91Èȱ¬

Raise Your Game: What's the very best advice that you could give to young people who want to achieve the very best?

Colin Montgomerie: I'd encourage any young person to always get your education first because it might not work out and you've got to fall back on something just in case. I think that Corey and I being at the university gave us that insurance policy to enable us to play the game we wanted to play without the feeling of it being the only thing that we could do.

Corey Pavin: I think that's great advice. It's important for young people to have fun with what they're doing. They should enjoy their sport whatever it may be and they'll make the choice if they want to continue on. They'll then have the passion for whatever they're going after.

RYG: Do you respond best to the carrot or the stick?

Corey: It depends on what mood I'm in at the time. I'm a little bit more motivated by kindness than by someone yelling at me. That's just my personality, but some people need that kick in the butt (sic) so to speak. I don't need that. I'm willing to work very hard, but sometimes I just need some reassurance that everything is OK.

Colin: I would agree. I think very few people actually benefit from the stick as opposed to a carrot. I think that to actually sit down with someone in kindness and talk to someone regarding the situations that they find themselves in is a much better way. Kindness is the way to go.

RYG: You have both talked about respect and honour as being incredibly important. What do you hope to bring into the Ryder Cup?

Colin: We've got to acknowledge that we are custodians of this fantastic game here and that the winner will be the game of golf. Whether the American side is victorious or whether the European side are, we must both leave here thinking that we have put a positive note in the game of golf.

Corey: Yes absolutely. It's a great venue for people to see what golfers are like, how we respect each other and the game of golf itself. The sportsmanship that's displayed in the Ryder Cup is second to none. Millions of people are watching and it's very important that they see what golfers are all about as that's certainly one aspect we're very proud of.

RYG: What's more important attitude or talent?

Colin: Attitude is everything. It's not what happens to you, it's your reactions to it. Especially in the Ryder Cup, if you're one down or two down, it's your attitude to try and get you out of that state that counts. We're all talented and we all can play the game at this professional level, but at the end of the day it comes down to how you react to certain situations.

Corey: Yes, there's a lot of truth in that. Some players might have a little bit more talent than others, but when it comes down to it how we react to adversity, and what we do from that, builds our character. That's how we all mature and that's what golf shows. It's how we grow as people.