champions locker room is of Sevilla and Jose so yeah they're iconic when it comes to the Ryder Cup in Europe I wouldn't ask anybody to live up to that but if they came close it would be nice you know and certainly yeah that would be an interesting partnership that maybe I should think about thanks for the advice do you think it's an extra incentive for the European team to have guys playing together for their country not just for the team no I don't go in for that sort of stuff you know that was something that was done 30-40 years ago two guys from the same country they should play together no if they're the right partnership in terms of if they're game suit if they are at the right time in their careers you know when I started out I played with Paul McGinley in the World Cup and we won the World Cup very early on 1997 by 2001 we couldn't play together we were so bad as a partnership because the dynamic in 97 he was clearly the captain of that ship and I did everything I was told by 2000 and 2001 you know I had matured as a golfer and there was a little bit of friction about I think we should do it this way but then again we came good again in the Ryder Cup because things moved on so it's just not automatic just because you've got the same background same you know it can come down to the age profiles and the timing of their career whether they're a great partnership or not straight across here number four Michael thank you John Patrick you've been around Steve you've known Steve Stricker a long time can you cite something memorable you've seen him do and something memorable you've heard him say yeah clearly I've known Steve a long long time I think what's most memorable when you think of Steve is he's a nice guy but he's tough on the golf course you know you've got to remember what's behind that he's a perfect gentleman he's exactly how you will want a golfer somebody who goes out there plays his golf strong real tough out there but is very straight about it I think the fact that he came back from the driver yips in the late 90s you know that says everything about a person you know golf is a pretty tough game but when you know when you get a setback like that that really knocks you to become back and be a world-class player after that is a very impressive person and golfer again on your right number five Patrick Brooks Keppke recently in an interview made it sound like playing in the Ryder Cup is a bit of an inconvenience whereas Rory came in here and said that that we get along we play for each other do you have a theory on why it comes more naturally for the European side I think in Europe we definitely have a very common goal I alluded to this yesterday you know it's very much the Ryder Cup is our way of a certain Europe's position in world golf the European tourist position I think that was Seve's goal back in the 80s and we carried that on and I think that brings this together I think we obviously work very hard things like to make a count video and the numbers to create that atmosphere you know so it's still something that we want to do we're keen to do I think it also helps that some when we travel a lot you know from outside of Europe maybe just to the states or to other places there's somewhat of a you know we're outsiders and we're again trying to prove ourselves so I think there is an element of all of that putting together that we're here to you know give credibility as opposed to the European tour and the European players and we definitely have the we definitely have the ground the ground roots of Europe behind us you know everybody in Europe starting out the start of the year and the European tour believes to have a chance of making the team and you know that really is when you have that sort of support it's easier for the team to work together play together and to be honest as I said you know my team at the moment the atmosphere is exactly where you would want it literally I don't want to mess it up from here that's that's why I'm sort of at this position so yeah it's not just me though it's all our Ryder Cups all the past starting we tend to look back to Seve obviously it started before Seve but Seve is the one we will use all those teams gone before us has led to this situation and the players know how important it is to play in the Ryder Cup to play and win the Ryder Cup and how important it is to be they just love being a team too a lot of this might be an interesting one too a lot of the guys of my team a lot of the Europeans they seem to want to be team players Shane Larry thought he was going to be a Gaelic footballer, Sergio thought he was going to be a soccer player so a lot of them have that team background that they nearly crave so this is their opportunity for and like you look at somebody like Sergio he continually going around to the players and just having a quiet word and doing insane things behind like he just nobody relishes being in this team more than Sergio and what he does behind the scenes just is really very special Scott on number one Patrick you've leaned very heavily on the shoulders of some very experienced players that are the bulk of your team do you see young guys on this team that are being groomed to take over that role and who can naturally step into that when these other guys that you know have been doing it for so long are gone I do believe there is a nice natural succession in Europe the players I see in the middle of their careers now just slightly less in the middle of their careers they've got great role models in the experienced players and they see what they do and yeah I think Europe is in a very strong place going forward in terms of that there is a nice you know clearly we have the top end experience but there's a nice succession coming along players who are prepared who want to take responsibility and want to have that leadership role whether it's just in their four sums or four ball match or in a bigger situation in the whole team we're going straight across again number three without divulging any state secrets or specifics how many of your pairings decisions are locked by now or how many are based on what you kind of see and feel in the practice rounds this week some people play well in practice some people don't play well in practice you can't pick guys after three years and expect to practice rounds to determine what goes on on the Friday so no I'm not a great believer in judging people of a couple of relaxed days practice so no my picks are definitely based on the right partnerships what we would have had in mind but narrowed down now and as we've got here narrowed down even further I wouldn't think a lot is changing in my head and my vice captain's head between now and Friday now number eight Phil I was going to ask you something very similar podrack so this leads nicely into it can you think of therefore of an example as a player or in your experience as a player or vice captain where a pairing has come out of completely left field late on in the week? Oh plenty sure my first ride a cup at 99 I got told late Thursday that I was playing for some Miguel Angel Jimenez like and that really was it was an afterthought because Jose had Jose felt he wasn't playing well enough they were going to play the two Spanish together and Jose didn't feel like he was playing well enough for four some so I was thrown in there late so very you know and that really was late I said it was late Thursday Thursday afternoon not far off when the team was going in so there's been plenty of incidents like that over the years I don't think it happens as much now but clearly circumstances lots of things can happen in terms of circumstances so that's why the team she goes in Thursday evening just to allow for those changes but I think mine and vice captain's were pretty set at this stage and we have a fair idea of what we want and what we what role we want each player to play I can go back and look up the result but did you win we were pretty good I think we got a half point the first morning disappointing we were very tight match second day and lost but we were actually a good partnership yes but he did no he didn't actually he had the first tee shot which is always a very nice team I think we were both rookies too so that was an interesting one I think we're going to hit one more here number six probably Rory was in here earlier saying that he thought it has become progressively harder to win a road rider cup the stats may seem to bear him out I think 2004 was the last time a visiting team had a lead going into Sunday obviously Medina kind of flipped things around do you agree with what Rory said and if so what's the reason why is it getting harder I think obviously you've got the fans I think more to do with home set up is a big part of it clearly the home captain gets a choice on how the golf course is set up and he's going to do everything he can in that set up to get it to favour his players so I think that has a big effect on it to be honest just really the set up of the golf course and you know you can set a golf course up to be tougher you can set a golf course it's going to be loads of birdies as in any week on tour but the home captain gets to make that decision and I think it has a big influence I think if you are coming traditionally it would be tough to beat the US on their home style golf course and as we've done in Europe we've shown it's pretty damn hard to beat us if we're picking one of our courses that's naturally suited to our game so it really is picking the right venue and also then styling that golf course to suit your players follow up are the players that different now I mean the game is so global I would suggest not anymore they are merging much more into a you know much more so I think they're the best players in Europe are the same as the best players in the world are the same as the best players in the state so it's not like it's not as different but in 99 I had to be introduced or Payne Stewart introduced himself to me I'd never met him so you know and there was others in the team like that so that's not the case now players are very familiar nowadays and familiar games that have played all the conditions you know that can be presented but you know there's still a difference in terms of you know you could play as much links golf as you like but you never compete quite as well as somebody who was brought up playing that way so there is that natural element that's let's say natural it's that element that's been learned over a long time that is going to play into the hands of a home team per se captain thanks so much for your time today we'll look forward to speaking with you again tomorrow thank you