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NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GARY PLAYER

November 9, 2018

Sergio Garcia

Sun City, South Africa

Q. How disappointed are you with the finish?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it wasn't the ideal finish. Obviously I missed my tee shot on 16 a little bit. There wasn't much sand in the bunker. The club kind of bounced a little bit, but I felt like I hit a good shot on 17. Went a little farther than I thought. Managed to make a good four.

My goal for the day was to shoot a sub-70 round and I had the chance on 18. I thought, you know, looking at their putts the way they rolled, I thought that my putter was going to be breaking probably left-to-right, my first putt, and unfortunately it didn't. It kind of went pretty straight.

So then the second one, I said, well, I'll just hit it straight. Unfortunately moved to the left and then a big lip-out. We had some good moments and unfortunately these kind of things are going to happen throughout the week, and on a golf course like this, so we're still in the lead and you know, it's not a bad spot to be.

Q. These pin positions, they are getting my attention. What about yours?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, definitely. The pins are tough. These greens are a lot of little areas to put them on. Sometimes you can be on the green and don't have a putt and you have to chip. It almost happened to me a couple of times today.

But you know that that's what it is, and when they put the pins so close to the edges, some of those things are going to happen and you just have to deal with it the best way possible.

Q. Your thoughts on the round overall today?
SERGIO GARCIA: The course is tough. Not every day you're going to go out there and shoot 64. It doesn't work like that. I feel like I played quite well.

Obviously three 3-putts, that's never ideal. But on these greens, it can happen. They are so quick and some of the pins are so tucked to the edges that it's difficult to hit it close to them. But you know, other than that, I felt like I played well throughout the whole day.

I stayed positive. I stayed calm and just a shame that, I wanted to shoot something below 70. I felt like I had a chance of doing it. Unfortunately it didn't work out but we're still in the lead. It's good.

Q. The putting you mentioned, was that the main area of concern for you?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, it wasn't a concern. I hit good putts. It's as simple as that. Sometimes the ball just doesn't want to go in, and sometimes of the times, it does. I made some really nice putts, and unfortunately I missed a couple here and there, but that's going to happen through the week.

Q. Is patience and experience key around a course like this?
SERGIO GARCIA: Definitely without a doubt. The way this course is playing, it's playing hard every day. It's getting firmer and like we know how tricky it is with the wind conditions here. Patience is very important.

Q. How different were the conditions today compared to yesterday?
SERGIO GARCIA: It wasn't quite as windy as it was yesterday. The wind is still moving all over the place. You have to pay attention to it. A couple of holes were playing tough today and you know, unfortunately made a couple bogeys more than yesterday. I would have loved to only make a couple. Unfortunately we made four I think.

Overall I felt like I played well throughout the day.

Q. A second round 71. How much did some tricky pin positions have to do with that today?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it was tricky for sure. There's no doubt. Yesterday, too, some of the pin positions were tough, but they can do that here on this golf course. It's the kind of golf course you can tuck the pins in on some of these little corners, and then it becomes really, really difficult with the greens firming up to hit it close.

We knew it was going to be tough and you can probably see on the scoring, it was probably a little bit worse than yesterday, but you know, I think it was still a positive day and you know, we have two more to go.

Q. You made a great start with back-to-back birdies. Did you have a score in mind when you set off this morning?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I wanted to shoot something sub-70. Anywhere between 68, 69, something like that, would have been great. I had my chances of doing it. But I knew that the course is playing tough and there were going to be some tough holes there.

Unfortunately a couple of them caught me and we ended up shooting 71, so it's a good thing.

Q. How much will your experiences and successes around this golf course be able to help you over the weekend?
SERGIO GARCIA: I hope a lot. I wish I could see the future and tell you exactly how the weekend is going to go, but I'm trying to play consistent like I played the first two days, give myself a lot of birdie looks and you know, realize that the course is tough. It's not that easy to go out there. Because I shot 8-under on the first day doesn't mean you can do it every day. It's a difficult golf course.

Q. You've played here a lot. Does it still have the "wow" factor when you go out on the golf course?
SERGIO GARCIA: It obviously helps. It's been good out there. It's been fun with the crowds and everything. You know, it's a good golf course and we're enjoying playing it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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