Q.  You must be pretty happy?

LUCAS HERBERT:  Yeah, good start.  After sort of either missed the cut or top‑10 here, so it’s got to go all the way, doesn’t it?  Now I’m bound to make a top‑10.  Yeah, I struggled last year.  It was good to start the way I have, especially I haven’t played a lot of golf lately.  Yeah, real good numbers.

Q.  Where are you most happy with your game?

LUCAS HERBERT:  My iron play was pretty good.  I thought that’s improved a lot in the last few weeks, which has been something we’re wanting to work on for probably 12 months now, so that was really good.  Just good flight in the wind out here.  Was a little bit breezy on the back nine and then it was all just solid, I didn’t really throw any shots away with any silly doubles or anything like that, so that was kind of my big case, really.  If I stop throwing stupid shots away, I tend to go all right.

Q.  You mentioned a couple days ago that your hands have been an issue and in the Open it was troubling you a little bit.  Can you tell us what was going on there and how it is right now?

LUCAS HERBERT:  Yeah, so it’s probably seven weeks today since I did it, so it’s kind of at the point now with a ligament injury that it should start ‑‑ should start sort of calming down and not hurting as much. 

Yeah, it’s been a lot better.  I can still just feel it a little bit at times.  There was one shot into the eighth today that I felt it a bit and it was bit sore, but I think at the Open I was kind of flinching and trying to not hurt my hand whereas I’m not really doing that now.  I’m happy to ‑‑ whether it’s like a wedge that you’ve got to take a pretty steep divot with, I’m actually okay with doing that, whereas I wasn’t two weeks ago.  Yeah, hand’s really good, can’t complain there.  It’s good to be healthy again and able to play.

Q.  Eagle at 3?

LUCAS HERBERT:  Twelve.

Q.  Twelve, sorry.  What did you hit in there?

LUCAS HERBERT:  It was a 6‑iron.  I was actually in between clubs.  I kind of just wanted to get it middle of the green and I kind of pulled it and hit it a bit hard and it got all the way back there.  Yeah, take the good breaks when you get them.

Q.  When you get momentum like that early and then you drop a couple after it, how do you sort of get yourself back on track?  Is it last couple of holes didn’t set you back at all or do you sort of recalibrate pretty quickly?

LUCAS HERBERT:  It’s actually an interesting day.  Like usually I kind of set little targets for myself to get through numbers‑wise, but I really didn’t today, I kind of just let everything go and just enjoyed being out there.  The course is in great shape, so I was just enjoying some nice weather, walking around a great golf course with one of my best mates on the bag.  Yeah, that was more consuming my mind rather than score.  It actually ‑‑ you know, I didn’t really feel like I got off to a great start because I wasn’t really concentrating on that, and then I didn’t feel like I fell too far backwards because I wasn’t really ‑‑ I wasn’t really concentrating (inaudible.)

Q.  Said at the Greg Norman Medal the other night you had a rough year in Europe this year.  What have you learned from that that’s going to help 2020 be a better campaign for you?

LUCAS HERBERT:  I mean, it’s just little bits and pieces.  I don’t think my scheduling was too good last year and I was away for like two 10‑week trips, which is not much fun, especially at the time of life I was in. 

So this year, changed that up a bit.  I’m going to try and have bigger breaks in between events so I can get home and maybe only play like three or four in a row.  You know, just little stuff like trying to enjoy ‑‑ trying to enjoy being out there and trying to get the balance right between, you know, going out and maybe having a few drinks one night and then you’re obviously concentrating, whether it be the next day or the next week, in getting back on to the focus of golf.  You can’t just be golf, golf, golf 24/7, you’ve actually got to concentrate when you need to and you’ve got to switch off when you need to.  Yeah, that’s probably the big takeaways for me.

Q.  You have your mate on the bag because Tom’s been a caddie for you this year.  Tell us who’s on your bag this week and is he a chance of keeping the gig?

LUCAS HERBERT:  No.  Actually, I’ve just hired someone for next year Friday of last week, but he couldn’t make it this week so it’s kind of just a fill‑in for the week.  But Marcus caddied for me when I finished 11th in the Aussie Masters in 2014, so got some good chemistry there, had some good results together before.  And he’s, I mean, just a mate carrying a bag, he’s doing a great job, always standing in the right place and never sort of annoying me, which is great.

Q.  Is that part of that work‑life balance you talked about just before?  Finding that playing golf and a bit of fun off the course, is that a good example today of having a bit of balance?

LUCAS HERBERT:  Yeah, look, I think guys that are employing a caddie that’s just a mate, I think they’re doing themself a disservice, but I think there’s definitely some merit in getting your friends out to some events through the year. 

Yeah, like we’ll probably go shopping this afternoon or we’ll go go‑carting or something like that together.  It’s like it just keeps, yeah, keeps everything fresh.  It helps you enjoy the golf, especially when you get out on the course a lot more.  Yeah, we just chat about all sorts of stuff, which is good fun.

Q.  Just on the European Tour side of things, how important do you feel is having a good start to the season rather than looking over your shoulder with a few weeks to go?

LUCAS HERBERT:  Yeah, obviously starting in Abu Dhabi for me, other than this week, you know, you sort of left four or five events early on to let the guys sort of get out in front of you and you almost feel like you’re behind the eight ball a bit if you don’t get a good start.  So I would definitely like to put some points on the board this week, try and finish high up.  Yeah, get the season off to a good start, try and set myself up to play some bigger events in the middle of the year and hopefully late in the season and take a bit of the pressure off.  Because, yeah, it’s not really much fun when you get to July and you feel like you’ve not really made much of a dent in the race to trying to get to the finals.

Q.  Foxy, tell us about your round, mate.  You must be pretty happy?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, pretty happy.  I think it’s playing tougher than previous years.  The course has settled a little bit, firmer out there and you can end up in some pretty bad spots.  So I played really solid tee to green.  I got up and down on a couple of bad shots I had and made a couple putts.  I probably left a couple out there on the greens as well, but very happy with 3 under.

