LIV Golf Bangkok Final Video Press Conference
LIV Golf Invitational Series
Sunday, 9 October, 2022
Bangkok, Thailand
Stonehill Golf Club
Eugenio Chacarra
Sergio Garcia
Abraham Ancer
Carlos Ortiz
Press Conference
Q. Five tournaments and you win so quick. What is the secret and what is the feeling of winning for the first time?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: Feels great. I mean, I don’t think there’s a lot of secret. Just trusting yourself and working hard every day. That’s what they teach me when I was young and what these guys tell me you need to do, and trusting your team, having a good team, and just work and work I would say.
Q. Sergio, you’re playing with your bad left knee, but finally your team wins for the first time.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yes, amazing. Obviously an amazing week. Super proud of every single one of my teammates.
Yeah, I’m still a little bit on the injured list, I guess, but I played as hard as I could and tried to help the team as much as possible. But obviously we gelled great. Eugenio played amazing, and both Abraham and Carlos also played solid. When you have three out of four scores counting, that is massive.
That’s why we won, and that’s why we won quite comfortably, I guess.
Q. Abraham, changing the format from best two to best three, how do you like it?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, I love it, obviously. We’re standing up here talking with you, which is a great sign. We felt like we had a team that we all played really solid, so having three scores count out of the four was great.
I think we even could have done four out of four, and we would have been maybe here in the same spot. That really says a lot about this team, and I think we couldn’t be happier.
Q. Carlos, what is your impression of Thailand?
CARLOS ORTIZ: I like Thailand.
Q. What do you like about Thailand? The food?
CARLOS ORTIZ: The food, the people, everything. The golf course. We like the golf course. Especially Eugenio.
Q. You guys have gotten close a couple of times, had a couple third places. How nice is it to finally kind of knock off the Four Aces and also to the fact that you said nine counting scores, there were none in the 70s. I think that was pretty impressive.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously, like I said, it’s an amazing week. I think that we all played really, really solid, and to be able to, like you said, Four Aces were coming off four wins in a row, I think, so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but we all had a lot of faith in each other. We’ve been playing really, really well and been quite close a couple of times.
We felt like we just needed to click a little bit here and there, and that was going to make the difference, and that’s what happened this week.
Q. Geno, could you just talk about a couple of stretches during the round, your birdie at 6 after having a couple of bogeys the first of the week, and then also right after the restart, having a great shot in there?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: Yeah, that birdie on 6 was big, but I knew it was going to be hard today. It was going to be a long day. There’s such good players coming from behind and they want to win as much as I do. I just stayed patient, and I feel like when the rain and the cold out on 15 helped me a lot. I needed some time off. I was kind of pretty nervous, and being with my family, my coach and my best friend Gonzalo kind of helped me relax and just see how life is and how nice is my life right now and just kind of going out there and trust all the work I’ve put in, and when I was on 15, I think that’s the best chip I ever had in my life. It was an easy shot, downhill, a little wet, but it came out like I wanted to, and I think that was big momentum coming into the last three holes, and here I am right now. Couldn’t be any more proud.
Q. Which shot was the most pivotal for you, or was there a pivotal moment during the round that changed your momentum? You made the two bogeys early in the round and then you bounced back.
EUGENIO CHACARRA: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know about those bogeys, but definitely on that shot on 15, it was big, to make a good up-and-down, and then Richard making that putt and Patrick Reed hit in the water on 16. Having three shots under, it was a big momentum change there, and like I said, that chip was probably the best shot of my life right now.
Q. Was there anything specific in your process or how you spoke to yourself to create that shot?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: To be fair, I hit a couple flops when we were in the delay, and all came out pretty well, so I was like, I think I’m going to do it, so I went out there and just did it, and it came out great. That’s it.
Q. Sergio, I was hoping to get your perspective on this. When a young player today turns pro out of college or even in your case as a teenager, there’s sort of this trepidation because there’s the financial commitment, you have to pay your own way. Obviously this is a different path now that’s available. He was able to come out here with a little bit of a base and maybe not so much pressure. I’m wondering if you see this as a path for younger players to be able to get some experience and play without worrying about the money?
SERGIO GARCIA: Great question. I definitely agree with you. I think this is a great path.
You know, for me, I was fortunate because I had a really good amateur career and I had a couple decent contracts when I came out. But still, you have to perform every single week, and if you don’t, look what happened to Justin Rose. Unbelievable player, obviously, but you get in a slump and you miss 20 cuts and you don’t know what you’re going to do.
To be able to come out here with good talent and for them to be able to play a little bit more freely and show what they can really do without having to be super intense on if I don’t make the cut this week, what am I going to do and am I going to be able to play the next three weeks or something like that, I think it’s huge.
LIV Golf has given us that chance, and super proud that we have one of them in our team and already a winner. It’s amazing.
Q. 19-under par, Eugenio, you scored today. Is it because the course is not so difficult, or it’s because of your extraordinary play?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: I think the course is hard and it’s long, but I feel like the great condition of the course makes you able to go low. The greens were amazing. The fairways and everything. But obviously I think I played great golf. I hit the ball great all week. I had two bogeys in 54 holes and my goal was to have zero, but the course is in great condition so you can go low, but also I think I played really good. More birdies than bogeys. That will make it.
Q. Eugenio, just a little while ago you were a college student, and now after five events you are a millionaire. Could you describe this journey for us?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: I mean, it’s great. What LIV Golf is doing for golf and for everyone is something that I couldn’t react and I couldn’t be more proud to be here. I’m learning a lot. I’m playing with the best players in the world, and that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was little and I’m learning from each of them in particular these guys by my side. They’re trying to help me as much as I can and I’m always there learning, and it’s been a dream, and I can’t be more excited for the next years to come.
Q. Sergio, yesterday we spoke about your success here in Thailand. Another victory for you here; congratulations. With LIV Golf right now, do you feel that your win would inspire an idea for you to perhaps think about growing the game through LIV Golf here in Asia, because you have a lot of following and you see a lot of kids still looking up to you and also seeing Eugenio’s performance today, they’re very, very inspired about the victory and having LIV here in Asia.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously LIV has given us the possibility of coming here to Thailand and Asia and trying to develop the game even more.
It’s nice to be able to do it. I think starting next year, we’re going to be coming to a couple different — this is a global tour. It’s not a Tour that is in the U.S., not a Tour that is in Europe. This is a global tour.
I think I speak for everyone; it’s great for us. We feel very proud and very thankful to LIV to put their belief on us to try to bring the game of golf everywhere in the world and make it grow, and to see all those kids out there supporting us and enjoying it, it’s what we always try to do.
Q. Geno, you had mentioned on the podium all the people that are here for you this week. How important was that to have your family and friends and how much did that play into your win?
EUGENIO CHACARRA: Yeah, it means all. My mom, my aunt and all they do for me. My mom has been getting me to the course since I was little and trike to help me reach my dreams, and this was one of the things I wanted to do, win with my mom — my dad couldn’t be here but my mom was here. I know she was excited. I know she was nervous, but we finally did it.
Now just having all my team here — my coach has been my coach since I was little, and we had a lot of discussions and everything, but he’s always there trying to help me, and then my best friend and my cousin, they were here this week. I know it’s going to be a week they will never forget and for sure I will never forget, so they’re very special for me.
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