Quotes of the Week: October 5, 2014

“In response to all of the recent discussion about our Ryder Cup loss, I would like to make a few comments… First, I take complete and full responsibility for my communication, and I regret that my words may have made the players feel that I didn’t appreciate their commitment and dedication to winning the Ryder Cup. My intentions throughout my term as Captain were both to inspire and to be honest.” (1/3)

“Secondly, the guys gave everything. They played their hearts out. I was proud to get to know each and every one of them. I know they are all going to win tournaments, be on future Ryder Cup teams and have wonderful careers.” (2/3)

“As for Phil’s comments, I completely understand his reaction in the moment… Phil’s heart and intentions for our team’s success have always been in the right place. Phil is a great player, has great passion and I admire what he’s done for golf.” (3/3)

“It is time for the PGA of America to recognize the great disconnect and formulate the same business model for selecting a captain as it does for selecting its president and officers,” - on the process used to pick Ryder Cup captains

Reporter: “Are you able to take it in, claiming the winning point in this Ryder Cup?” Donaldson: “No … because I’m still drunk.”

“No, I’m not thinking of putting my hat in the ring for it at all…Not at this time. There are plenty of other good candidates. Hopefully one day I’ll put my hat in the ring and hopefully I’ll get the captaincy at some stage. We’ll see about that, but certainly not in 2016. There’s plenty of other good candidates there, and we’ll leave it up to them.” - on the 2016 Ryder Cup captaincy

“We had philosophical conversations on the plane home yesterday, ‘Where do we go next? We understand what we have to do and we are not on a serious timeline. We are going to take some time and figure out the best way going forward.”

“(Tiger Woods) is someone I’d definitely consider…He’s a tremendous talent, but it’s hard to say right now because it’s only two weeks since I’ve hung up the clubs,”

“I’ve got 22 months to go... I’m starting at absolute zero probably at the moment ... I really feel good about my game, so I believe I can do it.” – on his goal to make the 2016 Olympics

“They say perfection doesn’t exist, but if perfection doesn’t exist then he has been as close as you can get to it… I think he has done a great job and I have learned a lot from him. Hopefully, one year, in the long-term future, I can bring some of his thoughts into my captaincy. It would be great, it was amazing.” – on Paul McGinley’s Ryder Cup captaincy

“Whilst I would be delighted to be offered the post, it’s the committee’s decision. An awful lot has been made about it, but we should be celebrating how well Paul and his team did without all this stuff going on. The committee’s there to decide who is the best man for the job.” - on possibly being named Ryder Cup captain for 2016