Q.  The start, getting away early, a couple birdies early, and is it a matter on this course of maintaining momentum or just trying to make sure the mistakes don’t creep in midway through the round?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, it’s one of those courses that can come and bite you pretty quick.  There’s some shots around the greens, you can just miss a green and end up in a really bad spot and have a brutal up‑and‑down.  I did that a couple of times and managed to get them up and down, and that sort of keeps the momentum where it’s pretty easy almost to make a couple of bogeys and turn a decent ball‑striking round into an average score.  Thankfully, the short game kind of saved me a little bit, which hasn’t happened the last few weeks.

Q.  You and Cam don’t feel too bad about leaving Cameron behind on a few holes there?

RYAN FOX:  No.  I got him 11 and 12, so I’ll take that.  That’s two more than I expected to get for the week.

Q.  You mentioned the other day that you were considering I guess missing the event, but the Order of Merit’s important to you.  What were your expectations coming in?  I guess it’s been sort of a funny year for you?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, it has been a bit of a funny year schedule‑wise.  Normally, the last few years this has been my time off, but the golf game’s actually felt pretty good.  Mentally, I’ve probably been in a bit of a better space than I was at this time of year the last couple years.  I was really, really (indiscernible) the last couple years.  So the Order of Merit’s that big cherry, so I would have been gutted if I didn’t play this week and someone put me by a couple of grand and I could have done something to change that.  So it was a pretty easy decision.

Q.  What events are really cherries for you when you perhaps win an Order of Merit?  What ones do you really add to your schedule?

RYAN FOX:  If I won it, I get The Open and Mexico and HSBC, WGC events, so there’s some nice bonuses there and those are the events you want to be playing in.  That’s always nice having them on a schedule early in a year so you can build around them, rather than this year I got into Mexico, but I got in on a Wednesday night and that makes it pretty tough to prepare and compete.  I’ve still got a little bit to go, but hopefully I can lock in that schedule pretty early for next year and be able to prepare properly for those big events.

Q.  Some of your peers say like your muscular driving off the tee and was it nice to play with Cam Champ and see with your own eyes how you compare length‑wise?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah.  I mean, I compared better than I expected early and then I think he stepped it up a touch later in the round, and I certainly don’t have the speed he’s got.  It was pretty impressive.  I kind of want to egg him on and see what he’s really got, but I don’t know him well enough yet, so maybe tomorrow we might get one.

Q.  Have you seen some ‑‑ as far as what he did just now?  I mean, you weren’t far behind him, but ‑‑

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, 9’s a little bit, if you get the right speed slot down there, it does go a long way.  But the one that got me was he hit his 2‑iron down four and I normally hit my 2‑iron pretty far and he had me by about 30 yards.  I sort of laughed at that and said, well, it’s pretty hard to compete with.  It was actually impressive how straight he hit it.  He didn’t hit any wide ones, but just the lack of shape.  It’s a really straight, it’s a really penetrating ball flight and you can see why he’s become a world‑class player.

Q.  Any banter to that effect between the two of you or is it wry smiles?

RYAN FOX:  No, not really.  I maybe said a couple things to Kurt, his caddie, who I know quite well.  He used to caddie for Danny.  I had a little bit of a joke, I got a couple past him, but all the par 3s he’s hitting less club than me.  That’s what I expected.  As I said, I’m glad I snuck a couple past him early, at least I can say I got to.

Q.  Quickly, too, Ryan, a lot of Kiwis at the top of the leaderboard right now.  Dave Smail and Nick Voke’s up there.  It’s a strong Kiwi contingent early on.  Do you guys sense a bit of a growing strength amongst the younger players?

RYAN FOX:  Yeah, there’s been a pretty strong contingent on the Aussie Tour for the last couple of years.  And I don’t know if you call Smailly a younger player, but Denzel Ieremia had a great start this year and obviously Nick Voke had a great year last year.  We’ve got a lot of guys coming through that are ready to win, ready to compete out here and it’s sort of a nice place to be for the Kiwis and hopefully we can get a few of them on bigger tours worldwide as well.

Q.  Unfortunately, just fell short on the last hole.

NICK CULLEN:  Yeah, just a poor tee shot.  Knocked it in there in the water and couldn’t save par.  Apart from that, played really well, just tricky finish.

Q.  What made your game suit this course?  What part of your game was your strength?

NICK CULLEN:  I hit a lot of really good wedge shots.  I probably hit four or five wedge shots within four or five feet, so definitely helped scoring.  Pretty tricky to hole putts, the greens are sort of moving around the place.  Didn’t really hole much outside that, so I needed to hit it close to make some birdies.

Q.  What was the mentality coming out of Q‑School, mate, and obviously didn’t quite keep your card this year, but ‑‑

NICK CULLEN:  Wasn’t even close to keeping my card.  Look, didn’t play well this year.  Had a little girl, she’s five months old, so different sort of pressure, I guess, with that.  For me, it’s ‑‑ yeah, I’m not in a great position status‑wise, so I have to play well this week or I’m not sure where I’ll be next year.

Q.  Did you feel coming into this week that you made some ground at home and did some good things?

NICK CULLEN:  Yeah, yeah, I had a lesson with Brad Hughes just before I left the States.  Drove over to Greenville, South Carolina, to see him and just been working on his stuff the last couple weeks.  Really feels like it’s starting to come together.  I drive it really well sort of after I switched to his stuff, but didn’t hit my irons as well, so starting to hit some really good iron shots, too.

Q.  What did Brad try and address?  What was the starting point?

NICK CULLEN:  His stuff’s a little different.  You’ve probably ‑‑

Q.  Proving pretty popular.

NICK CULLEN:  It’s really good.  To me, it feels a bit more old school.  To me, it feels more what I used to do.  The stuff I was trying to do just wasn’t converting.  Been trying to get my backswing better and this and that and it just wasn’t working, so he’s a lot about impact and sort of pressure into the ground.  Yeah, it’s sort of working a bit better for me.

