Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns defeated the so far so strong duo Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, who had celebrated a historic victory with 9&7 in the morning. Now they lost in the afternoon session on Saturday at the Ryder Cup 2023 in Rome. The Americans defeated the Europeans with 4&3 on the 15th hole. The two PGA Tour stars were in the lead from the first hole and did not relinquish it at any point during the match. In the interview, Burns and Morikawa talk about the importance of the point for their team, which is chasing a deficit ahead of the final singles on Sunday.
Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns interviewed at the 2023 Ryder Cup
Question: Congratulations, your first Ryder Cup point has come on an afternoon when your team really needed. Just how good does it feel to get that?
Sam Burns: Yeah, it feels great. I mean, just an awesome team effort today. I just said earlier, I mean, it’s so fun and playing with a guy like Collin. He’s just — I said every time I play with him, I’m more and more impressed.
Today that just continued. He’s so fun to play with. He’s never out of the hole. Every time I look up his ball is headed right at the flagstick. And that just gives our team more confidence.
So we did a good job out there. We knew it was going to be tough. We knew the crowds were going to be against us. We just kept fighting, and glad to put a point on the board for our team.
Question: Collin, did the fact that you knew you really had to win this session to give yourself at least a chance tomorrow affect how you went about the match sort of tactically, mentally?
Collin Morikawa: No, I mean, our energy was up. We know where we stand, and we know what we’ve done so far and in the past, you know, kind of first sessions, but we were leading. At the start seeing red on that first hole was very important for us. I’m glad we got that started. We kind of kept that momentum going and finally got that point on the board.
Question: No team has ever come from seven points back after three series of matches. What gives you the belief that this team can?
Sam Burns: This team. I mean, these guys are ready. We’re all positive. We know what we’re capable of. We know it’s going to be tough. We know it’s going to be a challenge. But we’re excited for it.