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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 17, 2016

Fabian Gomez

Honolulu, Hawaii

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We'd like to welcome Fabian Gomez into the interview room, winner of the 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii. Fabian, what a day, seven consecutive birdies and you're out to an 8-under par 62 and then an incredible playoff victory over Brandt Snedeker. Just get some comments on a fabulous victory.

FABIAN GOMEZ: I'm really, really happy. It's my second victory on TOUR. I felt good all week long and was able to put on a great round today. And I had Brandt Snedeker in front of me. And I got on a streak with seven putts in a row. And it makes me feel good and feel like I could win the tournament.

Q. (Inaudible).
FABIAN GOMEZ: It's all this stuff that we have to shape the ball in order to put it in play. And after the first hole of the playoff, I was walking on the way back to the second playoff hole and I said to my caddy, I'm going to try with a hybrid this time, but we just need to put the ball in play. I played five times, four in regulation.

Q. I think I heard you mention something about your caddy's father passing away. Can you talk a little about that?
FABIAN GOMEZ: We have a great relationship. He's sort of quiet sometimes. And we knew we were going to have a chance and we were really proud we were able to do it for him.

Q. How difficult is it to make two bogeys back to back and then come back with two birdies at the end to recover?
FABIAN GOMEZ: I never actually had a doubt about it, about myself or my swing. But on 13 I think I missed a putt for par. But I knew I needed to make birdies coming in. I knew it was going to be really low to get it done, and I sort of let that go away and kept going.

Q. Do you remember having a run of seven straight birdies before?
FABIAN GOMEZ: No, I don't really remember seven in a row. I definitely don't recall something like that. Maybe four or five, but not seven.

Q. With the win, you go up to 55 in the world. What do you think about Olympics and how much is that a goal of yours?
FABIAN GOMEZ: Yeah, I'm really excited about being able to get in the Olympics. My main goal, I work hard to be able to win, but I know that by winning I will be able to reach that. It depends on how things go with other players, but I feel like I will be almost there.

Q. Can I just get the name of the caddy and his father and how long you knew him?
FABIAN GOMEZ: The caddy name is AdriÃ¡n Monteros, nickname Coco. His father passed away before Christmas. I don't recall the name of his father. I actually never met him.

Q. Is there anything about the greens here that made you able to putt like that?
FABIAN GOMEZ: Well, Argentina in South America we are really skilled players. And on the weekend we have practice sessions and starting to feel really good.

Q. Could you give just a short history on your golf background, how you started, where you started?
FABIAN GOMEZ: I started as a caddy when I was eight years old until I was 16 or 17. After that I moved to Buenos Aires. That's where I started practicing and turned pro, started playing Argentina a little bit. And then that kept going to Latin America, and then from there I started getting better. And by the age of 25 I would come over here to play mini tours and then Q-School and then they called me to Web.com, and kept going.

I have great memories of when I was a caddy, not being able to afford to play and now how it is to make some money and be able to play.

Q. I heard you really enjoyed soccer. When you were a kid playing, did you have to decide at some point between soccer and golf?
FABIAN GOMEZ: I was always close to my family's side. I lived close, right by the golf course. And even though I played soccer, I had sort of an attraction towards the golf. And at some stage of life, 14, 15 years old I saw I was pretty good at it, so I just kept going with that.

Q. How much did caddying when you were young help you learn the game?
FABIAN GOMEZ: Actually, while I was caddying, I was usually caddying for high kind of players, so it was not like I was learning golf. But I learned how to behave, be patient and all that kind of stuff. I actually learned playing with the other caddies. They would go out there and make more money, but you have to learn no matter what because you have to win.

THE MODERATOR: Fabian, once again, congratulations. And Jose, thank you for your help as well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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