LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL SERIES: PORTLAND

June 30, 2022

Eugenio Chacarra

Carlos Ortiz

Pat Perez

Pumpkin Ridge

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have Eugenio Chacarra who is our new LIV golfer, No. 2 amateur in the world and he's turning pro today. It's his first pro event. Then Pat Perez, who's T3, and you have Carlos Ortiz who is currently in first.

Q. Eugenio, I know you were excited about going back to Oklahoma State for another year of college and now you're turning pro here. What changed for you, and what made you want to join the LIV Golf series?

EUGENIO CHACARRA: Pretty easy. I love what LIV Golf is going for golf. I love the format; it's kind of the same as college, and I felt I was ready to make my debut -- turn pro, and I was talking to my team and Oklahoma State, obviously, and I thought it was the best decision for me and just to play with these guys and get experience and get my game better.

Q. What made you think that you were ready to turn pro now and not a couple months ago when you decided to go back to Oklahoma State?

EUGENIO CHACARRA: Well, the PGA TOUR, what they've created with PGA TOUR University is great, but they didn't secure you anything. One of my best buddies, Austin Eckroat, is playing Monday qualifying until June this year, so I was like, okay, I'm great, I'm No. 1 in college golf and all these things, but the PGA TOUR doesn't secure me anything, and I have a tour with also the best players in the world playing here with a great format and that secured me play two years and play consistent golf, and I feel like it was the best part for me to get ready for the pro states.

CARLOS ORTIZ: He wanted to play with me.

EUGENIO CHACARRA: Also that.

Q. Pat, are you feeling kind of like this is -- I don't want to say a rookie, but obviously --

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I was actually nervous a lot today. It's a new deal, a new thing. But for me I'm trying to play well for my team. Dustin is our captain, he brought me out here, so I feel a little bit more pressure to not let him down because I'm fourth on the team so I've got to carry my weight.

It was kind of a little nerve-racking day. It was different. It was great. The fan support was phenomenal. They were having a blast out there. It was a great day. It was a great day.

Q. Aside from being a part of a team, how did it feel different from a Tour event?

PAT PEREZ: Not really because you still had people yelling and drinking and having fun. It was a little more interaction, more of a limited crowd, so I talked to the crowd all day, had a blast with them, and they were behind us. I think it was awesome to have that support.

Q. Does 54 holes make it feel like you can't really sort of ease your way into it? In other words, you don't want to get too far back?

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, you need to get off to a good start. You've got to get off to a good start and then obviously stay with it because there's no really letting up. Yeah, every shot means I think a little bit more.

Q. Carlos, I know Pat said he had some nerves. Did you have any? It didn't look like it out there.

CARLOS ORTIZ: No, no, we actually talked on the putting green this morning. We've played so many tournaments together, and I said, this is the most nervous I've been in a while. He's just like, I'm the same way. It's like that.

I got brought in by Sergio here to play in the team, and I feel like I have a compromise to perform for the team, Eugenio and Abe, too, and that team aspect, it's actually a huge difference for me. I love it. It makes me try harder. I've always grew up playing team events for Mexico and I love the format. I loved playing in college, so it just makes me almost play better.