LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL SERIES: BOSTON

August 31, 2022

Anirban Lahiri

Joaquinn Neimann

Cameron Tringale

The International

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the 11 o'clock press conference for the LIV Golf Invitational Boston. We are joined by three more new LIV Golf signees: Cameron Tringale playing on Team Hy Flyers captained by Phil Mickelson. We have Joaquin Niemann who is the captain of Team Torque. And we have Anirban Lahiri I who is playing on Team Crushers captained by Bryson DeChambeau.

I want to start off, Cameron, can you tell us a little bit about your decision to come to LIV and what really intrigued you about coming here?

CAMERON TRINGALE: Yeah, first off, thank you. The team aspect really is something that caught my attention right away when I started, when I first heard about LIV. That just sounds exciting and something that I wanted to be a part of.

All of us who played college golf had some nostalgia for those days and being on a team, being in a small group sort of fighting for the same thing; and so the last -- my whole career I've played as an individual and really looking back and cherishing those moments from college, and being a part of something together was really intriguing and I'm excited to be on the High Flyers this week. We have a great team and championed by one of the best players in my generation. I'm excited to get to be alongside him and learn from him and continue just to contribute to the team.

THE MODERATOR: You guys are both the No. 1 golfers in your respective countries. LIV Golf is really giving an opportunity to spread golf to every corner of the planet, right. Can you guys talk a little about what this means to growing the game of golf in your home countries and you guys being a representative for your countries?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Being from Chile where golf is not a big sport and being able to help back in Chile, the more important thing for me is to engage all the kids and the younger people to golf; that way we are going to have superstars in Chile. I'm really excited about it. Going to have a tough time to go back to Chile and spend a lot of weeks where I do tournaments in Chile where I support the kids. Yeah, I'm excited for that and looking forward.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yeah, it's a fantastic thing for golf in India. I think everybody in India is excited so far, the golfing community, the media. Everyone is thrilled to be honest. For me also to kind of go back, play in the region, play in Asia; I started there and that's where my roots are and that's where I come from. It's exciting for me to go back.

And also, go back to the Asian Tour and play a few events there. That was my home tour for the longest time, and we have like 15, 20, maybe more professionals playing on that tour who could potentially be the next, you know, superstars of golf from India.

There's so much good that's going to come out of this. It's definitely going to boost the growth in that region one way or the other. Also me getting to spend more time at home kind of similar to what Joaquín said, it's fantastic, and the coverage, too. People are going to watch me hitting a lot more golf shots than in the past. That's a fact and that's what people want to see and that's what they are excited about.

Q. You're going to be I think the youngest captain we've had out here. Curious what you go into in terms of your responsibilities of being captain and just the whole team content of LIV and how that was maybe an attraction for you to join?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Yeah, I'm really excited to be a captain and be part of a great team. I remember those days in junior golf where as a country we play a lot of team events and it's the best memories I have from golf. Playing with friends and a lot of competitive golf around the world was something that I enjoyed a lot, and being able to start that again in a way more competitive golf I think is going to be amazing, and be part of a team where I can, yeah, just be closer to three other guys and try to support them as much as I can and grow together.

Q. Do you have some motivation speeches planned?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Not yet. I have to start reading some books of leadership, yeah.

Q. Cameron, California guys on your team, do you feel like that might be -- build some camaraderie there?

CAMERON TRINGALE: Yeah, I think without question, California kids grew up with a certain tenacity and there's some common ground with Matt, Phil and myself. Also, Bernd, too. He's not from California but we've all played together for at least for a number of years, and so those are all guys who I've always gotten along well with and I'm looking forward to getting to continue to knowing them better.

Q. Joaquín, you're one of the younger stars on the PGA TOUR. Were there any concerns during the signing process and the negotiations? Did you hold any concerns, and if so, what were they?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Yeah, obviously I had thought about it a lot of days, and yeah, I'm really happy with my decision and I'm really excited to be part of a new tour, of the LIV Tour, and be able to grow the game for the community. I'm really excited with the team format.

Q. Were the majors a concern for you, access to the majors going forward?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Yeah, I think we've got a lot of top players here, the top 48 players in the world. We earn our place in the majors and if they want to see real competition, they have to have the top players. That's why the majors are there.

Q. Do you think that your signing is enormous for LIV Golf because of the region you bring with you?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I guess time will tell but so far, the feedback I've received, people are excited. I'm excited. And also, you know, the first thing everyone said back home is people associate in that region more with team sports than individual sports.

