LIV GOLF ANDALUCíA

July 11, 2024

Sergio Garcia

Eugenio Chacarra

David Puig

Abraham Ancer

Real Club Valderrama

Fireballs GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome our hometown Spanish team, Fireballs GC. We are joined today by hometown hero David Puig, Abraham Ancer, hometown hero Sergio Garcia, and hometown hero Eugenio Chacarra. Welcome home to Spain. How does it feel to be back?

SERGIO GARCIA: It feels amazing. Obviously every time we come back to Spain, it feels really, really good. Obviously home country for all four of us, I would say. We're taking him in the Spanish spirit.

But to come back to Valderrama, it's super special. Not only for me but for all of us because of how much Valderrama means to all of us, to Europe, all the amazing things that have happened here on this golf course. We're really excited about it.

Q. Eugenio, how does it feel for you to be home?

EUGENIO CHACARRA: It feels nice, like Sergio said. I didn't come to Spain for a while. I think last time I was here was for Christmas. It feels a little weird but I love it. It's so much fun, the people, the home crowds, the food, and to be able to see family and friends, it's something really nice. Obviously being in Valderrama, probably the best course we have in Spain, it's something special.

Q. David, is there going to be an extra set of nerves for you this week as you're standing up there on the tee box with all the fans around?

DAVID PUIG: Maybe, but at the end of the day, nerves are good, especially here in Valderrama with all the home crowd behind us. It's amazing how much these people support us in pretty much every shot. So just seeing the fans and just seeing Valderrama, how pure it is, it's going to be special for sure, and we're looking forward to it.

Q. Abe, how does it feel to be the adopted Spaniard this week?

ABRAHAM ANCER: It feels really nice. I truly feel like they've taken me as one of their own. It's a golf course that we all love. I feel like everybody in this field is really excited to tee it up this week, as we should be. This is an absolute gem, and we're really excited.

I think the crowd is going to be definitely behind us. I think Jon is going to have a following, as well. But it's going to be phenomenal.

Q. Obviously you guys are the Spanish team; however, do you feel there might be a little bit of a rivalry now because you have Jon Rahm and Legion XIII out here?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, there's a rivalry with everyone, but obviously we know how good Jon is and what he means to Spanish golf, too. It's normal that he's going to have a big following here, too, and his team.

But we're happy where we stand, and we know that we're going to have an amazing support. We're happy with that.

Q. David, we sent a film crew to your home in Barcelona this week to document your journey from where you started in Barcelona and how far you've come. Can you take a moment to reflect on that and what that meant for you to have people going home and documenting your life?

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, it was amazing. Danny and David, as well as Andrew, first of all, they're great people, so we had a good time. I think it's going to be a pretty sick short documentary.

Yeah, it's unbelievable that LIV Golf came to my house, to my home course and kind of recorded a little bit of everything and what I used to do before I was a professional and what I do now.

Again, it's amazing how supportive everyone is pretty much, and super excited with what we've been doing as a team and also the results I've been getting so far.

Q. Sergio, you said that Valderrama is your favorite golf course in the world. Can you just talk a little bit about that.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. For me, there's obviously nothing really about likes and dislikes, but for me, I just love the way it plays. I love the way it's not a long course, but it makes you think every single tee shot, every single shot into the greens. You have to think about what you want to do.

I think that it's probably one of the few courses that probably makes you use every single club you have in the bag, which is good to see. We don't get to see that that often in some of the newer designs. So I think to me in my personal opinion, that's what makes a great golf course.

That's one of the reasons, and the area is amazing, the support we get here from Andalucía and all the sponsors. We're extremely happy to be back here.

Q. Just kind of building on that, obviously you've won here, I think, three times, but what would it mean to win your first LIV event here at Valderrama?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it would be amazing. It would be a dream come true for sure.

But I know how difficult it is. We know the quality of the field that we have. It's never going to be a given.

But that's the goal, to play well, play consistent, give myself a chance, help my teammates as much as possible, and see if we can get a double. Obviously that would be the dream week.

It's just a matter of going out there and doing your best. That's all you can ask yourself for.

Q. Speaking of dreams, could be a dream day on Sunday with Spain versus England; you've got maybe Alcaraz in the Wimbledon finals; and if you win, if you guys win. Can you talk about that potential scenario?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, that's a lot of ifs. That's a lot of ifs. Let's go slowly, slowly, slowly.

I guess slowly but surely, the thing we have to do, all four of us, is have a solid week going into Sunday, put as many of us as possible up there with a chance. That would be a good start.

Carlos needs to win today -- is it today or tomorrow when they play? Today. So that's the second step.

Then at night, we'll watch Spain against England and see if we can make it an unbelievable Sunday.

Obviously there's a lot of things that have to align for that.

Q. David and Eugenio, you're still among the youngest players out here, but this is your third year on LIV. You each have two victories, pro victories. Do you still feel like you identify as the young kids out here, or are you kind of now a bit more older?

EUGENIO CHACARRA: I mean, if you go in age, yeah, but obviously being three years already competing with probably a lot of the best players in the world, you get more confidence every single week.

I think we've both proved that we can compete at this level, and hopefully we can both have a great week in Spain. That would be really special for both of us.

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, same for me. At the end of the day, it's true we're one of the youngest players, but we've been playing golf for our entire lives pretty much. That makes it 16 years, something like that. So we have a lot of preparation, a lot of tournaments that we played.

Yeah, I think we're ready and we're mature enough to compete against these guys.

Q. Sergio, can you talk about the two young guys and just how they've progressed since you've seen them here on LIV?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, these guys are extremely talented. We get to play some really cool Wolf Hammer matches in the practice rounds and as a team, and it gets pretty intense. They're not afraid. They play extremely aggressive, and they're very confident, and I feel like every young guy is coming out of college now, they're not afraid of winning. It doesn't matter where you play.

I feel like maybe 10, 20 years ago, it took a lot of time for amateurs when they get to the big tours to win or feel comfortable. I feel like now young guys when they turn pro, they're ready to win and ready to compete. It's pretty incredible to see it, and the amount of success they've already had, as young as they are, is pretty incredible.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I agree totally. Obviously, like you said, they are young, but they're well-prepared. Everyone coming out of college or amateur golf seems more prepared than we ever were. It's nice to see. They're two good kids. Obviously a lot of talent. They both can hit the ball very far and very well. We have a lot of fun together, and it's fun to see them grow with us as we go along. It's been a good experience.

Q. Geno, you're eight years older than Lamine Yamal.

EUGENIO CHACARRA: I feel like that.