[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[November 20, 1996]
[Pages 2127-2128]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister
John Howard of Australia in Canberra
November 20, 1996

President's Cup Golf Tournament

[The exchange is joined in progress.]

    Prime Minister Howard. ----I signed off a letter the other day 
trying to--and we're very keen for it to come here.
    The President. I've told the PGA that I thought it was a good idea 
not to keep it always in the United States, that I thought it would be a 
good idea to bring it here.
    Prime Minister Howard. And we're rather hoping it will actually come 
to the ACT right here in Canberra because they have--well, they have one 
really outstanding course in Canberra, as you'll find----
    The President. I saw it today.
    We're talking about the President's Cup; you know, the golf 
tournament. The PGA is trying to arrange to have it in Australia 2 years 
from now.
    Prime Minister Howard. In '98. And naturally, in the lead-up to the 
Olympic games, if we can pull it off we'll be delighted--and very 
delighted to have the President's endorsement of the idea, too.
    The President. I'm for it.
    Q. Will that change the rules to allow it?
    Prime Minister Howard. No.
    The President. No. The Ryder Cup is an American-European contest, 
and it alternates. So we just had the President's Cup in the alternating 
years--in the alternating 2 years we don't have Ryder Cups. It's the 
American team against teams essentially from Australia, Japan, and the 
southern part of Africa and anyplace else in the Asia-Pacific region. So 
we're going to alternate it.
    Q. Who's the golf pro in your entourage, Mr. President?
    The President. What do you mean?
    Q. There were reports----
    Q. [Inaudible]--golf and you brought a golf pro with you on Air 
Force One.
    The President. To my knowledge, that is not so. [Laughter]
    Q. Would you have liked to?
    The President. I would have, yes. I'm going to need all the help I 
can get tomorrow.

Zaire

    Q. Will you all talk about Zaire? Is that something that----
    The President. Yes. And we will have a press conference later and 
answer all your questions. We want to.
    Prime Minister Howard. Yes, you'll have a good run. [Laughter]

[[Page 2128]]

President's Visit

    The President. And I want you to have fun tonight.
    Q. We did the boat tour last night.
    The President. You did?
    Q. You get to do it tonight. The press was taken out on the same 
boat last night.
    The President. Good.
    Q. The view was spectacular.
    The President. Did they tell you there were sharks in the water?
    Q. They told us they had sharks on deck. [Laughter]
    Prime Minister Howard. A lot in the water, too.
    The President. In Sydney Harbor?
    Prime Minister Howard. Yes, seriously.
    The President. So you don't want to fall in.

Note: The exchange began at 10:50 a.m. in the Prime Minister's Office at 
Parliament House. In his remarks, the President referred to his 
scheduled golf game with Australian professional golfer Greg Norman. The 
exchange released by the Office of the Press Secretary did not include 
the complete opening remarks of the President and the Prime Minister. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange.