SU-ANN HENG: A very good morning, and welcome to our LIV Golf Dallas Team Championship selection show and press conference. My name is Su-Ann Heng and I'm going to be hosting this morning.
We have an amazing weekend ahead as we will award the 2024 LIV Golf league Team Championship on Sunday. It's going to be a fun morning. Thank you so much for joining us.
This tournament is working a little bit different than the previous 13 events, as this is a straight team tournament consisting of all 13 teams competing. Now, this is how it works.
The 13 teams were ranked based on their performance in the previous 13 tournaments, and the top three teams earned a bye. Now, those teams being our very first seed, Crushers GC, second seed Legion XIII, and our third seed, the all-Aussie team, Ripper GC. That leaves us with 10 teams left to play on Friday, playing head-to-head with five teams advancing to Saturday's semifinal round.
Each matchup on Friday consists of three matches. You're going to have two single matches and one foursome match. Each match will consist of one point. If you win two points, you advance.
Unlike the 2023 Team championship, captains are not required to play each other one-on-one in the singles matches. Pretty straightforward.
The highest seed will get to pick first, and then the next higher seed will pick the following.
With Smash GC finishing fourth, they will get to pick first.
Before we reveal the matches, let's introduce our 10 captains who are here this morning. It's the captain of Smash GC, Brooks Koepka; we have Torque GC Joaquín Niemann; Fireballs GC, Sergio Garcia; we've got Stinger GC Louis Oosthuizen; Cleeks GC, Martin Kaymer; RangeGoats GC, Bubba Watson; 4Aces GC, Dustin Johnson; Majesticks GC, Henrik Stenson; HyFlyers GC, Phil Mickelson; and last but certainly not least, Iron Heads GC, Kevin Na.
Let's begin and find out which teams will face off with each other on Friday afternoon. Here we go. Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, who will you pick in your quarterfinals?
BROOKS KOEPKA: We're going to be playing the Iron Heads.
SU-ANN HENG: So it's Smash GC versus Iron Heads GC. Brooks, why did you select Iron Heads GC?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Just went from the bottom up. I think that's the way we did it. I just felt like we've got a good chance. We'll see what happens.
SU-ANN HENG: Kevin, what are you thinking right now? Smash GC obviously have had a pretty good season.
KEVIN NA: Yeah, but it all comes down to match play. Danny Lee and my coach works with Jason Kokrak, so we've been bribing him, trying to give him some flawed swing tips, so hopefully that works.
SU-ANN HENG: Pick No. 2, Torque GC. With Smash and Iron Heads off the board, we move to Torque. Captain Joaquín, who do you got?
JOAQUIN NIEMANN: We got the HyFlyers.
SU-ANN HENG: Wow, so we've got Torque versus HyFlyers GC. Joaquín, why did you pick the HyFlyers?
JOAQUIN NIEMANN: I mean, it wasn't that easy to pick, but I always wanted to play against Phil.
SU-ANN HENG: Phil, what do you think about the matchup? Obviously Joaquín has had a fantastic season.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I really like the team of Torque. I think they're an incredible team. Joaco is one of the best players in the game, and I've had a chance to play with him a number of times this year, and it's just impressive watching him play. Then the rest of his team are just really good guys and solid players. I've enjoyed watching their success.
Our team is looking forward to the challenge, and we haven't had the year that we wanted to this year, and this is an opportunity for us to showcase what we're able to do against one of the really strong teams in the league.
SU-ANN HENG: Let's move along to Fireballs GC, of course captained by Sergio Garcia. Sergio, who would you have?
SERGIO GARCIA: We're going to play RangeGoats. I'm kidding. No, we're going to pick Majesticks.
SU-ANN HENG: So it's Fireballs versus Majesticks. Sergio, you've obviously had a lot of experience with the guys on Majesticks with the Ryder Cup team. Why did you pick them?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I felt like our matchup was good against them. Obviously we played them last year, so we know what's going on there.
I don't know, everyone else seemed like maybe a little bit -- it wasn't like the easiest choice, but they're all good teams left on the roster, and I guess we go from what happened last year, so hopefully we'll be able to repeat.
SU-ANN HENG: Henrik, what do you think about that?
HENRIK STENSON: I think he made a bad choice. (Laughter.)
SU-ANN HENG: It's getting competitive in here. Next up, our next match, it's Stinger GC to pick next. Who you got, Louis?
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: We're picking the Cleeks.
SU-ANN HENG: The Cleeks, okay. What made you decide on the Cleeks? They've been playing some good golf. They won in Houston, obviously, this year. Why the Cleeks?
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I mean, I saw Martin run the 100 meters earlier this week, and I think we can beat that.
No, all three teams that was left to pick from was strong teams, and we just felt the matchup with Cleeks is going to be suiting us a little bit more.
SU-ANN HENG: Martin, what about you? Obviously Blandy has had an amazing season. He's in the lock zone. You've started to play some of your best golf. What do you think about this matchup between Louis and his team?
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, Richard is going to obviously be -- obviously he's a strong player on the team, but he won't be good in 100 meters on our team. He will be our weakling. Sorry, Richard. But Kalle and Adrian, they're up there.
It's going to be a tough match against the South Africans. They play some good golf. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of success in their career already. We feel very confident with the team. We had a win already this year, which is huge. We have a great team spirit. At the end of the day, match play comes down to that, supporting each other.
But the experience is going to be hard to beat, but I believe we can do it.
SU-ANN HENG: Congrats on breaking 14 seconds for your 100-meter sprint. I think everyone was against you there. Good run.
So that leaves us with our final match for the day, it's RangeGoats versus 4Aces. I want to start with you, DJ, because your team was picked last. What does that say about the 4Aces?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: We were the last ones left. (Laughter).
SU-ANN HENG: But nobody wanted to pick you, though.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: We haven't had the best of years this year, but I mean, the last two years we've had -- obviously we were No. 1 coming into the finals. But I think our team is still strong. It is match play, so we are a difficult matchup. Obviously the RangeGoats are, too.
I think it's going to be a tough match, but I'm looking forward to it, and obviously once you get to the Team Championship, anybody has got a chance to win.
All you can do is go out and try to win your match and then hopefully we make it to Saturday and repeat that again.
Q. Bubba, what about you? Your team is going up against Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed. Obviously they've had a lot of success in match play. What are your thoughts on this matchup?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, it's a phenomenal team we're playing against. The Aces are unbelievable. Nobody wanted to pick them, obviously, and so it's going to be a tough matchup.
But obviously I think it's going to be made for TV. It's a perfect pairing. They're really good, and I think our team hasn't had the best year, but it'll be a fun challenge for us. We'll probably be the underdogs, so we'll try to match them shot for shot, and hopefully somehow we make one more putt than they do.
SU-ANN HENG: Does that work better for you being the underdogs?
BUBBA WATSON: I think we're always the underdogs. It's golf; we're all good up here. We've just got to pull off that one day and then hopefully move on.
SU-ANN HENG: Let's recap our five matches for Friday. We've got Smash GC versus Iron Heads, Torque versus the HyFlyers, we've got Fireballs versus the Majesticks, Stinger GC versus the Cleeks, and the RangeGoats versus the Aces.
All right, so now that we know all the team matchups, it is time to reveal the players who will be competing against each other, and this is the very first time this has been shown, as captains don't even know who the other captains have selected to play the individual match play or the foursome.
Just a reminder, captains do not have to play the singles matches this year. They're allowed to play in any of the matches. There's going to be a lot of great storylines. Let's reveal our matches.
Our matchup A, we've got Smash versus Iron Heads. Let's take a look at our singles. Brooks versus Kevin Na. Our second match we've got Talor Gooch versus Danny Lee, and that leaves us with our foursomes Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell versus Jinichiro Kozuma and Scott Vincent. There you have it. That's our very first matchup. Brooks, what was your process behind picking who to play the foursome, who to play the singles?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It's pretty simple. I just thought Gooch has had a good season again. He's played well. He likes match play. I thought it was pretty simple just to put him out there. And I think this board kind of came up exactly how probably myself and Kevin kind of thought it was going to go.
