LIV GOLF TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MIAMI

October 20, 2023

Dustin Johnson

Bryson DeChambeau

Joaquin Niemann

Bubba Watson

Louis Oosthuizen

Sergio Garcia

Phil Mickelson

Martin Kaymer

Trump National Doral

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Hello, everybody. Welcome, welcome. My name is Jason Zone Fisher and I want to welcome you to our LIV Golf Team Championship Miami selection show and press conference for tomorrow's semifinals.

Today was the quarterfinals. A great day of golf. Eight teams competed to continue playing tomorrow. Stinger GC defeated Iron Heads GC 3-0. They are moving on. Fireballs defeated Majesticks 2-1 and are advancing. HyFlyers GC defeated Smash GC 2-1 and they will be participating tomorrow in our semifinals. Cleeks GC defeated Ripper GC 2-1 after three playoff holes. Graeme McDowell and Bernd Wiesberger were victorious. These are our eight teams remaining.

Four teams had a bye going into today's quarterfinals. The No. 1 seed, 4 Aces GC; the No. 2 seed, Crushers GC; the No. 3 seed, Torque GC; and the fourth seed, RangeGoats GC. With today's matchups complete, that leaves these eight teams remaining to play tomorrow in our semifinals, still in the hunt to be crowned team champion come Sunday afternoon.

Before we turn it over to DJ to choose who he will play and the 4 Aces, let's introduce the eight captains joining us today. First, the No. 1 seed 4 Aces, Dustin Johnson; representing the No. 2 seed Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau; the No. 3 seed, Torque GC's captain Joaquin Niemann; we've got our No. 4 seed captain, straight from the pickleball court, RangeGoats GC Bubba Watson. They are joined by today's winning captains, Stinger GC captain Louis Oosthuizen; Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia; captain of HyFlyers GC, Phil Mickelson; and the captain of Cleeks GC, Martin Kaymer.

You know how this works. The No. 1 seed gets the No. 1 pick, and you are eligible to pick any of these other seven teams that you feel most confident about taking on tomorrow. Dustin Johnson, I hand it over to you, the first pick in our draft.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: We're going to play the HyFlyers.

THE MODERATOR: Phil, you just came off the course, a tough match having to go against Brooks Koepka, but the team prevailed. Now you have to go up against Dustin Johnson. How do you feel about your chances against DJ personally and the team?

PHIL MICKELSON: I mean, the Aces are the strongest team on LIV. They won it last year. They've led throughout the year this year.

But I'm really proud of my team for today and the effort that our guys made down the stretch to win and to finish the matches off.

I've got a little work to do, a lot of work to do on my game overnight, but I've got a team that has really made this fun and special and came through today. I'm so proud of Steeley and Camo and Riot and these guys that really played some great golf today. We're looking forward to playing the best team in the league -- well, consistently the best team in the league, and we're looking forward to the opportunity.

We know it'll be a challenge. But we had a lot of fun today. We got a lot out of it. We're going to try to recover, recuperate, build on it, and put up a good fight tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Dustin, what went into your thought process choosing Phil and the HyFlyers as the first pick here?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I was sitting over here with the team and they wanted to play the HyFlyers, so I said okay.

THE MODERATOR: Good luck defending the title. It begins tomorrow for the 4 Aces.

Now let's move on to the next selection, the No. 2 pick, Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: We're going to go with the Cleeks.

THE MODERATOR: Now, the Cleeks have been really hot as of late, a third-place finish in Jeddah just last week and obviously today a big victory over Ripper GC. What goes into your thought process choosing the Cleeks?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Team discussions we were either thinking the Rippers were going to be the next choice for us if they chose the HyFlyers or it was going to be the Cleeks, and we felt personally our matchups would stack up better.

Can we unveil our matchups?

THE MODERATOR: I think that's going to be unveiled a little bit later via the team social media accounts, but you are free to speak.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I don't know what to say or what not to say.

Anyway, we feel like with the matchups that they had today, we have a good team to go against them, and we think we can get all points. It's just the best feeling we had.

THE MODERATOR: They're looking to get all the points, Martin. How do you feel about that? Obviously you've got some momentum on your side. Now you've got to regroup and focus against the Crushers, the No. 2 seed.

MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, well, first of all, I think what the Cleeks did since last week was very impressive, shooting those low scores on Sunday in Jeddah to get on the podium for the first time this year, and then today was a big fight.