Q.  May I ask your daughter’s name and how much time you got to spend with her the last five months?

NICK CULLEN:  Her name is Adelaide.  The last couple months have been really good.  The first two or three I was away a lot so that was really hard, but the last couple months have been great.  Just seeing that smile, it’s just everything.

Q.  Are they here this week with you?

NICK CULLEN:  No.  Unfortunately, my mom convinced them to stay back in Adelaide and she’ll take them shopping and stuff rather than sort of hanging out in a hotel room waiting for me to finish.  Got a better offer.

Q.  What do you consider your hometown, Nick?

NICK CULLEN:  Look, technically Adelaide, but I try and spend my off time in Atlanta, try and be with Megan and Addie.  So that’s sort of ‑‑ that’s more where I spend my time.  Still going through the green card stuff, so still got to get that sorted.

Q.  Did you need to christen your daughter Adelaide to remind you of home?

NICK CULLEN:  No.  I always liked the name, and because she doesn’t live there, I think it’s sort of ‑‑ it was really nice.  I was really happy with it, Megan loves the name.  Sort of tricky in the U.S., no one knows what they’re saying and they sort of make up their own names when you say it, but whenever I’m back here everyone knows what I’m saying, so it’s nice.

Q.  (No microphone.)

NICK CULLEN:  Adelaide, Adelyn, just Addie anything.  They just make it up.

Q.  So you say next year’s a little bit of a mystery box where you play?

NICK CULLEN:  Yeah, I’ve got four Challenge Tour, but I did that for about a year and a half and it’s a pretty tough grind, especially traveling from out of the U.S. or Australia, it’s really tough.  I try and be back in my off weeks, I don’t like sitting around a week in the middle of Spain or something when I could be spending it with my family.  Way too many plane trips and just spending a lot of money doing it, so it’s not really feasible and enjoyable.  Yeah, we’re going to sort of have a think over Christmas and sort of work out what the plan is next year and go from there.

Q.  When you look at the Australian Tour, there’s no more Perth Super 6 and I think New Zealand PGA doesn’t exist anymore.

NICK CULLEN:  Yeah.

Q.  Have you really got to look at all the alternatives to come up with a schedule?

NICK CULLEN:  Well, I definitely plan on coming back and playing the events early in Oz.  I want to play Vic Open, New Zealand Open.  I saw Queensland’s just before that.  I’m sorry?  Yeah, Queensland PGA is before that and I think there was another one as well.  Yeah, definitely plan on coming back and playing some of those and then just have to sit down over Christmas and see where we’re at.

Q.  What was the better of your birdies today?  You hit some wedge shots nice and close.  Anything you’re really pleased with?

NICK CULLEN:  Yeah, look, I guess 15, 16, 17, three birdies in a row.  Hit it to maybe four feet on 15, holed a putt from just off the green on 16, which was probably the only one outside maybe six feet I holed today, and then knocked it to about six feet again on 17 and tapped that in.

Q.  How did you find it out there, mate?

CAMERON CHAMP:  It wasn’t too bad.  The conditions were good.  We kind of I think got a little lucky with the wind being kind of calm teeing off that early.  Obviously this afternoon it may blow a little bit more.  But the course is in great condition.  Happy with how I played considering how I hit it, so I’ll take it and move on to tomorrow.

Q.  Your driver seemed to be working quite well for most of the round.

CAMERON CHAMP:  Um‑hmm.

Q.  A couple iron shots I guess weren’t quite what you were hoping for?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Yeah, it was ‑‑ yeah, it was kind of ‑‑ wasn’t trying to find anything, I was just trying to just keep hitting the shots and play with what I had.  But obviously I know what I was doing, but it’s ‑‑ like I said, it’s kind of hard to fix it mid round and start thinking I need to do this, I need to do that when you hit a golf shot.

I hit a few, like I said, wayward ones, but I was able to just kind of scramble and make a decent birdie on 9 and finished 1 under today.

Q.  Ryan said he might have put you off a bit by out‑driving ‑‑ no, he didn’t really.  (Laughs.)  Is it weird to see someone standing in front of you on a couple holes?

CAMERON CHAMP:  No.  I mean, it doesn’t bother me.  I know Ryan can hit it, so it’s, like I said, it doesn’t really bother me.

Q.  Golfers are used to early mornings, but what was your sort of morning routine?  It’s a bit earlier than normal I’m guessing today.

CAMERON CHAMP:  Well, with the time change I’m still waking up pretty early.  I actually felt pretty good this morning.  But yeah, I’ve been getting better at it every single day.  I feel like today I feel a lot better than I did yesterday, so tomorrow will be the same, and hopefully I can sleep in longer than 3:00 tomorrow.

Q.  Cam, are you a real analytical guy that looks at all the TrackMan stuff and analyzes where your speed’s at?  Can you go through what you look for in that sort of technology?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Yeah.  Well, driver, it’s for me two down to zeroed out is pretty perfect for me.  I launch it anywhere from ‑‑ my lower shot can launch at a four or it can launch at a seven high.  I don’t really try to hit it high anymore.  To me, I figured out I hit a lot less fairways when I do that and it goes just as far.  So whether I carry it 10 yards further and not get as much roll or I carry it a little bit lower and it gets extra roll.  Like I said, spin rate from that is roughly, you know, 25 to 3,000 on a mis‑hit.

Q.  Does this course compare to anything you play back home, mate?  Do you feel comfortable out there?

CAMERON CHAMP:  I definitely feel comfortable.  It’s firm.  I haven’t played a firm golf course in a pretty long time and probably not going to for quite a while with the PGA TOUR schedule coming up.  It’s nice, it’s different.  They can put the pins in some tricky spots.  So yeah, I feel like it’s nothing I’m not used to, it’s just different and just kind of nice to see.

Q.  Do you like to spend some time after a round or how do you sort of ‑‑ if you hadn’t felt like you hit it perfectly, how do you like to sort of ‑‑

CAMERON CHAMP:  Yeah, I’ll just go through a few drills.  I’m not really trying to find anything, I’ve learned that one the hard way.  I’ll do some drills and just go back to my fundamentals and the few things we focus on and come out tomorrow and just play again.