SU-ANN HENG: Kevin, you're going up against someone who's played really well this season, obviously one of our best players, but also Gooch, as he mentioned, is one of the best putters on the green, which is crucial on a golf course like this. What are your thoughts?
KEVIN NA: Yeah, this is what I was expecting. I thought about throwing a curve ball in there, but I talked to the guys, and everybody actually wanted to play singles, which is a good sign. I think everybody wants to show what they can do and what they're capable of.
I know Brooks is obviously a tough opponent, going against a five-time major champion. But in match play I've taken down some people in match play and I can make a few putts. Hopefully that happens.
Danny's game I feel like has really turned around. I feel like with his new sidekick on the bag, I think he's been reading some putts well and making some putts, and I think he'll be a good opponent for Gooch. Vino, Scott Vincent, and Jini I think are going to be great alternate shot. I think they'll do great job. Vino has got a new haircut, shaved his head, so I think he's ready.
SU-ANN HENG: Let's move along to matchup B. We've got Torque versus the HyFlyers. Let's take a look at our singles match, Joaquín versus Andy Ogletree. Then our second singles match is Sebastian Muñoz versus Cameron Tringale, and of course that leaves the foursome, Mito Pereira and Carlos Ortiz versus Phil and Brendan Steele. Phil, you're the first team to not have the captain play in the singles match. I'm curious as to what was your thought process behind that?
PHIL MICKELSON: Andy Ogletree won the '21 Amateur. He's a very touch match play competitor. Cam Tringale won all his matches last year. I wanted them both in singles. Steeley and I are really annoying to play against. I'm annoying, but when you put me and Steeley, it goes to another level, and I feel like that could be a challenge just dealing with that.
SU-ANN HENG: You guys are far from annoying. We've got Andy Ogletree going up against the best player in our league in terms of the individual title. Are you surprised, and what do you think your chances are?
ANDY OGLETREE: No, I'm not surprised. I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing Joaco. Unfortunately he doesn't get to play Phil this year. Maybe next year. It'll be fun. I'm looking forward to the competition. But I love match play and we'll see what happens.
SU-ANN HENG: Joaquín, are you surprised by this matchup? I'm sure you probably were anticipating playing against Phil.
JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, we knew with our teammates, we talked about it, and we thought Phil was going to play by himself, but we knew he could think about it and do something different like he just did. So yeah, I mean, everything could happen in match play. They have four really strong players, and like Phil said, he's a good match play player, so it'll be a good challenge, and it will be fun.
SU-ANN HENG: Why did you pair Mito and Carlos together?
JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Sebastian obviously has been great on match play. He's won a lot of match plays before against really good players. So yeah, and I also wanted to put myself as a single, and then Carlos and Mito, they'll be a good matchup together. Carlos played a few times here before, and they complement really well each other, so it will be a good pair.
SU-ANN HENG: Let's move along to matchup C. We've got Fireballs versus the Majesticks. Let's take a look at the first singles matchup. Eugenio Chacarra versus Henrik Stenson. Then we have our next singles match, David Puig versus Ian Poulter. Then of course we have our foursomes, Sergio Garcia and Abe Ancer versus Westy and Sam Horsfield. Wow, this surprised me. Sergio, you've got the all-time record in terms of points in the Ryder Cup. I'm curious, why did you put yourself in the foursome match and not the singles match?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, first of all, I have full belief and confidence in all of my players. Obviously I think that Eugenio and David are very, very strong singles players. Then I felt like Abraham and I, we could match up really well for foursomes. We both love playing foursomes, and we're super excited to play together.
Obviously the goal for me is to put the strongest team that I feel that we could have to try to attempt to win all three matches. I don't want to try to win just two. We want to try to get three, and if we don't get three, hopefully we get two. But I felt like this was our strongest possibility for us.
SU-ANN HENG: Henrik, are you surprised at all? Were you expecting to play against Sergio?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, but I can see why he changed that from last year's result. We went out first in the singles last year, so I could see he wanted to make a change.
