MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 4, 2022

Aaron Jarvis

Keita Nakajima

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the interview room, and welcome to the Masters.

Please join me in welcoming two first-time competitors at the Masters, Aaron Jarvis and Keita Nakajima.

Aaron earned his invitation to the Masters with a victory at the 2022 Latin America Amateur Championship in the Dominican Republic this past January.

And Keita was victorious at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai last November.

I'll begin with Aaron. Aaron, as a result of your breakthrough victory, you are the first player in Masters history to represent the Cayman Islands. What has been the response from your family and friends since you secured your spot in the field?

AARON JARVIS: I think after the tournament, they have been so welcoming. All the support they have given me has meant the world to me. And coming here this week, you could see the smiles on their faces, and it means a lot. I love them to death, and all the support has been pretty great.

THE MODERATOR: Following in the footsteps of the 2018 ACC winner, Takumi Kanaya, and Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama, you've added your name to the rich history of Japanese amateurs at the Masters. What does it mean for you to join them here this week?

KEITA NAKAJIMA: Following the footsteps of Takumi Kanaya and Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama, it's an honor to do that. I would like to be proud to myself to represent all the Amateur players in the world.

THE MODERATOR: What has been your biggest impression since arriving here at Augusta National?

AARON JARVIS: For me, when I first got here, the elevation change was just crazy. You can't really see that kind of stuff on TV, and then when I got here, seeing the whole place for the first time was pretty incredible. Like the green landscaping and from the first hole, that green all the way down to 12, it's pretty -- that view is pretty incredible.

So I think just the whole views and all that kind of stuff just kind of just hit my mind first.

KEITA NAKAJIMA: I have been watching Masters many times on TV, and it's still like a dream. It's pretty much surreal.

And I would like to do my best for the fans and feel my joy and do my best for this -- for this week.

Q. Can you talk about your Sunday practice round and maybe a particular player you went to ask to play with and what that was like to get a little denied there?

AARON JARVIS: Yeah, I was turning 9 and I saw Tiger hop out in front of me, and it was me and the U.S. Am champion. You know, there's no better "No" from -- or better rejection from Tiger Woods, right? So I thought would I give it a shot. I ran up to him and ran through the woods and asked, "Mr. Woods, are you playing by yourself or can we join?"

"I'm just going to play by myself today."

It was pretty cool seeing him playing in front of me. And after the round I got to talk to him and Joe for ten minutes or so, and it was just incredible.

Q. What was the best thing he told you or the best thing you learned from him?

AARON JARVIS: Just be yourself and go out and have fun, and like if you do the right preparation, then everything will take care of itself. So it was just incredible talking to Tiger, and hopefully I get to talk to him in the future as well.

Q. So three past AAC champions played together. So three of you from Japan played together for the round, especially when Hideki joined you in the back nine. So what did you chat about during your rounds and did you ask for any tips?

KEITA NAKAJIMA: Of course both of them are big mentor for me. Takumi told me slope on the greens, sometimes you can't really see it, so be aware of that.

And then Hideki cold me, green condition every day, it will change, so you have to be cautious on that as well. That's pretty much it.

Q. A couple shots, it looked like you donated a drive on No. 2 and No. 4, is your shot at the flagstick on that hole?

AARON JARVIS: Yeah, No. 2 wasn't a comfortable tee shot. The wind was off the left and blocked it a little bit and almost took a guy out. But, well, I pretty much did. So second tee shot of the day, that's just how it goes sometimes. And then on 4, almost getting a hole-in-one hitting the pin was pretty exciting.

Q. Can you talk about how you got started playing golf in the Cayman Islands and who connected you to the game and who was your teacher?

AARON JARVIS: So didn't really have a teacher when I first started. Didn't really have a teacher for the first, like, five years or so. And then started about 2013, we had -- Cayman hosted the Caribbean Junior Amateur Championships, and my brother was playing, and my dad said to come out and watch. And from there I went out and I started playing golf, and then took me about two years to kind of realize if this was what I wanted to do, and then my game took another -- like just kept getting better and better. And then from there, we are here playing at the Masters.

Q. You mentioned earlier the importance of family. If you had to pick one memory about your incredible journey so far today, what would it be?

AARON JARVIS: Probably just walking off or posting a score down in Dominican Republic and just having all my people there. One of my good friends from the Cayman Islands, too, and my brother and my dad, my brother watched every single shot I hit for all four days there.

Just that moment there of winning that with my dad and my brother there. Wish my mom could have been there, but she was screaming at the TV at home. But that was pretty special for me.

Q. You mentioned Tiger a little earlier. What do you think about him potentially playing here this week? Does that inspire you, and how good is he for the sport and other young players like you?

AARON JARVIS: For me, I hope he plays. And the game loves Tiger. You see that wherever he goes. And whether he plays, that will be his decision. Maybe I could play with him, too, you never know what happens, right.

Q. Get that round with him after all, right?

AARON JARVIS: Yeah.

Q. Could I ask Keita as well about your standout memory, the years, the hard work, what really stands out for you along the way?