Q.  On the fourth hole, what was the iron you hit off the tee there?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Fourth hole, I hit 3‑iron.

Q.  I think Ryan said he thought you hit 2‑iron?

CAMERON CHAMP:  It’s basically a 2.  It’s an I‑500 3‑iron.  But that’s why I have two 4 irons, because my I‑500 4‑iron is basically like a 3‑iron, so I have the I‑500 3‑iron and we bent it strong so it’s basically a 2‑iron.

Q.  So it’s a 3‑iron bent like a 2‑iron?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Basically, yes.

Q.  What sort of stuff ‑‑ are you going to try to do anything off the course this week?  Are you going to push yourself to look at some of the sights?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Yeah, we’ll go today, we’ll go down to the beach today.  Definitely stop by that mall again, Pacific Fair, and just hang out and just relax.  Like I said, we’re trying to do as much as we can just to stay awake.  Yeah, we’ll definitely check some stuff out and have a little beach time today.

Q.  Some visitors don’t like koalas potentially pissing on them.  What’s your status with wildlife?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Actually, when we held the koalas, he pooped on me.  So yeah, so I kind of noticed a little dribble on my shoe when I gave the koala back.  Yeah, it was fun, got to see all the animals.  Never seen a kangaroo before in person, so it was kind of cool.

Q.  What day would that have been, do you know?

CAMERON CHAMP:  Sunday.

Q.  That’s a good omen, too, when a koala poos on you.

CAMERON CHAMP:  Yep, yep.  Just having no idea and I’m like, something feels wet on my shirt.  Went straight on my shirt.

MODERATOR:  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to welcome the reigning back‑to‑back Australian PGA champion, Cameron Smith, here today.  He’s going to be the first person in more than a hundred years to contend for three in a row, a remarkable achievement.

Cam, it’s been a pretty significant last fortnight coming on the back of a successful Presidents Cup singles match for you.  Going for three in a row, how is this week, this buildup compared to previous attempts to capture the Joe Kirkwood Cup?

CAMERON SMITH:  Probably a little bit more stressful.  Last week was a big week on and off the golf course.  Still a little bit tired, but in saying that, I’m sure that tomorrow will hype me up and I’ll be ready to go.

MODERATOR:  Do you feel the pressure or are you comfortable in your own game now after the stellar performance you put in on Sunday that that will carry you in good stead for this week?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, I feel pretty confident in my game.  It’s probably the best I’ve felt with my iron play all year, and to do it on such a challenging layout last week, you know, against some of the best players in the world was quite good.  Yeah, I can’t wait for this week.  I’m feeling good.

MODERATOR:  And why do you love playing the Oz PGA so much?  I know it’s an important week for you to be around family and friends, it helps you relax.  Why is it that you enjoy playing it so much?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, I think ‑‑ I don’t know.  I like the golf course obviously.  I play well around here.  But like you said, it’s just such a good week for me off the golf course, lots of family and friends and everything.  One team of members come down, so the support is really good throughout the week.  I don’t know, it’s just a good kind of cruisey week.  I don’t do much off the golf course and just go and hang out.  Yeah, just feel relaxed.

MODERATOR:  Questions from the floor?

Q.  Cam, do you take a slightly different mindset into this week?  You were probably the underdog with the Internationals last week and this week you’re one of the favorites, going for three in a row.  Is it a slightly different mindset?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, for sure.  I think last week was very team oriented, which was great, I love being around the team.  It was a great atmosphere we had.  I embraced ‑‑ I know the whole team embraced the underdog mentality last week. 

But for sure I’ve got a good record around here.  Yeah, I just can’t wait to start.  Like I said, I’m feeling really confident where my game’s at, so yeah, I can’t wait.

Q.  Scottie doubled down at sunrise this morning, I think he said there’s a hundred guys gunning for this week, I think he sort of said the same thing at the dinner last night.  Has there been that friendly banter with him leading up to tomorrow?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah.  As soon as we were done on Sunday afternoon last week, he said, “I’m coming for you next week.”

Yeah, Scottie’s a great guy.  He was a great guy to be around last week.  I learned a lot off him.  And this is 150 guys this week that are all saying the same thing, so it’s going to be tough to get that trophy on Sunday.

Q.  Have you just played a round this morning?  No, of course you didn’t.  So did you play any holes yesterday?

CAMERON SMITH:  No, I didn’t play any holes yesterday.

Q.  Okay.  I was going to ask you the question if you saw any differences in the setup of the golf course, but if you haven’t seen it, can’t answer the question. 

Just another question.  This tournament’s played really close to Christmas, the closest it’s ever been.  How does that work for you in that regard?

CAMERON SMITH:  It actually worked out pretty good for me.  My girlfriend and I swap Christmases and with it being so close to Christmas, I got two in a row.  So that’s good for me, I guess; more time with the family. 

Yeah, I mean, anytime I get to spend with my family now I love.  I don’t get to spend much time with them.  Yeah, it definitely worked out better for me, for sure.

Q.  Cam, you spoke after your last match on Sunday about the highs and lows in a 10‑minute period.  What about Monday and Tuesday compared to backing up normally week after week, how’s the emotional letdown been and when will you know you’re back up again?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, obviously, personally last week it was great.  I knew they needed the point on Sunday afternoon and to get that done was awesome.  Then, you know, in the space of 10 minutes Kuch holed that putt on 17 for us to lose, so it was quite gut wrenching. 

It still kind of hasn’t sunk in yet, I guess.  I don’t know, just the disappointment, I guess.  We all tried so hard, we all played for each other and it was an awesome week.  Kind of not to get the result we wanted was quite difficult to take.  But yeah, don’t know really.  It still hasn’t ‑‑ I still haven’t even, you know, got to think about what’s happened on Sunday.

