LIV GOLF ADELAIDE

April 26, 2024

Mito Pereira

Carlos Ortiz

The Grange

Torque GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome two of the teammates from Torque GC. We are joined by Carlos Ortiz and Mito Pereira. Welcome, guys. You guys both had excellent rounds today. Carlos, you shot 8-under, and Mito, you had a bogey-free 7-under. Tell us a little bit about your day.

MITO PEREIRA: Yeah, really solid. A couple mistakes off the tee, but overall on the greens really good. Second shots, just solid. Just happy to start like this this week.

CARLOS ORTIZ: Yeah, it was actually really fun. I started good and finished solid. It was really nice playing with these guys. They holed out two holes in a row, so it felt like we were getting some momentum our way. Really happy the way I played, and just get it going. It's really nice playing in front of Australians and the crowds were awesome today.

Q. Do you guys enjoy playing together as a team?

MITO PEREIRA: Yeah, obviously we're very close and we know each other and sometimes we know when to talk and when to not. Obviously playing well helps build that momentum. We played solid, and Sebastian was with us. He didn't finish that well, but we had a really good round of trying to push ourselves as a team.

Q. Carlos, what was your experience today on the Watering Hole?

CARLOS ORTIZ: It actually was our first hole, and it was great. It was probably as calm as it was going to get all week. But it was great. We both started with a birdie, and I think that got it going. It's an awesome hole. It's great playing in front of crowds, and honestly, the people were awesome cheering us up. It's really nice playing with a lot of people around.

Q. Carlos, can you talk about your form coming in. It feels like the last three tournaments the results are starting to get a little bit better than the first two tournaments.

CARLOS ORTIZ: Yeah. I was definitely a little bit rusty the first two tournaments. But I actually feel like I was in good form; I was just not in play form. I don't know if that explains it. But I feel great. I feel like I'm trending. I feel like my game is in a great spot right now.

I'm enjoying it right now. It's good when you have a shot on your mind and it actually comes out like you were thinking about it.

Q. Mito, have you been frustrated this season with the results?

MITO PEREIRA: Yeah, not the start that I would like. But I played solid in Miami, too. The last day, one really bad day. But trying to work hard to get my game where it was last year or even better.

Q. As a team you guys had a lot of success during the regular season last year. Are you getting antsy to get back to the top of the podium?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I would definitely like to win with Torque. We haven't win with Torque. They had a great year. I was not part of it. So I definitely want to get a win with my boys.

MITO PEREIRA: Yeah, I think we just need to get four good rounds the last day, and I think we can get that.

Q. There were a lot of low scores today. Obviously we saw Talor Gooch shoot two 62s last year but there were more low scores across the board. Do you see a really low total winning?

CARLOS ORTIZ: I think if we keep -- the wind wasn't really blowing that hard. I think if the wind stays the way it is, and with the rain we got yesterday, I think it definitely sets up the golf course pretty gettable, especially if you put it in the fairway. It's just one of those golf courses that if you're in good position you can be a bit aggressive, and at the same time if you get just a little bit out of position, it's actually really hard to get back into position.

If you short-side yourself here, you're probably going to make a bogey.

Q. The playing of three team members in one pairing, does that happen often? Does it just happen in Adelaide or every first round is it the same case?

MITO PEREIRA: I remember last year they did the same, but I don't know if there was another tournament last year that -- this is the first one of the year.

Q. Obviously you enjoy it; that doesn't put any more or less pressure on you as you play?

MITO PEREIRA: No. For us at least, we enjoy it. I don't know if the other teams. But I think we had a great day and we enjoyed it.