LIV GOLF SINGAPORE

March 16, 2025

Sergio Garcia

Abraham Ancer

David Puig

Luis Masaveu

Sentosa Golf Club

Fireballs GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by our LIV Golf Singapore presented by Aramco team champions, Fireballs GC, with David Puig, Abraham Ancer, Captain Sergio Garcia and Luis Masaveu.

Sergio, I'll start with you. The winning streak continues for you guys. Fireballs are the first LIV Golf team to achieve three consecutive wins since the introduction of the full 14-event schedule as a league. As a captain, can you tell us how proud are you of this team right now?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously super proud to achieve something like that. It's not easy to do. Even though it kind of looks like we made it look easy, it's definitely not. So many things have to go right with all of us playing well at the same time on tough conditions like today, for example.

Obviously this week was a tough week because I've been sick all week and haven't been able to help the team as much as I would have liked to. To see the performance that my teammates put in to be able to get this win was pretty impressive.

Q. Abe, Fireballs have finished second here in Singapore the last two seasons. You started today eight shots back and ended up winning by three. What did you and the team tell yourselves at the start of the day to make up the ground on the 4Aces?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, we had a team dinner last night that was really good, by the way, and we just talked about that we needed to just play our game. It's a golf course that rewards ball strikers, and I feel like we have really good ball strikers on this team. Obviously Sergio has probably been one of the ball best strikers in the world for a long time. Puig hits the ball a mile and he's very good with his hands so he can't miss.

Then Luis over here, new guy, young guy on the team, you've got to give him a hard time. He's got so much talent, hits the ball amazingly and has a lot of heart, and he truly cares and wants to help the team.

Yeah, we just needed to play our game. Counting four scores, eight strokes seems like a lot, but it can change in two holes.

We just told ourselves that, and we just needed to take care of business and play our game, and we're here talking to you, which is a good sign.

SERGIO GARCIA: And Abraham hits the ball okay, too. (Laughter.)

Q. Luis, the new format requiring all four scores to count has been a significant change to the season. Last week in Hong Kong you made the winning putt for the team. You've delivered another strong performance this week. Are you surprised how quickly you've adapted to your LIV Golf career and achieved such a high level of success early on?

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, I'm very happy with this week. As well, there's some positives from last week. Really good first round. So yeah, I'm really happy with what I'm improving, and I'm feeling much more comfortable on the course.

This is a course that was good for me. You had to hit it long and quite straight. I'm really happy. My coach was here this week, and we've seen a lot of positive things out of this week.

So yeah, I'm really happy and looking forward for the next events that I think I can still improve and do better.

Q. David, you were the top player for Fireballs this week. You finished solo fourth. You got 5-under par 66 today to finish 10-under for the week. You had an incredible stretch from 9 through 13, five straight birdies. Can you talk us through your round and your overall performance this week?

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, the round was very good, obviously. I think I started pretty solid. I just didn't make pretty much any putts until I reached the ninth green, where I made a pretty good 10-footer for birdie, and after that it kind of seemed that everything was clicking together, and I was able to make a bunch of putts and a chip on 12.

Yeah, overall this week I think I hit it very good off the tee and tee to green. Would have liked to putt a little better yesterday and on the first round, but yeah, overall super happy. Great week for me and obviously for the Fireballs and just super happy to be here again with them, and hopefully we can keep the party going.

Q. Three wins in a row; that's really good. What's next for Fireballs, and can you keep this streak alive?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. Obviously we're the only ones that can keep the streak alive (laughing).

Well, the next thing for us, for me is a little bit of rest the next couple of days, and then we play International Series in Macau. It's an important tournament for all four of us because if we play well, we have the possibility of not only winning on the International Series but also qualifying for the Open. It's another big week.

Then a week's rest and get back on the horse in Miami and just give it everything we have to perform as well as we're performing and give ourselves a shot at winning four in a row. Hopefully we'll keep it going.

Q. Have you guys thought about how you're going to celebrate the third win in a row?

ABRAHAM ANCER: I don't know. We haven't thought about it that much. Everything kind of came quickly. Last week we did a little karaoke, so who knows what's going to happen tonight.

SERGIO GARCIA: Maybe we'll save it until Monday night in Macau. It seems like a good place to celebrate.

