LIV GOLF PROMOTIONS

December 12, 2024

Borja Virto

Mark Power

David Horsey

Riyadh Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have Borja Virto from Spain, we've got Mark Power from Ireland, and David Horsey from England. Welcome, guys. All very well played today in the first round of LIV Golf Promotions. Borja, 5-under par. Can you talk us through your round today?

BORJA VIRTO: Yeah, so I had a really nice start. Got to 5-under on the front nine. I had one bad hole, No. 5 or 6, but I ended up making bogey. Could have been a big number. After that I think I got like three birdies in a row, so that was quite big for me. After that just the back nine just felt like playing a bit safer and just felt good coming in with 5-under.

MARK POWER: Yeah, it was different to Borja's anyway. He blew the lights out on the front nine and we were a little bit behind, but I got it going nicely on the back nine. Hit some good shots and holed it out on 13 for 2, which always helps. I was 2-under up until that point, so it kind of gave me a bit of a cushion, but at the same time there's some tricky holes coming in, so just had to grind it out a little bit. Putted pretty nice, so very happy.

Q. David, 4-under par for you today. Can you talk us through your round.

DAVID HORSEY: Yeah, pretty solid to be honest. No fireworks, no disasters. Yeah, kept hitting it to like 15, 18 feet, 20 feet all day. Nice to hole a couple on the front nine. Then yeah, just good par save on 16. Other than the three-putt on 17 for bogey, which is quite a tough hole, really, playing quite long and quite a slopey green. But I'm pleased. Played solid. More of the same the rest of the week.

Q. I think all three of you can sleep easy the rest of the night. Going into Day 2, what's the game plan going into that?

BORJA VIRTO: Just kind of the same as today, just go out and play. You have to make the top 20, right, so if it happens like it happened to me today, you have a really nice start, you can maybe slow down a little bit, but otherwise it's just try to play your best golf for 18 holes.

MARK POWER: Yeah, I suppose we're completely resetting, so just to understand that today's round is behind me and have to do more of the same tomorrow. Hopefully get off to a fast start and just keep plugging away, but yeah, it's an interesting format, a first for me anyway, so just trying to enjoy it.

DAVID HORSEY: Yes, same again, maybe slightly better field with some of the guys coming from LIV and Asia and whatnot. But you'd expect similar scoring. Yeah, similar scoring would be nice.

Q. David, you tried to qualify for LIV Golf last year. Do you take anything away from that experience from Abu Dhabi in 2023?

DAVID HORSEY: Well, it almost feels like a Tour event, to be honest, which is obviously credit to LIV and how well we're looked after as a qualifying school this week. It was a big surprise last year, so I sort of knew what to expect in that respect, but totally different golf course. Probably more up my street than last year's, so hopefully take advantage.

Q. Have any of you guys played with each other before today?

MARK POWER: I think we played on the Challenge Tour a couple of times, but we never played this good, so happy enough.

Q. When all three of you guys are playing well, are you able to feed off each other, especially given this format? You know if each of you can shoot 67 or so, 66, that you're going to advance. Was it a matter of feeding off each other today?

BORJA VIRTO: I mean, it does help a little bit just seeing the guys around you. They're also playing good. The round has a nice feeling. Sometimes if one of the guys is struggling a lot, it can maybe -- not bother you, but it doesn't feel as nice as all three of us playing well together and making it through to the next round. Yeah, it does help a little bit I would say.

MARK POWER: Yeah, definitely. I felt holing out around the greens everyone was pretty solid, and when you see a couple putts go in, I guess the hole looks a little bigger. There was definitely a lot of that. We all grinded it out well when we needed to. Yeah, it was a positive round. Everyone is in good spirits.

DAVID HORSEY: You still have an idea what score is going to get through in your head, but yeah, it definitely helps. It helps you keep pushing. Sometimes you think, yeah, I'm playing quite nicely, a couple under, just get one more, but then Borja's 6-under -- he nearly holed his shot on 14, as well. Mark holed the second shot into 13 and nearly a hole-in-one on 14, so I'm like, I'm going to need lots on day one here. But yeah, no, it is nice to see good shots. To see guys making birdies, it definitely helps.

Q. Can you talk us through the eagle?

MARK POWER: Yeah, I hit a 3-wood through the fairway on 13. I actually thought it was perfect and was kind of disappointed it was in the rough, but it ended up being lucky because the pin was right at the back so I could kind of run one up to the back pin. But it was still a heavy lie, so I just wanted to try and hit it on the green and let it run up. It came out perfect, and it just caught the left slope and disappeared. Yeah, it was a nice one.

Q. I think a couple of our teams, Sergio and Rahm, I think they both have openings. How much of an appeal would that be?

BORJA VIRTO: Yeah, that would be great for me. Actually I grew up playing with Jon a little bit. I'm a bit older than him, like three years older, but we played together in the Spanish team, and we're both from the same area kind of, in the north of Spain. Yeah, it would be great to play with him or Sergio. I grew up Sergio kind of like an idol of mine. If they give me a call, I'm right in there.

Q. Just the appeal of potentially playing in LIV Golf, what would that mean? You're all three kind of at different stages of your careers, but what would it mean, David?

DAVID HORSEY: Yeah, obviously fantastic. It's a great opportunity. Only one spot this year compared to three last year, but still an opportunity. You can quite easily go out there, play well on this sort of golf course. It's pretty much anyone's -- everyone has got a chance, if you like. It's not a bomber's track, so to speak. But I'm nearly 40 now and it would be nice to have a little boost to the end of my career. Yeah, who knows where it could go from there.

Q. You're just starting out really. I think you turned pro last year. What would it mean?

MARK POWER: It would be incredible, life-changing you could nearly say. But I suppose I'm very early in my career at the minute, so still trying to find my feet, learn from experiences and stuff. But yeah, it would be an incredible opportunity. But still a lot of golf left, so just take it one step at a time.

Q. Any thoughts on what this would mean at this stage of your career?

BORJA VIRTO: Yeah, it would be kind of what he said, life-changing a little bit. I've been playing 10 years already, some ups and downs. My game has been feeling good the last couple years, but didn't manage to have any great results. Maybe this week could be the one where everything changes and I skyrocket.