Captain's pick Sam Burns confident in Team USA at Presidents Cup | Golf Today | Golf Channel

PART OF THE NINTH STRAIGHT VICTORY IN THE PRESIDENTS CUP FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. RIZZING THE PUTTER UP. CAPTAIN'S PICK SAM BURNS JOINS US NOW. I SAW YOU IN ATLANTA. YOU FINISHED THE SEASON VERY, VERY STRONG, BUT YOU DIDN'T AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY, EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE ALMOST A SHOO-IN, WHAT WERE THE BUTTERFLIES LIKE AS YOU AWAITED THAT PHONE CALL FROM CAPTAIN FURYK? >> YEAH. THAT PHONE CALL IS ALWAYS ONE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING, AND HOPEFULLY IT'S THE CALL THAT YOU'RE ON THE TEAM AND THANKFULLY THIS TIME IT WAS. I'M REALLY EXCITE. >> WE'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM. WE'VE GOT A GREAT CAPTAIN IN JIM THAT'S GOING TO LEAD US WELL, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING UP THERE IN A FEW WEEKS. >> SAM, YOU WERE AN AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER LAST TIME, CAPTAIN'S PICK THIS TIME. DOES IT FEEL ANY DIFFERENT OR DO YOU FEEL A LITTLE EXTRA BURDEN TO JUSTIFY JIM FURYK'S VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN YOU? >> YEAH. I THINK IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENCE IN THE SENSE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF YOU'RE ON THE TEAM OR NOT, BUT I THINK WITH THIS GROUP OF GUYS AND, YOU KNOW, BEING AROUND THEM SO MUCH AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO PLAY WITH THEM AND JUST KIND OF HANG OUT WITH THEM, YOU HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE YOU STAND AND, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, I FELT PRETTY GOOD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MY SPOT ON THE TEAM. BUT, YEAH, IT'S MUCH EASIER WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT TOP SIX FOR SURE. >> IT WAS SO FUN FOLLOWING YOU DURING THE FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS BUT ONE THING I NOTICED LOOKING AT YOU AND XANDER AND SCOTTIE THE LEVEL OF FATIGUE IN A LONG PGA TOUR SEASON IS NO JOKE. IS THERE ENOUGH REST TIME FOR YOU GUYS TO BE SHARP AND READY TO ROLL AT ROYAL MONTREAL? >> YEAH. I THINK FOR SURE. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT TO START THE YEAR AND YOU KNOW THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF THE YEAR ARE GOING TO BE HOT AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, STRESSFUL WEEKS AT TIMES AND SO IT'S FUNNY I WAS TALKING TO SCOTTIE, AND HE WAS ASKING LIKE DOES EVERYTHING ON YOUR BODY HURT? I WAS LIKE YEAH. OUR GROUP AT HOME WAS GOING TO PLAY PICKLEBALL LAST NIGHT AND I USUALLY LIKE TO ATTEND THAT AND MENTALLY I WANTED TO BE THERE, BUT LAST NIGHT WASN'T THE NIGHT FOR PICKLEBALL. SO YEAH, I'M EXCITED TO BE HOME AND GET SOME REST AND LOOK FORWARD TO PREPARING FOR MONTREAL. >> IMAGINE ANY TIME YOU SEE SCOTTIE'S NUMBER POP UP IF HE'S LOOKING FOR ANOTHER BABYSITTER, MAYBE THAT'S YOUR PART-TIME JOB IN ROYAL MONTREAL. LAST TIME AT THE RYDER CUP A LOT OF GUYS DIDN'T HAVE ANY COMPETITIVE PLAY BETWEEN THE END OF THE PLAYOFFS AND GETTING TO ROME. IS THAT A CONCERN FOR YOU AT ALL THIS TIME AROUND? OR DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO COMPETE BETWEEN NOW AND THE PRESIDENTS CUP? >> YEAH. I THINK FOR ME, I FEEL TRY TO HAVE SOME GOOD GAMES AT HOME. WE HAVE SOME GOOD PLAYERS HERE AND SO, YOU KNOW, I TAKE THOSE GAMES AT HOME JUST AS SERIOUS AS I DO WHEN I'M OUT PLAYING. I THINK TRYING TO GET IN AS MANY COMPETITIVE GAMES AS I CAN AT HOME AND PAIRING THAT WITH REST I THINK IS GOING TO BE A GOOD COMBINATION FOR ME. >> YOU AND SCOTTIE HAVE BEEN PAIRED TOGETHER IN THE RYDER CUP AND PRESIDENTS CUP. HASN'T ALWAYS WORKED OUT. IS THERE A DANGER IN BEING TOO COMFORTABLE, LIKING SOMEBODY SO WELL THAT MAYBE IT DOESN'T LEAD TO ENOUGH POINTS OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH THE WORLD NUMBER ONE AND FEDEXCUP CHAMP AGAIN? >> I THINK WE'RE GOING TO RELY ON THE ASSISTANTS AND STATS GUYS TO PAIR US UP AS THEY BEST SEE FIT. I THINK I'VE ALWAYS