LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 9, 2025

Sergio Garcia

Abraham Ancer

David Puig

Luis Masaveu

Hong Kong Golf Club

Fireballs GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome the team champions of LIV Golf Hong Kong 2025, Fireballs GC. We also have up here our individual champion of LIV Golf Hong Kong, Sergio Garcia. Sergio, you fired off an incredible 7-under today. You finished 18-under for the tournament, three ahead of Dean Burmester. You were on fire today. Tell us about your round.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, thanks, Jane. Obviously I knew that I had to play well. My goal from the beginning of the day was to shoot 5-under, and when I got to 5-under, then I had to make a new goal, and I was like, okay, let's try to make a couple more in the last eight holes because I got to 5 on 10.

But yeah, it was just solid. I played very well. I gave myself a lot of chances throughout the whole day. I only made a couple bad swings, but I got away with them and recovered nicely.

It was nice to see not only that I was doing well and leading the tournament, but my teammates were playing great. They were keeping us there with a chance to win. Obviously when you can pull the double, it's a lot sweeter than if it's just one of them. Very proud of them.

Q. We've got our clutch rookie up here. He was able to secure that final birdie putt on his last hole to cinch it for the Fireballs, otherwise you guys would have been forced into a playoff with the Stingers. Luis, you've been on the podium twice. Tell us how it feels.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, it feels incredible. I just have an incredible team. They are great persons, but as well, they just play too good at golf. Very happy for the team to be able to hole that putt and help them.

Q. Abe, obviously this course suits the Fireballs. It suits you. It suits Sergio. Just tell us about your week and how sweet this is, to be back-to-back champions in a different way, back-to-back individual last year and team this year?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, obviously I'm biased. I love this place. But I feel like we all do. It's just a golf course that it's a lot of fun to play. You have to be creative. You have to be really good and position the ball where you're supposed to. You can't really overpower it, which I find that really put. But you've got Puig who hits it a mile, and he's got to throttle back a little bit and hit some shots, which is really cool to see. We've enjoyed it. We had a great week. We pretty much had dinner together almost every single night, and it's been a blast.

Getting to spend some time with these guys, learn from Sergio and also learn from the young guys, as well, has been really cool, and this golf course will always be very special for me and I believe for all of us.

Q. David, you guys won in Adelaide, you guys won here, obviously on a roll. You've got an incredible team. Talk about how it feels to be back-to-back champs.

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, it feels amazing. I think Abe played really well last week, obviously helped the team a lot, and Sergio this week just played unbelievable. I think I did my part a little bit, too, and it's just amazing to be back-to-back champs.

I think we took that first spot on the team standings, and hopefully we keep it throughout the year, and hopefully we win a lot more.

Q. Last year Benji was on your bag, this year Benji was on Sergio's bag, and you both win. Is there something with Benji on this course?

SERGIO GARCIA: I'm giving him a nickname. I'm calling him King Kong. He's the king of Hong Kong. Yeah, he's got something on this course for sure.

It's great to have him on my team. Obviously when him and Abraham parted ways at the end of last year, I wanted to get someone else to work with Wallace, with Neil, and I thought he was the perfect guy to do it. He loves the team. We all like him. They parted in a great way, so it's not like there was any bad blood there.

I actually talked to Abraham when I decided to put him in my team, and he was really happy for me to have him. Obviously that meant a lot.

Just couldn't be prouder of both of us, all of us, so it's been a great week.

Q. Every time I talk to these guys, they always talk about what an incredible leader you are of this team, what an incredible captain you are. I want you guys to say a few words about Sergio as a team captain and how that's contributing to the success of the team.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, he's been awesome. He's been super nice to me. Yesterday I didn't have my best round, and he talked to me after. He talked to me about what I need to improve, what I should do better, and I think that's how a good person he is. He's just trying to take care of us so that we can improve. So yeah, I'm really thankful for him that he's super nice with us.

ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, I think he's the perfect role model to follow. He's been an absolute stake for a long time now. I told him when we were in the practice round, I was like, the way you're playing, you never know. Maybe the best is still ahead. I know you've played some really good golf for a long time, but he still hits the ball -- it's up there in ball-striking wise in the world for sure, and it's been there forever. Rolls it very nice, short game is insane. He's got it all.

He's got that competitiveness, and he spreads that even in the practice rounds. We love playing our games, and I feel like that helps us to really get into that mindset of, all right, we need to make some putts. Even though it's between us, we get the blood flowing, and it's really cool to have that competitiveness all the time. In a fun way, but still, we're trying to beat each other, and I feel like that builds a great team.

I feel like he's the perfect captain.

DAVID PUIG: Same thing pretty much. I think for me it's how much he cares, especially on those bad days. When you play good, it's pretty easy, but when you have tough days or bad days, even if he has a bad day, he still comes to you and talks to you and asks you what happened or what was wrong and stuff like that. He still helps you and tells you to move on and gives you a lot of good advice that I think it definitely helped me to be more consistent in a way.

