LIV GOLF JEDDAH

October 14, 2023

Sergio Garcia

Fireballs GC

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Sergio Garcia, captain of Fireballs GC. Making some moves up the leaderboard, currently tied second place at 9-under par. Shot 7-under today. Tell us about your round.

SERGIO GARCIA: It was a really nice round, obviously. The course conditions were a little bit more favorable than yesterday. Yesterday was much windier. It was a lot trickier. A couple of tougher pins yesterday, I guess.

But yeah, very happy that we all played well. The team obviously did well, too. We're also second. Very proud of that. Very happy.

We've just got to go out there and have another good one tomorrow.

Q. Have you got an eye on next week for the team championship in Miami?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, unfortunately, we can't really move forward no matter -- even if we win. But we still want to have a great solid week and finish the regular season the best way possible.

We'll go out there and give it our best and hopefully get the W.

Other than when we get to Miami, then we'll figure out what we want to do. But yeah, very happy about the performance of everyone.

Q. Just kind of talking about the team concept, obviously you guys finished second in Chicago, so you've kind of got this run of form right now. How important is it to have some momentum going into next week for the team championship?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, momentum is always good. It's always important. It's always positive. Obviously having a couple good weeks coming into Miami, it's great.

At the end of the day, you still have to go out there, you still have to play, you still have to perform. It's not like you're 1-up on the first hole because you've been playing well lately.

Hopefully we'll have a great day tomorrow again and get ready for Miami and see what we can do there.

Q. Your own season so far, how would you describe 2023 for you, your performance this year?

SERGIO GARCIA: It's been okay. It's been solid. Nothing spectacular. Obviously I had a couple chances of winning with Singapore being the closest one.

But overall it's been a work in process. Working hard not only on the game but on the mental side and trying to be as positive as possible.

I'm happy about that, but obviously I feel like I could definitely play better than I have for sure.

Q. Last year when you had your surgery, do you feel that you're right back at the top now and it's no longer a problem? Also, how does that help you? If you were to get the win this week would that be a great crowning achievement after having surgery?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yes, I think physically I feel great. The knee doesn't hurt. I'm able to not only play golf but work out here and there, play tennis and stuff. I'm able to do normal life, which is great.

Do I feel like I'm on the top of my game? No, definitely not. I think that I can still get much better. I have been much better. But you work on it, you work hard on it, and you try to improve every single time you come out here. Some weeks are better than others, and you just try to enjoy them.

Q. You're just one position behind Brooks; in your opinion, what was the difference out there, that one shot? You could have closed the gap in one hole --

SERGIO GARCIA: I finished with two birdies, and I finished with four birdies on my last five. Obviously there's moments here and there, but I also made a couple really good up-and-downs on 11 and 12 to keep my round going, and then thanks to that, I birdied 13 and 14.

I think that I played nicely. I got a lot out of my round, and I'm very happy with that.

Q. What would your message be to the boys tomorrow to close the gap and take it all the way?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, not much. I think obviously just congratulations, well done on everyone playing well. That's the first thing. Then just go out there and have fun tomorrow and enjoy it, do your best. At the end of the day, that's all I can ask my teammates to do. Just go out there and do their best. Hopefully their best is really good, and if it's not quite as good, they're still giving me the best. That's what we all try to do.