Q. Sergio, can you take us through what happened with you health-wise since leaving Hong Kong?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I don't know. I was feeling great, obviously, after Hong Kong. Came back here, I was fine the first couple of days, and then just around Tuesday night I started feeling a little bit congested.

Obviously Wednesday it was okay. We had a nice practice round. But I could feel like I wasn't breathing as well.

Thursday I was feeling quite badly, and the doctor, Dr. Ira, he looked at me, he told me I had bronchitis, which I still have. He gave me some medicine. Thursday night I had -- well, Thursday afternoon I had 102.4 fever, so I wasn't feeling great.

But then it seems like the meds kicked in at night, and my fever kind of broke. That was great. But obviously my chest, every time I cough, it hurts. The last couple of days the congestion has kind of gone to my nose.

In these conditions, in this weather, as hot as it is, it was tough for me to keep it going throughout the whole day. Obviously as the day was going on I was getting a bit more tired because of the lack of energy because of how I was feeling. But I still tried to give it everything I have. I was obviously a little disappointed the way I finished today because I was fighting really hard, but I'm glad that I didn't cost the team the win, obviously.

Q. David, this is your eighth team win. Nobody else has more in LIV Golf. You've won more team wins than anybody else. What does that mean? What does that say about your ability to contribute to the team, and is it significant in your mind's eye?

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, it's unbelievable. I guess I'm just the best player in LIV Golf history. That's what it is, right? (Laughter.)

SERGIO GARCIA: The best team player in LIV Golf history.

DAVID PUIG: No, let's just leave it at that.

But it's amazing. I had a good year with Torque. We got four wins, and with the Fireballs now it's four more, eight total. It's crazy. I love team golf. I think I'm a good team player. I like to be surrounded by a good group of guys, and I have them here at the Fireballs.

I just have a lot of fun, and I never give up, and I just love it. I think that's the main reason of maybe why I succeeded that much in this aspect.

You know, it's obviously thanks to them. We have such a good team, and we have so much fun off the course, too, that it just makes it easier on the golf course when you're playing.

Q. How much has your champagne celebration improved since that first one?

DAVID PUIG: I don't know. It's still not as good as I would like to. But I think I'm getting better. I'm getting better on when to start and how to plan things accordingly. So yeah, hopefully I can have more practice moving forward, and I'll just become the best champagne guy ever. (Laughter.)

Q. Sergio, we've talked some about your Ryder Cup aspirations this year. I'm curious, David has won twice since the last Ryder Cup. He ranks sixth in points right now this season, obviously coming into form. Do you consider that maybe he might need to get some consideration, too?

SERGIO GARCIA: I mean, why not? Obviously he's a great player, and he's becoming an even greater player. It's nice to see him develop and grow up and find his game and what ticks him and what makes him go to the level that he's been playing.

I mean, I'm not the captain -- I'm the captain of the Fireballs; I'm not the captain of the Ryder Cup team or Team Europe. Obviously I don't have any say there.

But I mean, I would lie if I didn't think that Luke and his team are not looking at him. I'm sure they are because they're looking at everyone that has got potential of making the team, and I feel like if David keeps playing the way he's been playing, he's got potential to be in that team.

But we'll see.

Q. I assume the team dinners were better than the popcorn you're eating right now?

ABRAHAM ANCER: I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. The last hole I pounded four drinks because I was a little pissed off with my last hole, so I needed to get with the guys. The team winning, obviously we were really happy but I was just trying to get over my last hole, and I haven't eaten anything, so that's why I'm trying to kind of sober up here for you. (Laughter.)

Q. How important is camaraderie on this team and in this format?

ABRAHAM ANCER: I think it's huge. We have a great time. We look forward to practice rounds. We needle each other. We push each other. I think it helps. I think it brings a nice competitive aspect but having fun at the same time. It's been phenomenal. This year has been great.

We play Wolf Hammer on Tuesdays, and it's really fun. It's a game that can drive you crazy because you can play pretty good, as well, and then not really win. It's just a part of team golf, which sometimes you feel like you played really good and your team has to be right there for you.

It's a good aspect to look at it that way, and it's been great. Team dinners have been phenomenal. Spending some time with these guys has been a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.