Richard just did what he does, playing very solid, making a lot of birdies. Bernd and G-Mac -- Bernd, the way he played the last few holes, what I've heard and what I've seen was impressive, and G-Mac did what he did at the Ryder Cup. He made the putt what it mattered. I was fighting until the very end. It was a tough match against Cam.

But we all played well, and it doesn't really matter who we play against. I don't know if Bryson or me, if we've ever played together --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I don't think so.

MARTIN KAYMER: I'm definitely going to take different lines than he will tomorrow, but hopefully I can make a few putts, so it'll be a good match.

THE MODERATOR: We're going to keep things moving here. Now Torque GC comes in as the No. 3 seed. They're well-rested. They were out there practicing today. You get to make the selection, Joaquin Niemann, who would you like to face tomorrow in the semifinals?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: We are taking the Stingers.

THE MODERATOR: As you hear from the crowd reaction, this is causing ripples throughout the media center right now. What went into your decision to take Stingers over Fireballs?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, Fireballs and Stingers --

THE MODERATOR: And the RangeGoats.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: I knew it was going to be between the Stingers and the Fireballs, and in talking with the team, I think we had better pairings against the Stingers, but it's still going to be a super -- they're both really strong teams, so it's going to be a good day tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Louis, just out there today, are you surprised by this selection, being called out by Torque here with this pick?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, not really. They've got youth, so he'll learn, so we'll see. It's going to be fun tomorrow. The two of us are playing against each other. It should be a lot of fun.

I'll call in his caddie for a favor because he's a South African, so maybe his caddie can be a real South African tomorrow, give you a few wrong clubs there.

But it should be fun. We played really well today. Charl and Dean came back nicely with their game and Branden had a fight the whole day with Scott Vincent playing good golf at the moment. It was a good fun match today, but looking forward to Joaco and his team tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Two of the most consistent teams all season long, Torque GC and Stinger GC going head-to-head. Bubba Watson, the captain of RangeGoats GC, not much suspense left in this pick, but you are up.

BUBBA WATSON: We are going to play the Fireballs.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously RangeGoats will be up against Fireballs. Bubba, are you surprised --

BUBBA WATSON: I talked to my team, and they said Fireballs.

THE MODERATOR: Perfect, perfect. Are you surprised by Joaquin's selection? Did you think you were going to be going up against Louis and Stinger GC?

BUBBA WATSON: I was selling him on the Stingers. I was like, come on, the Stingers, go with them. It's one of those things, we've all got to beat each other to make it to Sunday, so didn't matter who was in front of you. We've got to play good golf, make the putts.

THE MODERATOR: Sergio, the RangeGoats had the day off today, had the advantage of having the bye. But in your opinion is that an advantage? You guys were just out there battling. Do you try to think maybe that's a little bit more advantage seeing the course, playing it competitively today?

SERGIO GARCIA: No, I think that you can look at it both ways. I think obviously it's nice to come into tomorrow with a round under your belt and a win, obviously, but you can also say it's nice to rest up and be nice and fresh.

The wind was blowing totally different today than the practice rounds, so if it blows the same way, they don't know what's going on. Sorry, Bubba.

BUBBA WATSON: We haven't played a practice round yet --

SERGIO GARCIA: Me neither. No, but it should be a great match. Obviously RangeGoats have been playing very consistently throughout the year, and they made a big push towards the end of the year to get in that top 4.

We're going to go out there, we're going to give it our best. My boys played amazing today, so I hope that they do more of the same tomorrow, and hopefully I'll play a little bit better, and we'll see if we can get that W.

THE MODERATOR: We have some fantastic matchups, fantastic teams remaining, eight still standing vying for the team championship, and here are the matchups for tomorrow's semifinals. We have 4 Aces GC versus HyFlyers GC; Crushers GC taking on Cleeks GC; Torque GC against Stinger GC; and finally, RangeGoats GC facing off against Fireballs GC. Those are your four matchups as we head into the semifinals of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship. We're in for a great day of competition and golf tomorrow.

The player matchups will be revealed later, or if the media asks Bryson, he might tell you right now potentially, but they will be revealed, so be sure to check out their social media handles because they will be announced very soon.

I'm going to turn it over to Jane for some questions from all of the media that has gathered here today.

Q. Bryson, last year you guys weren't able to get out of the semifinals. You've got the same lineup as last year. Is there a different feeling going into this weekend than last year?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah. I think that we're all playing a little bit better. Our team is stacking up pretty nicely this year. Charl is playing well. Paul is in good form, and Ban is always in good form, and I'm playing a little bit better.