SERGIO GARCIA: I thought you were going to play foursomes. That's why I put myself there. But I guess you didn't want that.
HENRIK STENSON: No, I was a bit surprised, as well. I thought I was going to get Sergio in the first match, but no, I think we're very happy with that setup, and yeah, looking forward to tomorrow, really.
SU-ANN HENG: I've got your co-captain Ian Poulter who has obviously had a great match play record. You did pretty well, I would say, in your career. You're playing one of the youngest up-and-coming players who's had a great record, as well, in terms of performance in the last year or so. What do you think of your match, and what do you think about this lineup?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, it's going to be a fun day. Look, we didn't do what we needed to do against them last year. I think that there's going to be some motivation with us this year to obviously change that.
The way the pairings have lined themselves up, me playing David will be a great match. Obviously he hits it 50 yards past me --
SERGIO GARCIA: With a 3-wood.
IAN POULTER: With a 3-wood, all right. So it's over to me to put the pressure on him first, which in this format I've done quite well in match play, and it's time for me to go and deliver. I played well last week, so I feel pretty confident, and hopefully we go and deliver nicely tomorrow.
SU-ANN HENG: Very nice. Thank you, Ian. Let's move along to our next matchup. It's Stingers versus Cleeks. Let's take a look at the singles. We've got Branden Grace versus Adrian Meronk, and then we've got Dean Burmester versus Kalle Samooja, and of course that leaves us with our foursomes, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel versus Kaymer and Blandy. Louis, taking a look at your matchups right now, you're the third captain to not have picked yourself for the singles. Why is that?
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I'll miss my guys too much. I want to have some good conversation on the course.
No, me and Charl has been playing -- we've played a lot of foursomes and better ball together in our lives, and we've always done really good playing together.
I think coming down, we both play the same golf ball, which is huge in foursomes, and it just made sense to sort of -- we go and have a crack at it.
I thought that Blandy was going to play singles. I did. But Blandy, we just tee off the same holes, me and you. We hit it a similar distance.
I just thought me and Charl matched up really nicely for this week, and the other two boys, I know what they're capable of.
SU-ANN HENG: Martin, you're another captain that did not play in the singles match. What was your thought process to play with Blandy, and what do you think your chances are against Louis and Charl?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, he won two majors this year, so that's pretty solid I would say. But it was more about the other guys than about Richard and me. I think Adrian is best on his own. If you send him out early and if he can do his thing, I really believe he can do -- he's the best off that way. Kalle, him and me, we talked a little bit, but we actually did it in the team together. We talked about the setup. Kalle felt really comfortable in match play. He really likes that challenge, playing singles.
Richard and me, we get along well. We have kind of similar games, I would say. I try to keep up with him at the moment. But he's very solid. He's a calm person on the golf course.
I think the matchup is great. Playing against Louis and Charl, very nice guys, good players, so I would feel really good to beat them.
SU-ANN HENG: Blandy, you're obviously a two-time senior major champion this year, but you're also going up against two major champions. What are your thoughts?
RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, we've got more majors than they have. Yeah, anyone that you play, it's going to be a tough game. I think we kind of had Louis and Dean playing singles, so a little surprising to see Louis there in foursomes, but you understand why. He's a very solid player. I've played quite a bit with Charl this year, as well, so we know what he can do. It's going to be a tough match. If me and Martin play the way we know we can play, I think we've got enough to sneak that one.
SU-ANN HENG: So that leaves us with RangeGoats versus the 4Aces. Let's take a look at your lineup here. Peter Uihlein versus Dustin Johnson, and then we have Thomas Pieters versus Patrick Reed, and last but not least, we've got Bubba Watson and Matthew Wolff versus Harold Varner III and Pat Perez. Bubba, I know last year you talked about how you would have liked to play in the other matches versus just a singles match. What will it be like playing up against your former teammate Harold Varner III and talk us through the process of why you chose yourself for the foursomes.