Yeah, obviously, again, when everything goes good, he's still there and he's super happy for you, but when you're having a tough moment, he's the first guy that's going to be there by your side, and just the support is amazing.

Q. Sergio, how does it feel to hear all these nice things about you as a leader?

SERGIO GARCIA: I obviously pay them very well.

No, for me, it's a treat. At the end of the day, growing up, obviously Seve and José María, they were my idols, and they helped me so much when I was in my late teens and early 20s and even in my early 30s.

It just feels right. I love trying to help them if they need it. Obviously I don't try to force anything, but I always ask them -- have a couple comments that I would like to tell you, you want me to tell you, and then if they want it, I tell them.

But more than anything, I just want them to get to where I am or better than where I am faster than I did. That's the main goal. I just give them some of my -- some of the things that I've gone through, and I'm just trying to help them as much as I can.

Q. We are heading into major season. First major of the season, Augusta, is not too far away. Masters champion, you are in incredible form right now. How are you feeling heading into Masters week?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it's still early. We still have a month to go. We still have two big tournaments coming up in Singapore and Miami, so we've got to focus on that, and when we get to Augusta, then we'll focus on that.

Obviously it's going to be a very special week for me because it's my 100th major, so I'm super proud of that. It's not a number that a lot of people get to achieve. I just want to have a lot of fun there no matter what happens, and that's my goal.

But first, we've got next week and then we've got Miami, and then we'll focus on Augusta.

Q. Sergio, I want to ask you about your early eagle and how important that was. Obviously a long putt. You kind of separated yourself early from everybody else.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously the 1st hole is not an easy hole, and I had a good birdie chance but I left it short. Then 2nd hole I hit a good shot and left it short again.

Then I managed to hit the green in two on 3 with a 6-iron. It was a little bit downgrain but I was like, don't leave this one short again. I did hit it a little harder than I wanted to, but I was fortunate that it caught the left side and went in.

It really got me in a -- I was in a good mood. I was very focused on what I wanted to do. But obviously when that happens, it gets you going even more.

The up-and-down on 5 was huge to keep the momentum going. It was a big par save. Then I really got going 8, 9, 10, 11, obviously hit a lot of good shots, gave myself a lot of chances, and it was nice to be able to do that.

Q. Are there particular factors, maybe two or three things, that have allowed you to maintain your high standards, having reached your mid 40s, or maybe even find a second gear here at this stage?

SERGIO GARCIA: To be totally honest, I love the game. That's the most important thing. I love competing. I feel like my whole career I've been very blessed with a body that doesn't seem to get injured, so that obviously helps because you have momentum all the time. You don't have to take big breaks having to recover or anything like that. I like to stay active.

Obviously I've been doing a lot of good work mentally and just kind of trying to see things a little bit different, trying to make sure that I love myself a lot more on the course, even when I don't hit a good shot or something like that, and that obviously has helped me a lot. That's some of the things that I try to tell these boys.

Abe is much better at that than the two little Spaniards. But we're working on it, and they're doing good.

Q. Luis, what was going through your mind after the 6th hole? Obviously kind of a disappointing stretch there, but you were able to maintain it and make the big putt there at the end.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, I started well today. Just my back nine didn't go as well. Yeah, standing on No. 7, I just knew I had to score at least 1-under. Started playing a little better from there. Then on No. 10 I saw on the screen that I needed to make birdie, so I tried my best, and thankfully I did it.

Q. What's it like to face that pressure because it's not just for yourself, it's for the entire team, and to be able to avoid the playoff? Is it kind of a different feeling than if it was just you alone?

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, obviously you think about it. But it's just another putt. I was nervous, but I did my read and made a good stroke.

Q. When Sergio's rolling it like he did this week, is he as good as we've got in the game right now?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Yes.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yes. I played with him yesterday and I was like, he's a machine.

Q. Ancer, you did much more better in round 2 and 3 compared to round 1 and you contributed a lot to the team score. What did you do to change strategy or anything that you did differently in round 2 and 3 that makes up the difference?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Not really. I didn't really change anything. On round 1, I just didn't hit it very good. I didn't score very good. But I felt like I still -- I feel like the game was there, I just didn't score. After round 1 I did a little bit of work on the range, just tried to leave the golf course with something positive. I've hit some nice shots that gave me some confidence. Then I just went out and played, and I played really solid yesterday and today.

But no, I didn't change anything.

Q. David, we've talked about the champagne challenge. This is the second year you've experienced the champagne challenge in Hong Kong. Any special feeling about the challenge this year for champagne?

DAVID PUIG: No, it still smells not great, but it's a great feeling. It's a great smell, obviously, for a few minutes. Then it gets a little worse. But overall hopefully we can smell like this for the rest of the year. It means we are doing a good job. So I don't mind it at all.

But yeah, this shirt is -- I don't know if I'm going to keep it or not. But yeah, it feels very nice.