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NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GARY PLAYER

November 10, 2018

Sergio Garcia

Sun City, South Africa

Q. 71, sum up that round today for us, please.
SERGIO GARCIA: I thought it was pretty good. The course is playing tough. You've seen it. You were out there walking. It's playing difficult, but yeah, I felt like probably I didn't get much out of my round. I felt like I was quite consistent.

Maybe I could have been a little bit more aggressive hitting a couple shots here and there but I gave myself a good amount of chances. Unfortunately the putts didn't want to drop today, and you know, but at the end of the day, shooting under par, still on the lead, and you know, I'm happy with that.

Q. Who better than to ask about the difficulties the wind provides around this golf course. You dealt with it better than everybody else, but why is it so difficult?
SERGIO GARCIA: It just swirls. It swirls so much. It just changes from shot-to-shot, and not even, say, you know, one hole is playing downwind and the next one it's coming the other way or anything like that. It's that you can hit a tee shot downwind and get to the second shot and it's into the wind.

Sometimes you have to really trust what's going on, and sometimes it's going to make you look silly, you know, because you're going to think that the wind is doing one thing and unfortunately it's not. But you know, it's what it is here. The wind swirls a lot because of all this, and you've just got to try to guess it the best way possible.

Q. You've won 30 times around the world. What kind of thoughts come into your head and how do you deal with them?
SERGIO GARCIA: I'm just going to keep trying to do the same thing. I know the course is going to be playing tough again. I'm going to go out and try to shoot under par like I've done all three days. I think if I can manage to shoot somewhere in the 60s, maybe 70 might be enough. I'm going to see if I can shoot below 70 and see if that's good enough.

Q. You've won twice around here before. What would a third time mean to you?
SERGIO GARCIA: It would be great. Winning any tournament, it's always amazing, but winning here, a Rolex Series Event, obviously extra special. It would be really nice, and you know, we're going to try to do that.

Q. Take us through the round, your overall thoughts how you played and how things went?
SERGIO GARCIA: I feel like I played pretty well. Again, I put the ball in play nicely throughout the day. Just unfortunately pulled it a little bit on 18. Not an easy tee shot into the wind on the left. But other than that, I felt like I did quite well.

I could have -- two or three more putts could have rolled in and it would have been a really good round on very tough conditions, and you know, other that that, I felt like I managed my game quite nicely and shooting under par, it's always a good thing.

Q. You mentioned the conditions. What was it like out there?
SERGIO GARCIA: It wasn't easy. Pins were tough again. The greens were a little bit firmer, and the wind, you know, like it's been all week, was swirling all over the place. You had to be very committed to the shots you were hitting and you know, I was able to do that for most of the day. So thankfully I'm still in the lead, so it's good.

Q. You mentioned the fact that you had won here before. How much does that help you at this stage of the tournament?
SERGIO GARCIA: I don't think it's any advantage. It's something that you have in your pocket I guess, but once you're out there, it's tough for everyone, and winning here doesn't mean that it's easier for you to do it. You know, every tournament is tough and this one is no different. So hopefully we'll be able to play great tomorrow and do it again.

Q. Seems like if you do win here, you become a fan favourite, and the crowds have been pretty good and supporting you, as well.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I've always said it. Very thankful to the way the whole world has treated me all around the world. I've always felt very connected with the South African people. They have always supported me nicely and I've given them some nice things to cheer for. It's been fun.

Q. Another solid round of 71. You looked like you gave yourself plenty of chances out there. Is that the overall feeling walking off?
SERGIO GARCIA: I think so. It was playing difficult. I felt like I played quite solid, not spectacular but I played quite nicely at the beginning. I gave myself some good chances. Unfortunately missed a couple close ones.

But yeah, I mean, I think that overall, probably shot the highest I could shoot today, so on a tough golf course, you shoot under par again, you're still leading by two now, so it's a good position to be in.

Q. You got off to a great start again, a couple of early birdies. Does it get frustrating when the putts aren't dropping and you don't feel rewarded for the play?
SERGIO GARCIA: Not really. You just have to keep going. It's as simple as that. There's nothing else you can do. You know, you try to stay committed to what you're doing. You know that we'd love to make every putt but unfortunately that doesn't happen. Sometimes you're going to miss them. You just try to make as many as you can and put the best round out there possible.

Q. How do you approach things off the back of a win at Valderrama; so the winning mentality very much there at the moment?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it's going to be tough, there's no doubt about that. But it's great to come with some good momentum, playing nicely and in the lead, so it should be a fun day and we'll try to make the most of it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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