Q.  Do you feel like your energy levels are where they would normally be this time of the week?

CAMERON SMITH:  Probably not.  I had quite a big Sunday night, so basically all of Monday was a travel day and a bit of a washout, and then I drove down here yesterday from Brisbane. 

Yeah, a little bit, I guess.  Being such a stressful week, it always takes it out of you.  Just like being in contention, I feel like the next week I’m always a little bit slower and a little bit down on energy.  But in saying that, I’m sure that the crowd will be good tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll be up for the challenge tomorrow.

Q.  What did about Uncle Trev’s bacon, is that the secret to success?  

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, I think he’s going to cook that tomorrow morning.  I don’t know, we might have to start cooking that about 2:30 in the morning for a 6:00 a.m. tee time.  Yeah, it’s been the secret recipe I guess the last few years.  It’s worked out good so we’re going to keep it going.

Q.  As a rugby league fanatic, are you filthy with Adam Scott that he got to play with Johnathan Thurston today?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yes, I mentioned that to him last night.  I think one of the guys up there yesterday said that he was playing with him and I said I’ve never wanted be him so bad.  I mean, I’ve wanted to be him my whole life and then now to play with JT, yeah, that’s a big loss in my books.

Q.  Cameron, obviously this golf course really does fit your eye.  Are you able to explain what it is about it that suits your game or that your game suits it?

CAMERON SMITH:  I think you have to be ‑‑ I think you have to be pretty, you know, pinpoint with your irons into the greens.  I think it’s ‑‑ it’s not difficult off the tee, the fairways are quite generous if you’re smart, you can be the big guy and hit the drivers and stuff if you want, if you’re feeling good.  But I think you have to really control your irons and into the wind around here, as you know, it’s always windy around here.  So I think that’s been the big thing the last couple years is I’ve just been able to hit those three‑quarter shots and those low shots and stuff and control them.

Q.  Would you say that your iron play is a strength of your game?

CAMERON SMITH:  I think it was at some points through the year.  It kind of went out the window a little bit, but like I said just before, I’m starting to feel really confident with that again.  When my ‑‑ typically when my irons are on, I play really good golf, so it kind of takes the stress off, you know, the putter and the driver knowing that you’re going to get chances.  Yeah, it’s just easy golf, I guess.  It’s not stressful at all.

Q.  Cam, last year was a 36‑hole shootout between yourself and Leish really.  Your relationship with Adam, how is that different to Leish and how do you think the atmosphere would be different compared to Leish if you two were going head to head over the weekend?

CAMERON SMITH:  I don’t think the atmosphere would be any different.  I think Leish and I, as good of mates as we are, we both still ‑‑ you know, we both still want to win, we’re still competitors.  You know, the talk on the last nine holes last year was pretty minimal.  Yeah, I mean, we’re all here to do the same thing, and it got ‑‑ I mean, it didn’t get intense, but it definitely got a little bit different on that back nine on Sunday, for sure.

Q.  Just quickly, playing with Cameron Champ and Ryan Fox tomorrow, are you happy to be first away on the second shots?

CAMERON SMITH:  Into the greens, yeah.  I don’t know if I’m going to play with two longer hits ever again, to be honest.  I played with Cameron a few times and with Foxy a bunch over the years and they just hit it miles.  I mean, it’s so impressive to watch.

Yeah, I mean, I’ll get to put the pressure on them going into the greens, so it will be good.

Q.  And Cam, what’s the goal next year?  What would you like to tick off?

CAMERON SMITH:  Probably the same as last year.  I didn’t quite get to the top‑20 in the world.  I wanted to do that all year and didn’t quite make it.  I think I got down to maybe 25 or 26 or something like that at the start of the year.  But I definitely want to get in there.  I feel like that’s the next kind of big step.  But it’s a lot of hard work and it’s a lot of good results, but I’m willing to do that.

Q.  History, 112 years, is it important to you, your place in golf history and I guess what you can achieve this week?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, for sure.  I mean, especially being in my backyard essentially.  It will be really nice.  I haven’t really ‑‑ I don’t really like thinking about, you know, “what if.”  I’m just kind of going to try to do my job to the best of my ability and if it happens on Sunday, great.  But if not, you know, I’ve given it my all and it kind of is what it is.

Q.  Just quick, do you think there will be any residue from the Presidents Cup ‑‑ I mean, there was a fair bit of bitterness there during the week, wasn’t there ‑‑ when you get back on Tour in the States?

CAMERON SMITH:  I don’t think so.  I think I was just passionate last week.  I just wanted the ‑‑ I wanted the home crowd to really get behind us and they did, they were great all week.  I think those guys understand.  I mean, they get it when they’re in the States, so why shouldn’t we have it?  It was a really good week and I think they understand and they kind of respect everything that happened, so it is what it is.  I’m sure we’ll move on and next year will be next year.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, everyone.

MODERATOR:  It’s a pleasure to welcome Adam Scott, the 2013 Australian PGA champion. 

Adam, what’s it like being back to Royal Pines?

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, it’s looking good out there this morning, in very nice condition for us this week.  I think now the greens have really settled in since the changes over the last five or six years.  It was nice to see them receiving shots so well, but generally the course is in great shape.  It’s a lot to play for this week.  My goal is to kind of bring a similar kind of focus that I had going last week to the golf course and try and get my name on that trophy again.

MODERATOR:  Obviously you’ve been involved in some significant tournaments as of late.  How are you feeling coming into this week?

ADAM SCOTT:  Feeling good.  I started playing really nicely last week in Melbourne, so whenever you get those good feelings, it’s always nice to have an event to play in.  You know, I would like to kind of make the most of that this week.  Things were really starting to fall into a good spot down there, so see if I can carry it over here and put some good rounds in.

Q.  You typically wouldn’t play the week after a major or another big event.  Is it a little bit of a challenge to try and get yourself up and about to play this week?

