LIV GOLF JEDDAH

March 2, 2024

Louis Oosthuizen

Charl Schwartzel

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club

Stinger GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Louis Oosthuizen, captain of Stinger GC. You were 4-under par today, 10-under total, in a tie for third, and Charl Schwartzel, also from Stinger GC, 4-under today, 11-under total, in second place. Talk a little bit about your rounds today.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, solid round, played really well. Didn't really give myself that many good opportunities for birdies. The ones I made -- when I had a good chance, I made them, but the rest was really just making pars the whole way around.

But I'm playing nicely. I feel pretty confident in my game right now.

Hopefully the four of us can play like we played the last two days and pull this through.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, 80 percent of my round was really good. There was a few scraps in there, but I managed to save -- made good saves. I kept my round going. But overall it feels like I'm playing better than I have been.

It's just nice to be in contention and have a chance tomorrow.

Q. I think we have all four Stingers in the top 13. What are you guys having for dinner this week? Second, what's the mentality going into tomorrow?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, pretty similar mentality. All four of us will have dinner. We'll probably sit and watch the Formula 1 tonight and have dinner together, steak and chips.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Like every night.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Then just do nothing different really tomorrow, and hopefully we can have a good solid round.

Q. Louis, what was the team vibe coming off of Vegas? Obviously that's not a usual performance for the Stingers. Did you guys talk at all? Did you do anything in the interim?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I don't think we four guys perform well when it's that cold. We were talking about it. It's quite a different feeling making a golf swing with everything on in my golf bag.

I think we sort of forgot about Vegas pretty quickly. Went home, played a few rounds. We all played last week, and I don't think there's any thoughts of the Vegas event in our heads.

Q. Charl, obviously it was a tough final day for you. Did you do anything specific to get your game going again?

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I've got a memory like a goldfish. What happened in Vegas? (Laughter.)

Vegas is one to forget for me. Myself, Branden and Dean, we live together down in the Palm Beach area, so we play a lot of golf together, and all of us have been playing actually pretty good.

We didn't do very good in Vegas. The weather was too cold for us. We're in much better spirits right now.

Q. What would it mean to get back in the winner's circle? Obviously you were our first ever individual champion, to get that second win in the third year here.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah, any win would be great. Sometimes the second one is harder than the first. But I'm just happy I'm playing better. It's more consistent. This week seeing the lines on the greens really well.

I changed drivers the beginning of this week, which has really helped me a lot. I've driven the ball better than -- much better than I have been the first two events.

Q. Louis, did you find a shaver since Vegas?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I shaved beginning of last week, and I shaved again this morning. I'll probably let it go now until after Hong Kong. But I was just bored this morning, so I pulled the shaver out.

Q. You were both in Oman; how important is that one week of being in the similar region? Not exactly a similar golf course but in windy conditions to get ready for this championship.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I think getting over the jet lag, that helped a lot going to Oman. It was as windy there like it is here now. It helped playing probably in that.

It made sense to go and play that event. I love that golf course. I'll go back there next year again. I really enjoyed playing there.

Hopefully us four go again together.

It made sense that all four of us go there and play it and get ready for this one and Hong Kong.

Q. Louis, as a team, there's a seven-point difference between you and your runner-ups. Do you think it's enough for you guys to seal the deal tomorrow?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: We were talking about that a few weeks ago with the new format being four scores to count. All four players need to play well. I don't think there's a lead big enough if you have one or two guys struggling. But we are playing some good golf at the moment, the four of us. If we can play just four solid rounds like we have in the last two days, then I think we've got a very good chance of pulling it off.

Q. You're no strangers to Royal Greens; what is different about this event in particular? You guys are performing really well.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I mean, the layout of the golf course -- I've been here a few times. I've really enjoyed playing here. It's always windy, which I enjoy playing in. Fairways and greens is probably the best I've seen this golf course so far.

The greens, I've seen it better, but it's in good shape still.

It's just a golf course that I think sort of suits my eye, and I really like playing it.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I think since living in America, I've gotten used to playing in windy conditions, so it's nice to play with a bit of wind. I feel like this golf course gives you a bit of space.

We've gotten to know it now. This is our fifth time coming here. There's a few difficult holes. If you get past them, the course sits really good on my eye and I'm guessing the whole team. Everybody really seems to enjoy playing here.

Q. Are you going to be the winners tomorrow?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Fingers crossed.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Let's hope so.