BUBBA WATSON: Well, when we were going through this as a team, everybody wanted to play singles, but then you look at Peter Uihlein, who's won a U.S. Amateur, so he's pretty good at match play. Short game is unbelievable; that's what you need in match play. Then Thomas plays a different golf ball, so it just made sense to put me and Wolff together for golf ball reasons. Then the high energy that Wolff is, he's fun to be around. So me and him can talk video games and talk other things and then golf gets in the way, it's going to be a blast.
Obviously playing against Harold, it'll be fun. It's what we love to do. We love the competition, and like I said earlier, this is probably the best matchup for TV. Obviously the Aces are really good. We kind of knew what their strategy was going out. We could feel who they were going to put out. DJ is really good at golf and match play. Patrick Reed is really good at match play. We kind of knew how they were going to fall, and we just tried to match it up the best we could. We all wanted to play singles. Everybody wants that competition, that effort to try to win a point. But like Louis said, the golf ball was an influence on some of it.
SU-ANN HENG: DJ, talk me through your mindset on your matchups. I know Harold and Pat had a pretty good week last week and had their careers on the line, really, and then you pair them together. Talk us through that process.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I was going to play singles, and then obviously the last couple years we've put P-Reed out in singles, which he's a very good singles player, very good match play player. I felt like Pat and Harold were really kind of the obvious choice to play foursomes.
I think their games complement each other. I think they're going to be a really tough match. Yeah, obviously I've played a lot of golf with both of them this year, and they're both playing well. Obviously if they can just get it together tomorrow, we can win all three matches.
SU-ANN HENG: Harold, you're going to be playing up against your previous captain, Bubba Watson. What's your thoughts right now with this matchup?
HAROLD VARNER III: I think it's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it.
SU-ANN HENG: That's it?
HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I'm speechless.
HENRIK STENSON: For once he's speechless.
BUBBA WATSON: First time ever.
SU-ANN HENG: There you have it. That is our matches for Friday. We've got some great lineups, really exciting stuff. We can't wait to watch it.
Those are your quarterfinals for the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championships. We're in for an amazing day of golf on Friday. Sounds like it's really going to be a lot of fun. Thank you to our captains and all the players who joined us this morning. We appreciate you.
I will now turn it over to our head of player comms, Jane MacNeille, to pick it up from here.
JANE MacNEILLE: Thanks, Su-Ann. There's a lot of chatter going on in the back. Were you guys surprised by any of these matchups up here? Brooks, was anything shocking?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I think it kind of fell the way I thought it would. Definitely some change-ups on the singles and foursomes play, but I get some of the reasons. I get it makes sense.
Yeah, it was interesting to see how guys were doing it.
JANE MacNEILLE: Bubba, any surprises up there?
BUBBA WATSON: No, I think we want to -- there's some captains that changed to foursomes, but it's fun. We want to change it up and see what we can do that way. They're all good players up here, so I think it's just anywhere you put them, it's going to be a great matchup.
Q. Sergio and Henrik, you guys have played so much together in match play and part of Ryder Cup. Do you guys know any of each other's secrets that you may want to reveal over here?
HENRIK STENSON: No, I was just surprised that Sergio chose to hide. No, we had a good match last year. I thought I was going to get him again. He had some -- it was crab injuries, as well, last year. You were bitten by a crab.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, in Miami.
HENRIK STENSON: I felt like I could only take three quarters of that win. A quarter of it was for the crab. I was hoping to get the full point this year.
It's always going to be fun to play them. No matter where the guys go, it's always going to be tough matches, and we'll have a good match.
SERGIO GARCIA: No, there's no real secrets. He sees getting the foursomes as hiding. I see it as being very confident with your game because it's the toughest format you can play. Everybody has their own opinions.
There's no crabs here this week, so he doesn't have to worry about that or I don't have to worry about that. It'll be fun. It's going to be a good match.
HENRIK STENSON: There's plenty of snakes here.
SERGIO GARCIA: I love snakes.