ADAM SCOTT:  Not really.  I mean, I kind of knew I was going to be doing it so I prepared myself for it.  And like I said, what I am excited about is I like where my golf game is at leaving Melbourne.  If I can bring some of that out here this week, then I think I’ll have a good chance of getting myself in for a chance to win, and that sounds fun to me because I would like to try and take some good momentum into next year.

Q.  Speaking of the trophy, Cameron Smith has a bit of a stranglehold over it.  I know you guys had a bit of banter back and forth.  Can you tell me about that?

ADAM SCOTT:  Well, you know, obviously Cam’s had a good run here, but that’s got to come to an end at some point and I’m sure it’s not just me who wants to take the Aussie Open, there’s probably a hundred‑plus other guys who would like to do it this week.  But I’m certainly feeling good after last week.  And the fact that I haven’t won a trophy for too long, I definitely would like to change that right here.

Q.  As you say, you haven’t won I think for three years or so, but when you look at this year, I think you’ve had a fairly significant improvement in the world rankings.  It has been a very consistent year in terms of performances.  How would you describe your year?

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, it was a very consistent year.  Of course there are a couple weeks here or there where I didn’t play my best, but generally I played at a very high standard.  There were a couple of very close calls on the PGA TOUR where I got beat by a shot and most other years I’m sure I would have had a (inaudible) score to win, but the standard is tough out there.  The guys are playing at an incredibly high level, so it’s been good to see that I can kind of keep my game up at that level the way I want. 

However, consistency is not yielding wins and I think even the guys at the top can attest to that.  You kind of have to go out and play flat out and make sure it’s your week where it all falls into place.  I think the game’s changed a little bit and consistency used to be rewarded, but less so these days. 

Q.  Adam, we all saw how much last week meant to you.  Sunday on the stage you took it a bit hard.  You’ve spoken about how important it was for you to experience the Presidents Cup.  Can you take us through how you rationalise that, what happened on the Sunday afterwards and how you picked yourself up again and how devastating it was on a personal level?

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah.  I was sure waking up Sunday morning that was not going to be the result.  I thought everything we had done all week was correct and there wasn’t anything unusual about what we had done for Sunday, so I’m surprised. 

I don’t know how every match went, but it just felt like we got off to a slow start in most matches.  There wasn’t a lot of guys up early and that kind of cost us in the long run.  The guys who were up seemed to tie. 

But, you know, it’s so disappointing because the guys had done an incredible job to get in that position we were in.  I don’t think anyone would have given us a chance of getting a 10‑8 lead at the start of the week if you look at the teams on paper.

But once that American train gets running, it’s strong.  It’s got a lot of depth and if I’m rationalising it, maybe that’s where we came up a little bit short on Sunday.  We just didn’t quite have the depth to match them.  They just played to their potential on Sunday.  I don’t know.  I’m not sure exactly what we could have done different.  When you lose, you can pick on anything, but I think we’re all a bit surprised that we couldn’t get it done. 

So on a positive note, you know, I think there was a lot of good come out of it for our team and how we should structure ourselves moving forward, so I’ll look forward to hopefully having another chance in a few years and try and get it over the line this time.

Q.  Adam, we rarely see you struggle like you did in the first round of the Aussie Open.  What’s changed in the past two weeks?  What have you found?  What have you worked on that’s got you feeling so good about your game?

ADAM SCOTT:  I just pulled three or four drives on that front nine at the Aussie Open and made bogeys, and kind of in tricky conditions, was not easy to get shots back, so that ended up costing me.  I mean, I played quite nicely Friday there and then it just got better and better.

You know, just slightly out of sorts off the tee there that front nine was all that was, so I just kind of fixed that up on Friday morning and since then I’ve played quite nicely.

Q.  Is there an adjustment going from obviously the Royal Melbourne experience last week to Royal Pines?  It’s two different golf courses.

ADAM SCOTT:  Absolutely.  I mean, I left most every chip and putt a bit short today, unsurprisingly.  It was incredibly firm and fast last week and this is more typical of the Queensland Bermuda‑style greens.

Like I said, they’re much more receptive than they’ve been in past years (audio interruption) been blowing here for a couple of months and if the greens are too firm with that kind of wind, it gets a bit tricky out there.  So you like seeing nice shots being well received into the green and I think that will make this a much more scorable golf course this week.

Q.  Adam, at some stage you’re the perfect fit for the Presidents Cup captain.  Is what Tiger did this last week, has that advanced your thoughts that you can even embrace being a player‑captain at some point?

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, I don’t know.  I think after seeing what Ernie was going through, I don’t know if playing captain’s a good thing or a bad thing.  There’s a lot that goes into it.

It was exciting that Tiger was a playing captain, for sure, for the tournament.  It added a little something.  But potentially it’s limiting.  You know, I mean, you would assume that he’s going to play himself early on Sunday so he can have control over everything for the rest of the day.  If that isn’t the best strategy, then you don’t want to affect the team in a negative way. 

I don’t think it’s going to happen with me.  I think there’s a few guys who will definitely fill the role for the next few years, and hopefully I’ve got a few more years to concentrate on playing.  Then I don’t know where that leaves me, but I’ll look forward to being involved as much as I can in the next few years.

Q.  As Bruce mentioned before, you made a really nice leap in the rankings this year.  Measuring success in your game now, is it still trophies?  How hungry do you feel to get a few more of the big Australian ones that have perhaps eluded you in the period ‑‑

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, that’s all it is.  I mean, the rankings kind of only matter to get you in all the tournaments.  If you’re in that position then. 

You know, I’m not necessarily motivated to be the No. 1 player in the world as much as I’m motivated to win a major championship.  I’ve been now ‑‑ all of it’s great, but a major championship can happen on a week and to get to No. 1 is a very long process.  If you start getting up there, then maybe that motivation will come again, but to win some trophies and win some tournaments, certainly the majors, there are a few other specific tournaments around the world I would like to win that I haven’t won. 

But here this week, absolutely.  I felt like whatever years were my best golf, a couple of these slipped away, one in a playoff here to win the PGA again.  There was an Australian Open or two that I was close at.  It would be nice while I’ve got a few decent years left in me to kind of wrap up a few more wins down here and leave as strong a legacy in the Australian game as well.