ENJOYED MY TIME PLAYING WITH SCOTTIE. WE'RE GREAT FRIEND AND I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE PLAYED WELL TOGETHER. I DON'T THINK OUR RECORD REALLY SHOWS THAT. AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET POINTS ON THE BOARD FOR YOUR TEAM. SO, YOU KNOW, WITH WHATEVER THOSE GUYS THINK AND THE BEST COMBINATIONS OF PAIRINGS WE CAN COME UP WITH, I THINK THAT'S THE GAME PLAN WE'RE GOING TO STICK TO. >> SAM, YOU'VE PLAYED BOTH RYDER CUP AND PRESIDENTS CUP, AND I'M CURIOUS TO WHAT DEGREE THEY'RE DIFFERENT? BECAUSE THE SAME FLAG, BUT IT ALWAYS SEEMS AS THOUGH THE U.S. TEAM PLACES A LITTLE BIT MORE PRESSURE, A LITTLE BIT MORE SCRUTINY IN A RYDER CUP, BUT IS IT FAIR TO SAY YOU GUYS FACE PRESSURE GOING TO MONTREAL DEFENDING THE WINNING STREAK FOR AMERICA UP THERE? >> I THINK ANY TIME YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, TO PLAY AN AWAY GAME, AS YOU COULD SAY, I THINK IT'S ALWAYS TOUGH. THE FANS ARE GOING TO BE ROOTING HARD FOR THEIR NATIONALS. THE FANS ARE ROOTING HARD FOR THE EUROPEANS. I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE MINDSET OF EMBRACING THAT AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGE OF THAT. I THINK, YOU KNOW, NOW HAVING PLAYED A PRESIDENTS CUP AT HOME AND A RYDER CUP AWAY, I KIND OF HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT ENVIRONMENT WILL FEEL LIKE. I THINK THIS TEAM IS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT CHALLENGE AND I KNOW THAT JIM AND THE OTHER CAPTAINS ARE GOING TO HAVE US BEST PREPARED. >> SAM, I WAS STRUCK BY SOMETHING YOU SAID ABOUT LEADING THE PAIRINGS UP TO CAPTAIN FURYK AND THE ASSISTANTS. WE'RE IN AN AREA WHERE THE VOICE OF THE PLAYER SEEMS TO BE LOUDER AND STRONGER THAN IT EVER HAS BEEN. AS A GENERAL PHILOSOPHY, DO YOU THINK THAT ALL OF THOSE DECISIONS SHOULD BE UP TO THE CAPTAIN AND ASSISTANTS OR THE PLAYERS SHOULD HAVE SOME SAY AS TO WHO THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH AND WHO THEY'RE NOT? >> YEAH. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE PLAYERS TO HAVE THEIR SAY AND KIND OF EXPRESS, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT CERTAIN PAIRINGS OR, YOU KNOW, STATE OF THEIR GAME OR -- I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF BOTH. I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, GETTING IN A ROOM TOGETHER AND TALKING WITH THE CAPTAINS WHO HAVE TONS OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS FORMAT AND TONS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE TEAM EVENTS AND ALSO PAIR THAT WITH THE STAT GUYS WHO RUN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SIMULATIONS AND I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF GETTING VOICES TOGETHER AND JUST TALKING THROUGH IT. I'M GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE EVERYONE FEELS REALLY COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT GOING OUT THERE AND PLAYING. >> ONE OF THE OTHER CAPTAIN'S PICK ALONGSIDE YOU, SAM, IS KEEGAN BRADLEY. HE'S NOT JUST A TEAMMATE. HE'S ALSO POTENTIALLY YOUR RYDER CUP CAPTAIN. A YEAR FROM NOW, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK GUYS ARE GOING TO LOOK UPON THE PRESIDENTS CUP AS SOMETHING OF AN AUDITION FOR KEEGAN, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF DELIVERING UNDER PRESSURE BUT HOW THEY ARE AS A TEAM ROOM PRESENCE? >> YEAH. I THINK ULTIMATELY OUR GOAL AS A TEAM IS TO JUST GO UP THERE AND WIN THE PRESIDENTS CUP. I THINK KEEGAN, WE HAD BREAKFAST LAST WEEK IN ATLANTA AND WE WERE TALKING AND KEEGAN'S PLAYING THE BEST -- SOME OF THE BEST GOLF OF HIS CAREER. ARGUABLY, YOU KNOW, AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN MOST GUYS ON THE TEAM RIGHT NOW AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE WERE JOKING WITH KEEGAN LAST WEEK BECAUSE HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE RYDER CUP AND STUFF AND WE WERE LIKE, KEEGAN THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE YOU MIGHT BE PLAYING ON THE RYDER CUP. BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, OUR MAIN GOAL GOING UP THERE IS TO