Q. If I can just ask Phil, what do you think about this golf course as a match play course?
PHIL MICKELSON: So there's a lot of risk-reward here. There's a lot of severity of the greens, a lot of opportunities to attack pins and make birdies with very difficult up-and-downs if you don't pull it off. Because of that, I feel you'll have a higher number of scores where you can make birdies and a higher number of bogeys or doubles than a more mundane golf course. I think it allows for more aggressive play, allows for more holes being won and lost, and it sets up very well for match play.
I think the wind is going to add an element of difficulty. There's a lot of crosswinds on the holes, so there's a lot of holes that instead of being straight in, straight down, where there's quartering winds, I think that's going to be a challenge for the players. It will make the misses a little bit bigger, and yet if you play aggressively, you can still make a lot of birdies.
I think it leads to more aggressive play. I think we'll see a lot of big numbers, but in match play only losing the hole, it's allowing for -- it's allowing for that aggressive play and should be exciting for match play.
Stroke play you have to play much more conservative on this golf course because there's really big misses, big penalties for misses, and in match play you can take that on and be more aggressive.
I think it's going to kind of showcase what match play is all about.
Q. I don't think I've ever seen this much giggling in a press conference. I'm curious for the guys who have been here a couple years in how this year has differed in terms of your experience in previous years and what you guys are hoping for going into 2025.
MARTIN KAYMER: First and foremost, I think we all need to understand that LIV is still a startup. They started only two and a half, three years ago, and where we've come to to date today has been absolutely amazing. The league is still learning, trying to improve, and it will take some adjustments until we get it all perfectly right, so therefore this year also you saw a few changes already in the individual tournaments but also this week, that the captains can play in the different positions than we did in previous years.
I think this is really exciting to be part of that.
I don't know what we're going to do next year, if maybe the team aspect will stand more in -- let's say more -- I guess the team is more important than the individual scores, so there are a lot of talks going on right now. That would be fantastic because this is what LIV is all about, the team aspect.
I guess all of us and all 54 players are very excited to be part of the whole journey. It's great to create something new and be part of it from the very beginning.
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I think he said everything that we're all probably thinking. It is still a startup, and it's been a great experience for me as a player and a captain to be part of a team.
I think going forward we all feel that the team side of it, it's going to probably take over and LIV Golf is going to probably be more team than anything. But it's very exciting to go all over the world and play golf in different places.
I grew up like that playing. When I started I played all over the world. It's great to be traveling for golf and be part of something bigger.
Q. Joaco, I was curious how much of a benefit it is that Seb and Carlos have some experience on this course.
JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I think it's good. It's one of those courses that -- I mean, there are some tricky positions, some tricky pins. The greens are a little different than we're used to, and there are some blind shots, too. Yeah, I think it's an advantage to have them play here often.
Yeah, also I can borrow some information from them. We'll be able to practice together today and I'll get some info there.
But yeah, it's also nice that they all live here. We're staying at Carlos' house. I think it's a little bit more like a home tournament it feels like, to be staying in a house with their family and be here on the golf course and playing in front of their friends and crowds. It will be a nice challenge.
Q. Brooks, G-Mac is 3-1 in foursomes the first two years. Is this the week why you brought him on to the team this year?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it's a huge part of why we wanted him and to have him on Smash. I think he's been a big part of our success this year. He's played really good on Sundays. He's stepped up when he needed to, and obviously his record speaks for itself, between Ryder Cups and what's going on out here.
I like him in foursomes. I think him and J will be a great match, and that's why they're playing.
Q. Kevin, there's a few guys out here that are relegated. You've got one of them. Do you feel like the relegated players have motivation this week, maybe their last chance to show something?
KEVIN NA: Yeah, I feel like relegated players maybe want to contribute more this week because maybe they haven't contributed as well during the season. I think it's their last chance to show the world what they've got and maybe a little bit of redemption.
Q. Martin, same question about the relegated players.
MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, obviously after last week I felt for Kalle. He gave it everything. It was his last chance to finish in the top 48 to have a chance to stay out here next year. He did everything he could. It's always tricky to have one of those guys on your team, especially the way the team worked out this year. We had such a good time. We all got along really well, and we wished him all the best for last week, but it didn't work out like this.