Q.  How much is it burning this time that you haven’t won?  You had a great year, but is it burning inside that you haven’t won since 2016?

ADAM SCOTT:  Yeah, it’s very ‑‑ it’s frustrating because I feel there have been some weeks where I’ve had the chance and it hasn’t happened and it’s very hard to find where I put a foot wrong in those examples.  Someone just played better and that’s annoying because it’s hard for me to control what they’re doing.  It just means I’ve got to lift my game a little bit higher.  It’s all right there. 

But I feel like I’ve been in a similar spot in my career to this before.  If I remember, maybe 2012 I was playing at a very high level and I didn’t win all year.  I ended up winning the Australian Masters at the end of the year, but I’m at that point where I just need to keep pushing myself along, keep the intensity at the right level because I’m doing the right things, it’s going the right way.  A breakthrough win here this week can carry me a long way into next year with Augusta only a few months away now.  So it’s important that I kind of get that win, and the confidence that those wins give you can take you a long way.

Q.  After taking last year’s summer off in Australia, did you have any thoughts coming back that you would get any sort of negative feedback from crowds or anything like that, because from the last three weeks you’ve been a popular player in the field, but did you have any thought that that might be the case?

ADAM SCOTT:  I didn’t really think about it too much.  I was I guess hopeful that everybody understood I was just having a rest last year and of course I would be back to play.  It was as simple as that. 

As mentioned last night at the dinner that the PGA held, that last week the reception from the crowd in Melbourne for me personally ‑‑ our whole team felt it, but certainly personally for me was a week that I’ll never forget.  It was fantastic.  They played a big part in lifting our team and my performance last week.  Holing a couple putts in front of them and having people go crazy was a lot of fun for me in my home country, so I’m so appreciative of that.  I wished I could have done a little bit better on Sunday because it would have been really fun to win a match in front of everyone. 

But certainly, you know, whoever comes out this week, I’m going to be playing hard and look forward to hearing a few cheers out there this week, too.  It’s been a fun three weeks even though in Sydney I didn’t even get to play my best, but I expect it this week.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, guys.

MODERATOR:  What a pleasure it is to introduce the 2019 Greg Norman Medalist, Hannah Green.  What a remarkable year it’s been, a standout Australian on one of the fiercest tournaments going around.  Hannah, a huge thrill last night to be awarded the highest honor in golf.

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, absolutely.  It’s really cool to be recognized by so many past players.  I guess  obviously the standout would be Karrie, but to have Greg and and Rodger  and then Pete and all those guys to then vote on me to win, it’s pretty cool because it’s tough competition among the nominees.

MODERATOR:  How big an impact has Karrie had on your career?  I know growing up she was an idol of yours.

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah.

MODERATOR:  And obviously working closely with her as your professional career took flight.  How significant of a role did she play? 

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, huge.  She took me to my first LPGA tournament to watch and to go to a U.S. Open when I knew I wanted to turn pro.  It was just perfect.  It was even better that week because she finished in the top‑10, so got to see the stuff like media.  This was the first time really knowing how much there is to do when you’re in contention and I think that really helped me at the KPMG. 

Yeah, she’s been a huge factor to my career and probably a lot of other girls on Tour at the moment, so I really have to thank her for opening everyone’s eyes.  

MODERATOR:  What was your goal‑setting like heading into this season?  You would have been fiercely determined to make your mark on the Tour.  Did you envision at all the success that would await this year?

HANNAH GREEN:  No, not at all.  I didn’t have any plans to win any tournaments.  So yes, you go out there trying to do your best, but on my goal list, none of them was to say win a major, win a tournament.  It was pretty much just trying to stay as consistent throughout the season. 

Last year I missed 10 cuts and I just wanted to make sure that I was making the cuts, but also finishing better on the results side when I did make the cuts.  So obviously besides the two wins I did achieve that, so I’m really happy.  It wasn’t too up and down a year this year.  There was some really poor results, I think I shot in the 80s the first major of the year, so there was some low points this year, but obviously some real high points, too.

Q.  Speaking of goals, what are your goals for the upcoming season? 

HANNAH GREEN:  I haven’t actually sat down and thought about it.  So once I came home from CME, then came to the Aussie Open to watch my partner Jarryd play and then visit Presidents Cup and now here this week, so I really haven’t had much time to relax and soak it all in as such. 

So when I get back home, I’m going to be home for two days and then I go to Bali, so I’ll probably (inaudible) and that’s when I’ll go and see my coach and starting setting goals and start getting a plan for January to get me ready for the season.

Q.  Have you played with Adam Scott before and what do two major winners talk about?

HANNAH GREEN:  It was my first time actually meeting him this morning, so it was really cool to be interacting with him and watching him obviously come off some good form from last week.  It’s great that he’s, I guess, in his hometown playing here.  Just to even see how he interacts with all the kids and everyone coming up and asking for signatures, it’s time consuming.  I give it to him, and he’s done a really great job of handling it all. 

But yeah, we were just talking about last week, talking about the course this week and just scheduling.  Just, you know, normal stuff, nothing too different.  Yeah, he’s really approachable and easy to talk to.

Q.  I guess you mentioned the word “scheduling” there.  I know you’re committed always to play as much as you can on the ALPG Tour, but any little tweaks you can see for the local women’s tour that would be beneficial?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, so this year I was lucky enough, I got to play four events on the ALPG, but two events clashed this year when the LPGA moved the schedule, so I’ll only get to play two this year, which is a shame.  I’ve actually never been to his country before, so I would love to go and see it. 

But I heard with the PGA and the ALPG merging that if we can get some more events on the schedule and then I can play more at home, it’s definitely ‑‑ I think my stats would show that I played really well when I’m behind the crowd.  I’ve had good results the last few Australian Opens, so I would love to play at home and I wish the LPGA could have some more tournaments, more co‑sanctioned events.  Hopefully, that can happen in the future.

Q.  You mentioned earlier about what you learned from Karrie when she took you over there about practice and media.  How much have you put that into practice I guess in six months since you won, in terms of balance, practice, et cetera?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, it’s huge.  I guess once I won KPMG and I signed my scorecard, I was there for four hours after the round completed doing all the media, getting ready for next year with all the commercial stuff, so that was a huge eye opener to me.  I had no idea.  I just thought you go home and celebrate pretty much, so that was a little bit delayed. 

But even just coming back to my next event, it was another major so obviously a bigger tournament but when I got to Evian, I had only one request that I had known about, but by the time I got there I had to do six or seven things. 

Now that I’ve signed with IMG, they can help me schedule my week, and it’s great that they’ve jumped on board and I’m really happy to have them. 

Yeah, it’s definitely different.  I didn’t realize how time consuming.  Obviously KPMG, leading wire to wire, I had to do press conferences and I didn’t practice just because I was so exhausted.  It takes a lot of time out of you, but I really respect all the world top‑10 players, male and female.  It’s a lot to juggle.

Q.  I guess winning in Portland must have been very special because there was the potential for a letdown after the KPMG.  Was that a particularly satisfying week for you to be able to go on and win again?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, definitely.  It was just as important as the first win.  Obviously to myself it was kind of out of the blue to win KPMG, but I think to come back to another event and be able to take another title just proves that it wasn’t just a fluke and I’m not going to be a player that just wins once. 

Yeah, I think I actually missed the cut the week before Portland and even before KPMG, so wasn’t really thinking too much.  I think it was really good for me to have kind of a clear mind.  Yeah, played some of my best golf at Portland, so it was great to be in contention and fight against (inaudible) at the time.  Yeah, gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.

Q.  Just what are you going to do between now and the Vic Open?  Is there an event somewhere else before the Vic Open on the LPGA Tour?  Will you play that?

HANNAH GREEN:  No, I won’t be.  So we have the Tournament of Champions, which is I think the second week of January, and then following that the second week in Boca, so both in Florida.  But I’ve decided to not play them. 

I haven’t really had much time to switch off from golf.  Even though I have been outside the ropes most of the time these three weeks, I still have played some golf and haven’t really been in a nongolf environment.  So when I get back to Perth on Sunday, I’ll probably put the clubs away, not go to the golf course and actually have some time off.  Then I think I’ll be ready to get ready for next year.

Q.  And how’s it been working with ‑‑ you’re working with Ritchie Smith, are you? 

HANNAH GREEN:  Um‑hmm.

Q.  In terms of how often you deal with him during the course of the year when you’re away?  He comes over, no doubt, occasionally, doesn’t he? 

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, so this year I actually did things different.  I came to Perth, I think I returned maybe four or five times during the season for two‑ to three‑week spans.  So the first week I would generally take the week off just to get my jet lag and everything all sorted and then my trainer came for a couple weeks. 

I think he actually only came over to the U.S. once and that was actually to see Minjee because I was at home at the time.  It’s worked well in that sense because there’s only really so much you can do during a tournament week and I don’t have too many weeks off in the U.S.  So he would generally be coming to tournaments. 

But next year with the Olympics with Minjee being on the team and me being in the second position there, he’ll definitely come there and perhaps some other events as well.  I think it’s important for him to come and watch some tournament play because sometimes he can say you had a great day and it’s not, and then vice versa, so it would be good for him to see in person.

Q.  You mentioned a couple of times missing 10 cuts, you were not expecting to win this year.  When did you believe that you belonged on the LPGA Tour?  When did you feel comfortable?  Was there a tournament where you felt within yourself that you were in a good place?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, I probably would say last year’s Australian Open, I was in contention in the final group and ended up coming in third that week.  It was pretty early to say that, it was only my second tournament as a rookie, but I think self belief is the biggest thing with this sport.  You see so many people that are so talented but they just don’t have the self belief and that’s why they don’t make it. 

By that stage I probably felt that I did deserve to be out there, but by no means did I think it was easy.  I know you’ve got to work hard.  With the Asian influence on Tour, all those girls are practicing all the time and that’s not how I would approach it, but I think mentally it’s probably just as hard.

Q.  Which of the four days at KPMG was the toughest?  I mean, I guess it gets gradually tougher.

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, I think Saturday, to be honest, because you’ve held the lead for a few days and then you’ve got one more round and that’s it. 

It was great, I had a really good Saturday night.  I was really lucky that by the time I had gotten to the golf course ‑‑ home from the golf course, the food was ready.  I was staying with Karrie and a few others in a house and we prepared an Aussie barbecue.  There was about a dozen of us at our place, so at least I was in my own house that I’m familiar with.  Even just to have Aussie banter and chatting.  No one was avoiding the situation, they all knew obviously the stakes, but it didn’t feel like ‑‑ they didn’t feel like they were putting pressure on me. 

Yeah, I think that was really nice to be amongst so many close people in my life that Saturday night and that’s when I felt the most nerves, but I managed to get some good rest for Sunday.

Q.  Did Karrie run the barbecue?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah.  Everyone else contributed in the house, which was cool, but yeah, Karrie cooked that night.  She’s a pretty good cook.

Q.  Is she a good cook?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, she is.  We had (inaudible,) we had sausages, I think we had potato bake and then some veggies.  It was great.  Obviously it was really fun.

Q.  I just wanted to touch on the medal.  Can you just describe for me the emotions and what you were thinking when you heard your name?

HANNAH GREEN:  Yeah, it’s pretty cool.  I guess it was obviously Scotty, Minjee and Leish, it’s a pretty hard competition.  So even to see Karrie presenting the medal to me, I was like gosh, this gives me chills.  Someone who’s been a big influence on my career and influence to Australian golf. 

Yeah, it was definitely really exciting.  Now that I have it, it’s really cool.  Even saying (inaudible) on the last green, we were both trying to fight (inaudible,) so yeah, it was really cool.

MODERATOR:  Thanks, guys.