But me being on Bryson's team, he's a global figure in golf and he's done some tremendous stuff with his distance and all of that. And people are going to say, who, wow, he's on XYZ's team, or he's on Phil's team or he's on Joaquín'S team and what that also does is by extension, it builds a greater fan base. I think that's already going to start catching up with that region specifically and just playing golf in the region, too.

I never grew up watching so many major winners play in my neighborhood, which is going to happen. That's something that people here don't understand because they see it every week. They can drive a few hours and see it down the road from the town they live in; I couldn't. And that's going to be a possibility going in the future and that's where you inspire the next generation.

Yeah, it's definitely going to be impactful.

Q. Off-mic.

CAMERON TRINGALE: I'll go first there.

First of all, love coming to New England. This is a great sporting town, and I think as recently as June for the Open at The Country Club, you could see how many people love golf; and with the absence of the Deutsche Bank and that event leaving this area, I think golf fans are excited to see golf.

My takeaway is the people here have always been incredibly supportive and they love sports and it's a great combination for what we are trying to do here, what LIV is all about, creating new energy and bringing people who love sports to golf.

So I can't wait to see the turnout and I'm excited to get started on Friday and share with this region and beyond, but tangibly, people will come and see what LIV is doing and how they are growing the game and how they are trying to reach the communities in which we play.

So I think that will be a good testimony.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I've played a few times. Obviously the Travelers has been a venue I'd love to go back to. I've played TPC Boston a few times in the Playoffs. Some phenomenal golf courses, and the International is definitely right up there.

The turf conditions are immaculate. It's a nice layout. It will make for some nice entertainment this week. You will see a lot of birdies this week. There's a few hard holes. There's some very, very pretty holes, very gorgeous holes. Like on TV, I think it's going to look stunning as well. I think visually and in terms of make the broadcast, it's going to be extremely enjoyable. I know playing it is going to be very much a lot of fun, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Joaquín, have you played in New England?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Yeah, I love coming here, especially how beautiful the golf course looks, and the bentgrass is one of my favorite surface to play on.

And yeah, like Anirban said, Travelers hand been one of my favorite stops on the PGA TOUR, and it's similar grass which I love. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't played the golf course yet but I've heard it's pretty up-and-down. Pretty hilly.

Q. Pretty much all the big Latin stars have signed to LIV now. Do you feel like Mito Pereira is the one kid that didn't get picked for the soccer team?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: He always will be the goalkeeper.

Q. We were walking the golf course yesterday when you made a comment that really stuck with me. You said that -- 15 years almost to the date that you have turned professional, and a few years before that as an amateur working your ass off, and now you can do something for your family. Can you just elaborate on that?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think all of us in this room -- I think Joaquín has a few more years of the grind than us. But the grind never stops.

We are professional athletes and golf has evolved as a sport from when I turned pro in 2007. So I think it's always a grind. You are always working to get better. You are working to get faster, stronger, trying to stay up with the young guys. I mean, I'm 35 now. Like I said I turned pro at 20.

So yeah, you chase your dream. You chase -- and my dream has always been to play the best golf I can play. Play at the highest level I can play. Major championships obviously.

So you know, those dreams don't really go away. You still chase them but you reach a point where you're like, okay, I've done this for 15 years, I've chased this dream and everyone else on my team has had to follow and support and put up with everything that is centered around me.

But I also reach a point in time of my life now where I've had my second kid, and it's all about, man, I want to do some stuff. I want to be home more and I want to contribute and I want to give them the best environment I can. Give them, you know, the things I would like to give them. And it's not just things; it's the environment. It's being able to see their grandparents, for instance. I've been here for seven years and it's been extremely difficult.

Those are the things that are also like dawning on me. Life is equally important to me, my life, and my golf life affords me the opportunity to do both in a more balanced manner. I've said that more.

I'm just moving my direction but it doesn't affect my ambition and doesn't affect my dedication and what I want to achieve, I still want to do that, but I can balance it much, much better right now.

Q. For us back in the region, Saudi is a great partner, commercially. Are you trying to catch a moment when you want to talk to Greg and tell him, let's take a LIV Golf event over there and what would it do to golf in India?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I think down the road it's definitely something I would love to talk to him about because part of growing the game would be for us to take golf, the LIV golfers to take LIV Golf to different countries, different markets.