I think you need to focus also on the positives. He had a great experience out here, and hopefully will give him more motivation to want to come back to LIV. He's going to play the promotional event in December again, so if he can do the same thing that he did last year, then we're going to see him in 2025 again out here.
Q. Phil, last year in Miami you talked about there being a level of players from other tours who were interested in coming to LIV and they're not necessarily making enough spots on LIV for them to come over. It's hard to ignore that LIV has signed a reigning major champion in each year of its existence. Have you experienced the same level of interest in coming over to the league heading into next year?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yes.
Q. Do you want to expand on that any?
PHIL MICKELSON: No.
Q. For those captains who are playing in the foursomes matches, now that you've actually seen the lineup, is your strategy going to change at all come Friday?
SERGIO GARCIA: Probably not.
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No. No.
SERGIO GARCIA: You don't know.
Q. What about you, Phil?
PHIL MICKELSON: I don't think the strategy will change, no. I thought one of the cool matchups as I was looking through them was seeing the RangeGoats and Aces play because you have former teammates playing each other in a couple matches with Peter Uihlein and Dustin. I think that's going to be an exciting match. You've got two of the longest hitters, used to be partners, used to be teammates, playing against each other. Then having Bubba and Harold go against each other, I think that is one of the more interesting matchups.
I don't think our strategy will change per se, but I just thought that matchup was kind of interesting.
Q. Bubba, anything different you're going to do?
BUBBA WATSON: Don't try to throw it to us, man.
No, now we're just deciding who's going odds and evens, so you've just got to figure out what holes fit you, what holes you like, what holes you don't like, and try to match it up. I think the par-3s, there's two on even holes and two on odd holes, so you're just trying to figure out how you're going to attack it and what you're going to do.
Q. Phil, from a team atmosphere standpoint, I'm curious, what's team play at LIV Golf, say, compared to team play back Arizona State when you were in college?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah it's really a lot of fun. You mentioned it earlier in your comment about how much laughter and how much fun we're having, and I think this format really brings that out. The match play, the head-to-head aspect of it is bringing a different dynamic, a different feel, a different energy, and I think the great thing about LIV Golf is the ability to pivot and change and do things a little bit more fluid than other tours, and maybe this is something we look at in the future having more team events throughout the year rather than just the season-ending. This is a lot of fun. We're all enjoying it. There's more interest. You notice there's a lot more laughter, a lot more interesting matchups.
I think this week is really a special week. It's an exciting week, and I think it resonates more with a lot of fans, and maybe we should do this a little bit more often.
Q. Bubba, whether it's playing here at LIV or partnerships or business opportunities off the course, how has this model allowed you to totally be you?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, the creative juices are flowing. When you're in the meetings for all 54 guys and for the league, like Martin said, it's a startup business and you're trying to grow it. You asked about laughter and things like that. Look at other sports. At the end of the day they go and high five and hug or whatever, and now we travel together -- even though we're trying to beat everybody, we're still friends. We're trying to grow the business together, so it makes it more fun because we see the same faces every week. On other tours you might not see a guy for a few weeks because they're taking a break, they're doing other things.
Yeah, this is awesome for me. It gives my mind a place to go besides golf and be creative and try to create something that we've never been able to do before. I think everybody behind me and with me are the same way. This is a dream come true, to be able to create something from scratch.
Q. Challenges, opportunities of having a totally different fanfare than you guys are used to playing around, like the energy, the ability for the fans to be on top of you?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, we had 14 goats last week in Chicago right off the range, but we're giving goats away. Every team we beat, we give a goat away, and in November we're actually going to -- as of right now, out of the country, there's a couple countries, but we're going to go and deliver goats and see and help people around the world. Goat milk is the most nutritious milk in the world, so golf is just my avenue to do other things and help people around the world.
JANE MacNEILLE: Thank you, guys. We are all looking forward to seeing the matchups tomorrow. Good luck, and hope to see you guys back here after the round tomorrow.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports