LIV GOLF SINGAPORE

April 28, 2023

Sergio Garcia

Brooks Koepka

Sentosa Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Sergio Garcia, the captain of Fireballs GC, and Brooks Koepka, the captain of Smash GC. You both shot 6-under. Tell us a little bit about your round. You guy were both bogey free.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yes, obviously a great way to start. I didn't feel like I played -- it didn't feel that smooth, but obviously I got a couple nice breaks early on, hit some good shots, and took advantage of that. Obviously putted nicely. I think we both did. Nice to shoot 6-under and go bogey free on this course where I think there's a lot of danger out there, so to be able to do that, obviously it means a lot.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, played pretty solid. Didn't do a whole lot great but didn't do a whole lot wrong, either. Putted really well. That was pretty much it. Never really gave myself a chance to make bogey, so that's a good thing.

THE MODERATOR: We had a really extended rain delay. Didn't seem to impact either one of your games, but what did you do during that rain delay and how did you feel when you went back to the course?

SERGIO GARCIA: Just relaxed, had a little bit to eat, then obviously a quick warmup, tried to get a good feel for how the atmosphere was and how the course was going to be playing and a little bit for the swing, and I felt like I hit a couple nice shots after the warmup, so that was nice.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, just chilled, ate lunch. Pretty simple. Not a lot.

Q. Sergio, do you think your experience at this course helped you today?

SERGIO GARCIA: I think anytime you've done well at a course, it's always a plus. It doesn't mean that you start two or three shots better than anyone else, but obviously it brings good memories, and that's always nice to have.

Q. Is there something specific about this course that you like or that plays into your game, anything specific?

SERGIO GARCIA: No, I've played here a few amount of times, Singapore Open, so obviously I've been able to win it once and done fairly well. It's a course that I enjoy. It's a course that I like. I feel like if my game is a little bit on, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, give yourself a lot of birdie opportunities, and then the greens are so pure that if you're rolling it with a little bit of confidence, you can make some putts. It's that kind of golf course.

Q. For both of you, in the top 13 guys on the leaderboard, there's eight major champions. Do you think that says something about this course or the field that's bringing out the best of the best kind of thing?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm not sure. I just think it's a ball striker's golf course. I really do. I think to win a major championship you've got to be a good ball striker. You've got to put the ball in play off the tee. Here it's pretty crucial because if you're in the rough you're going to catch some fliers, and you've just got to leave yourself some good opportunities from the fairway, and then from there, you can get it quite close. Big enough greens, and these greens are just so pure that you can roll it in pretty easy if you just start it on line.

But yeah, I think that's probably more the reason why.

Q. Sergio, any thoughts on the stacked leaderboard with the major champions?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, pretty much what Brooks said. I think it's all good ball strikers, and that's what this course is asking you.

Q. Sergio, can you just take us through that second shot of yours on the second hole?

SERGIO GARCIA: Oh, on the 4th. Yeah, obviously we got a big shower there. I was happy to see that Brooks was hitting first and not me. He gave us a little bit of time for the storm to kind of go by. I hit a really nice drive down the left side of the fairway, left myself -- I had a gap to hit between the trees and hit a beautiful 5-iron to probably four or five feet. That was a nice way to kind of settle down a little bit after a little bit of a shaky first hole.

Q. Was it as narrow as it looked on television?

SERGIO GARCIA: No, it was fine. There was quite a lot of room there.

BROOKS KOEPKA: It depends who's hitting it.

SERGIO GARCIA: If I would have been 30 yards farther back then it would have been narrow, but I was close to the trees, so it made it a little bit easier.

Q. Brooks, you said at the Masters recently that your decision to join LIV was based around your health condition at the time. Do you still stand by this decision given how you're enjoying life on LIV Golf now?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I think I think it would have made my decision -- you can't play what-ifs; that's the whole thing. I was hurt, so this is the situation I've been in. I don't know; could it have been different? Yeah, that's pretty much what I said. But like I said at Augusta, I'm pretty happy with my decision.