Like I said, you take it to India; I think we are playing in Thailand in a few weeks. Next year I think we are going to play in a different market again. I think that has to be a part of the long-term objective and I think the effect is definitely going to be dealt.

I already have received so many phone calls, messages that, hey, I want to come to Bangkok. People are going to fly up from India just to watch all of us play. And it's not just India. They are going to fly up from everywhere in that region. Because when was the last time so many major champions, so many of the top players in the world showed up in that part of the world to play golf? Never.

The last time we had a tournament of that magnitude was probably the Singapore Open way back. I know we had the CIMB in Kuala Lumpur. That was another flog ship event but we haven't had that in, what, four years I think? Five years.

So yeah, that region is starved of top quality golf and this is going to give that back to the region. So yeah, it's exciting.

Q. Cameron, you have made so many friends in Asia. I get messages saying, "Please say 'Hi to Cameron" and things like that. Are you excited that you will probably be able to play a bit more golf in Asia? I know you love their food and the people out there.

CAMERON TRINGALE: Yeah, for sure, seeing, going to different places in the word and experiencing the culture is a huge bonus for me as a professional golfer. I really look forward to immersing myself in wherever I am playing. So I'm flattered to hear about all the fans. I didn't realize that.

But I just love to see new places, the world is an incredible place as an American growing up largely in the bubble of our country to go outside and see how big the world is, is really special and something that I look forward to doing more with LIV as we continue to grow in Asia and beyond.

Q. You're a pretty good-looking guy. Why do you feel like people don't talk about this enough? (Laughter)

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Say thank you, at least.

CAMERON TRINGALE: Thank you. I'm married. I think I try -- the ring is definitely a sign of me being happy and I'm happy to keep my good looks for my wife.

Q. Sorry I have to follow that. I'm not sure how. On your Twitter feed, you say that you're living your dream playing on the PGA TOUR. When did that become no longer a dream?

CAMERON TRINGALE: It's not a matter of it being a dream. My goal in playing golf is to be as good as I can and to pursue excellence.

As a kid growing up, the PGA TOUR was the only place to play and as my life has evolved, similar to Anirban, the priorities of my life are shifting to where golf is -- and my career, is a big part of my life but it is certainly not the preeminent focus of my life.

And so I can look back and say, yeah, I lived my dream of playing the TOUR and now my dream is to be a better dad, a better father, a better golfer. It's all encompassed in one. I don't -- I don't put them in buckets like that.

Q. You're obviously now one of the youngest -- you're one of the youngest hot names in golf. A lot of people talk about how the PGA TOUR is sometimes a good launching pad for young talent, sometimes it's not. But you were making a pretty good name for yourself on the TOUR, so just with your age and all the potential you have in front of you, you know, what made you decide to make the jump just based off of that?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Yeah, like I said, the team aspect was the main thing that motivated me. Obviously financial, financially was nice, too.

But bringing the team format out and being able to represent that team, being a captain I think is a new chapter of my life and I'm really excited about that, and do the best I can as I always try to do when I'm on the golf course and off the golf course. I just try to always be the best I can on everything.

Q. For all three of you, another big part of LIV is being louder and more lit. Do you see that at all being a distraction while you guys are on the course or like even around the course?

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: I think it's going to be even more fun. Obviously the main goal is to grow the game and I think LIV Tour is really focused on that and bringing in all the attention to younger generations, and that's the only thing we need to grow this game, and I think it's the perfect idea.

CAMERON TRINGALE: I would say without having experience and watching it in the past, it seems like the experience for the fans is improved and that's a big part of what we do. We are entertainers. We are playing a sport.

But we are really here because people love golf and we are hoping that people who don't love golf also are drawn in to see what we are doing as far as the distraction. You know, we're all professional -- have been professional athletes. We're used to things happening, hospitality tents are never quiet. So as a player in the golf aspect, I don't see it being a factor. I just see it bringing -- bringing extra people so we can showcase our beautiful game.

Q. How different do you think professional golf will be for you three now that you're not only playing for yourself but playing for a team?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: It changes a lot, but it doesn't really change essentially what you're doing. You're still playing your golf ball. You still try to take as few shots as possible. You still use the same clichés one shot at a time and things like that. But the dynamic does change a little bit.