I feel like we're a force to be reckoned with, and we've just got to keep playing our game in the way we know we can and see what happens.

Q. Phil, obviously you have a couple new faces in the lineup compared to the team last year. Is there a different feeling amongst the HyFlyers now with this current lineup?

PHIL MICKELSON: We're having a lot of fun, and we've been playing better each week throughout the year, and we've started to build a lot of momentum, and we had a great day today. It was great to see the way Camo finished off the match and played some solid golf as well as the way Steeley and Riot worked together on playing a good solid round of alternate shot.

We're having a lot of fun. We know how good the Aces are. We know we're going to have tough matches tomorrow, but we're looking forward to the chance, and we're excited that we played well enough today to have it.

Q. Last year you played Cam. You played Brooks today. You've got to play DJ tomorrow. Do you feel like you're getting picked on?

PHIL MICKELSON: No, that's part of the fun: It's a great opportunity, it's a great challenge. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Phil, looking back for a minute instead of looking ahead, today you got off to a slow start, a lot of putts left short. Was that just kind of from that point on, kind of a struggle?

PHIL MICKELSON: My speed was off a little bit. I made a couple of putts, but I was 3-down through four and came back with birdies on 5 and 6 to get close, and I followed it with a bogey from the middle of the fairway on 7. I just can't make those mistakes against a guy like Brooks or against a guy like DJ, so I'm going to have to clean that up. It doesn't feel far off, but I've got to clean it up.

Q. Bubba and Dustin, is there added value to this weekend due to the fact there's been a lot of talk about being under agreement with franchises and potential investors in the off-season? How important is it to get to that podium on Sunday? Is that going to increase the value of your franchise, so to speak?

BUBBA WATSON: I mean, obviously yes, it'll increase it a little bit, but we're at the young stages of this league. We're at the young stages of these franchises.

I believe any win will attract fans. The Aces have the biggest probably fan group because of their wins, their dominance, and that's where we're going to get to, the RangeGoats.

But no, the interest is there. What we do on the course this week is not going to drop out people. Maybe add some people, but definitely the groups we're talking to, the groups that want to be a part of it is not going to drop out because of what we do this week.

Q. (On changing the pairings format.)

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'm a huge advocate for that. I think if you're the captain of a team, you should be able to facilitate your players out there in a way you want to. It's a huge component of strategy and the team competition format. I think that's what we need to do.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I agree with that. I think that it's nice -- obviously it's appealing to have captains playing captains, and there's nothing wrong about that. But to have the possibility of putting whoever you want wherever you want, it gives a little bit more surprise effect. It gives you more possibilities to play around. We'll see.

Q. Does anybody feel strongly that it shouldn't change?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: (After long pause) I guess we're changing it.

Q. Phil, the reports are that with the deadline looming that the PGA might be closer to a deal with Endeavor and maybe Fenway. How is that going to impact the players possibly coming over with expansion?

PHIL MICKELSON: I thought that there was an agreement to have -- to try to create an agreement that gave the PIF first right of refusal on potential investors, so I'm not really sure how that all plays out.

Knowing what I know about -- yeah. Anyway, I just don't know how it all plays out.

Q. Louis, I was just wondering how you plan to get in Joaco's head tomorrow.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: What am guying to do to get in his head?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: You've got a funny face.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: You see what I've got to deal with.

Q. Seems like you're already in there.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: You are the youngest captain by far, yeah? I don't think this match I can do anything to get in his head. I think maybe he can get in his own head and then something might happen, but no, look, the two of us will have a good time. I've got a lot of respect for what he's achieved in his short career, and hopefully I can just be a little bit of a hurdle tomorrow in his week.

Q. This is probably mostly for Bryson. I'm curious, obviously the Ryder Cup has gotten to the point where you use a lot of stats to figure out matchups and stuff like that. Without revealing your matchups, is that something you're using or are you going mostly off of sort of feel?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I've got a special formula that helped us lose last year.

No, to be honest, it's just how the guys are playing and who's doing what. Maybe over the course of time as things move in a different direction, maybe a different golf course, something, maybe we'll think more about it. But it's pretty simple as to the what the guys want, what they feel. I'm a team player.

Anyway, long story short, it's pretty simple, straightforward. Not too many crazy things.