Ryder Cup 2008 Player Interviews

Our sister title Golf World has spent time with several of Europe’s main men over the past few weeks to get the inside line on their preparations for this years Ryder Cup.

Below you’ll find extracts from all of those interviews. To read them all in full pick up the latest copy of the magazine, in good newsagents now…

Lee Westwood

With Monty not present, the European team will be looking to Lee Westwood amoung others, to provide the ‘elder statesman’ role this time around. We met up with the 35-year-old Englishmen to find out how this new responsibility is resting on his broad shoulders…
Ryder Cups: 1997, 1999 2002, 2004, 2006
Record: Played 25, Won 14, Halved 3, Lost 8

As the man who played with Faldo in your first match at Valderrama, what are you expecting from his captaincy?
That’s the great advantage we have this year. I’ve never had any doubts that Nick is going to be an excellent captain. He has got more experience than anybody. I was really, really nervous before that first match in ’97, but it was great knowing I could fall back on his experience and just when I was at my most nervous I knew I could lean on him. Nick has been a hero of mine since I was very small.

The fact that he won three Opens and three Green Jackets meant it was a great honour to play with him. And I remember coming out early one morning to finish off one of our matches. I had a 10-foot putt from left-to-right to win and made it. That was a huge thrill. That point put Faldo in the record books as the all-time lead points scorer.

Will you be playing the Monty role this time?
With Padraig winning back-to-back majors, he’ll probably be the one who assumes the role of on-course leader. But, Nick has already told us that he is looking for 12 leaders. People were actually saying I was a senior player after I’d played in only one match. So, I guess now I really am an old-timer.

Graeme McDowell
By Paul Mahoney

You must be chomping at the bit to get to Valhalla?
Yeah, playing in the Ryder Cup is something I’ve been dreaming about. Irish players have such an affinity with it. You always think of Christy O’Connor, Eamon
Darcy, Philip Walton, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley at the Belfry, and Darren Clarke at the K Club. That’s probably one of the reasons I love it as much as I
do. It certainly hurt at the K Club not to be a part of the team. I knew I had the game for it but I wasn’t going about things the right way or playing well enough.

You seem to have a passion for matchplay…
I’ve always loved team golf. One of my earliest ambitions was to have a bag with the Ireland flag on it. I’ve played a lot of matchplay team golf as an amateur. I enjoy the buzz the night before when the draw comes out and the camaraderie in the team room. And, you know, let’s go and get ’em tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Faldo is going to be like in the team room and the locker room.