Hypothetically, say, you're 50th or 55th at a regular event, you go into a Sunday knowing, I shoot 67, I move to 30th. Well, you could go into this Sunday, not having a great week, but knowing fully well that three scores count and if I shoot 65, I could potentially get the team to the podium or contribute to that. So that's one major shift.

The other thing is even when you're on the golf course and you're playing, every now and then, you glance up and see how you're doing and you look at the team scoreboard and say, oh, okay. Three of us are playing average or poor. I need to pull my socks up. Not like you're not trying to do your best, anyways; you are.

But you certainly become a little more conscious that I don't want to go back to the team room or to my friend and say, 'I let you down.' We are all playing for ourselves. It's an individual sport but that dynamic is there. It was never there before, but it's going to come in now.

And it's unfair but a similar comparison would be, you know, in the bigger team format events, you see, oh, my team is down three points. This afternoon session, so you go out there with a little more motivation. I'm not saying it's the same, but the dynamic is similar. I think that's definitely a new aspect to when we go out there to play. Ultimately we are still playing our own golf ball, but yeah.

JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: I think it's going to be exactly the same since on the golf course -- on the golf course, I always wanted to be the best, I always wanted to try to get better and off the golf course is going to be the best. You get to practice with your team. You get to have a better time outside the ropes. You get to do in the locker room all together go for lunch, dinner and all the stuff adds a lot to how good you feel and that is also going to help play good -- better golf.

CAMERON TRINGALE: Like these guys said, I would just only add that if there's maybe that burden of responsibility for how you play in the past, if I play poorly, I play poorly and I can live with -- I can live with letting myself down and now I've got three other guys who are depending on me to play well.

Again, nothing will change but there is that -- there is that not wanting to let your teammates down; that it will be in the air. I mean, I would be lying if I said I had not thought about it even these first couple days.

Q. And just to follow up, for anyone who wants to answer, do you think the team aspect is will LIV Golf can separate itself from other tours around the world?

CAMERON TRINGALE: I'll keep going. 100 percent. I think golf has been an individual game for so long and I think LIV is trying to add to the game by creating a sport around the game, and that's something where the team aspect is going to be a weekly, yearly contest.

I think people will start to find their team, follow their players and it's like any other sport where a lot of the interest is driven by rivalries. It's driven by home courses or tournaments in their region.

Q. Do you think that is enough to overcome the historical context that this tour may lack as a new tour?

CAMERON TRINGALE: Well, golf is a game rich in history, no question about it. What we are doing here is not trying to get rid of the history in any way. We are trying to reach deeper into the conners and find new ways to bring people into the sport, and so I don't see us as being a detractor, but an additive piece to the world of golf.

So yeah, I can't wait to see it continue to flourish and it play out in the coming years.

Q. Bryson seemed very invested as captain. Just wondering how much you've been in touch with him about the whole team aspect so far, and then what do you think of the team obviously with Paul and CH3?

ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I'm extremely pleased to be on his team. Very excited to be around guys with so much ability and so much experience. It will be a good learning experience for me.

Also to what you alluded about Bryson, we had a pretty amazing team dinner yesterday. All the caddies, all the players went out, a couple of the agents were there and we were just ideating, talking. And you're right, Bryson is very, very invested in his team. He wants to do some big things with the franchise.

He has some really good ideas. He was talking to all of us about what our ideas are, what we would like to do, what I would like to do in my region, what Paul would like to see happen, what are the things that -- you know, what are the -- not changes, but what are the things that we would like to affect in our lifetimes.

Everybody talks about legacy, legacy, legacy; there is an opportunity to have a legacy with a team franchise. Didn't exist but it does now. Same thing happened with IPL in India. It didn't exist 15 years ago and it does now. It's now one of the most valued leagues in the world.

He definitely is interested and he gets it and he understands it. He enjoys the fact that he has more elbow room to do what he would like to do than before, and if I can contribute both on and off the golf course, contribute to the Crashers, obviously playing good golf, that's the first objective.

And down the road in the long run, you know, if I can be a part of bringing growth, development in my region or any region, golf, I don't care. We have all benefitted from golf and we can give back in different ways. Bryson sees the franchise and the team as a great opportunity or source to do that.

Yeah, I'm all in. I'm on board with everything that all of us talked about and it was actually fascinating and refreshing because a lot of us didn't think that way. Never did. But now we can. And you know, there's no limits to what you can do. It's just how far do you want to go. It's exciting times. It's untread waters, so it will be interesting to see how we chart our paths but anything is possible.