KEITA NAKAJIMA: Of course my best memory is winning Asia-Pacific Amateur last year in Dubai, and the preparation towards that was I spent so much effort and put so much effort towards that. Winning that is just a fantastic memory for me.

Then I've been putting so much effort towards this Masters championship as well. So I've been working with Gareth Jones, international coach, and Hirokazu Suhara, trainer, together. And as a team, I want to do my best, and looking forward to it.

Q. You played with Brooks today for several holes; correct? Could you say where you met up with him? I guess you met him when you were here last week or the week before for a couple minutes, but can you just explain how you met him and where you picked up today, maybe what you guys might have talked about?

AARON JARVIS: So I was here like a week and a half ago for a couple days, and he was here, came up behind me, let him and his guys through, and I got to speak with him for a couple of holes.

Today I was playing with Talor Gooch on the front. Talor only played nine, and then kind of just strolled up to 10, hit my tee ball, and saw his caddie put his bag next to my bag and saw him rolling up, and from there we played nine holes. Pretty incredible. I learned a lot from him. It was an inspiration. I think he allowed myself to be who I am and get more comfortable with the thousands of people following him. So it was pretty cool.

Q. Did he offer you any advice that stands out or that might really be helpful?

AARON JARVIS: You know how he is, he gave me so much advice. It meant a lot to me. He said, "Just be yourself, and everyone is here to watch you."

I think knowing that and what he told me like helped me out a lot today, knowing that these people are here to watch you play, and allowed myself to kind of be who I am and just let the game come.

Q. So he was joking with you that they were there to watch you and not him or --

AARON JARVIS: I think he was pretty serious, no, no, that's like what he said to me. Like he said, "They are here to watch the players play. They are there to watch you guys, so just know that in your mind, they are there for you, so just go out and kind of perform and let the game come."

Q. You're really young, but to the really, really young golfers in the Cayman Islands, what advice do you have for them and what do you say to them? And are you aware of the history you're carrying forward?

AARON JARVIS: Yeah, just do what you love. I was playing other sports when I was younger, and then golf took over. And to all the younger juniors out there, just have fun with it, don't need to stress whether you play good or bad. I think if you enjoy it, then you'll keep practicing if you love the game. So just work hard.

Q. The Masters and Augusta National have some great traditions for amateur players, and always have. For each one of you, what's been your favorite?

AARON JARVIS: I think it might be tonight at the Amateur Dinner coming up, staying at the Crow's Nest will be probably one of the best experiences, and I think just playing when Thursday comes.

KEITA NAKAJIMA: Looking forward to play in front of fans, golf fans.

My favorite hole is No. 12, and hopefully the God of Golf likes me on that hole.

Q. Talking about the Crow's Nest again, are you both planning on staying there, and how many nights do you plan on staying there?

AARON JARVIS: I'm staying there tonight, and just one night, yeah.

KEITA NAKAJIMA: I'm not staying in the Crow's Nest.

Q. Usually when amateur players come here for the first time, they look more relaxed and their goal is probably enjoying the game and the golf course here, but you look very serious and very calm. Did you set up a different goal or very high goal for yourself when you are coming this week? And another thing I wanted to just ask your opinion, since we have three Japanese players here this week, and both you and Takumi come here as like No. 1 amateur in the world, what do you think is the key to the success of Japanese golf right now, both men and women?

KEITA NAKAJIMA: I'm nervous. I'm nervous playing in front of many fans. All I'm trying to achieve is do my best, focus on my preparation. I know lots of people support me, so I want to do my best for them as well. I haven't set a result goal yet, but I just want to do my best.

To the second question, of course Hideki Matsuyama has been my inspiration, of course. And lately, the National Team has invited Gareth Jones from Australia, been developing a high-performance pretty much and that's a big influence in Japan.

Of course Hideki and Takumi have been my mentors, so that's a great connection for Asia. That's the influence that we are seeing right now?

Q. Do you think it's fair to say that there might be more people on the grounds today that might live in your hometown of George Town?

AARON JARVIS: Probably triple the amount of people. There's a lot of people here. There's only 70,000 that live in the Cayman Islands. I don't know how many people are here but it's up there. It's pretty close.

Q. What about in terms of your own golf and spectators, obviously the Masters is unique for a practice round, but have you ever played in front of many people before?

AARON JARVIS: A couple times, but nothing like this. This is, boom, just thousands of people right in front of your face. Obviously you're nervous at times when you first start off in the round, but then it got more comfortable as the day went on. And when Brooks joined me and all those fans came, that allowed me to learn and deal with thousands of people watching, and it was what I needed out there, which was good.

Q. I imagine you watched Hideki win last year. Where were you to watch it, and being in Japan, what do you see as the effect of that victory on golf and golfers in Japan?

KEITA NAKAJIMA: I was back in Japan playing an event, JGTO event, and I was watching TV, and then I was very moved that history was made there. Achieving someone's -- looking at someone achieving their dream is just inspirational, fantastic.

I also remember watching Adam Scott winning as well, so that's a big influence on me as well.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much both for your time, and we hope your first Masters Tournament is memorable. And we wish you much luck and continued success, and we'll be rooting for you the next few days. Thank you so very much. Appreciate it.