THE MODERATOR: Adrian Meronk, congratulations, first individual event win of your LIV Golf career. Just talk about your feelings over the weekend, managing to get that first individual win of your LIV Golf career.
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, to be honest it's such a relief because the last couple holes it was a battle for me. It started on the 10th hole. It was quite stressful. Then Sebastian made a couple of good birdies.
But yeah, I'm super happy to be sitting here with the trophy in the bag. But no, I'm super happy and satisfied. I've been working very hard the last couple of months, and I'm glad it paid off.
Q. You've led here in Saudi Arabia before, obviously down in Jeddah. Today on that back nine, did any thoughts creep into your mind about Jeddah before? How did you manage to close it out in the end?
ADRIAN MERONK: No, I never really thought about Jeddah. I just tried to stay in the tournament. I kept telling myself that I'm still in it, I'm still tied for first, I still have six holes to go, I'm still playing well, so one shot at a time, and that's what I did. I was nervous; I'm not going to lie. But I think it's normal, and I think as soon as you accept it, you can release it and then play your best, and that's what happened.
So I'm super happy that it worked well.
Q. Adrian, you were 4-up at the turn and then, as you said. You talked about the stress. What was going through your mind at 13 when the putt circled the cup?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, I felt like I was in control after nine holes, and then I missed a short one on the 10th for par, and that's where kind of the nerves started. Then I made another bogey in a row. Then a lip-out on 13 that was just so ugly. But it happens.
Still hit a lot of good shots. I just tried to stay patient and keep committing to the next shots.
The birdie on 16 was really huge, I think, to gain some momentum going to the last two holes, and I made some good swings on the last two holes, and that was enough.
Q. I wanted to ask you about that second shot at 16. That obviously separated you and Seb.
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, so I had 153 meters, a little bit downwind, and I've hit that shot twice before on this round, like with the same wind, with the same club, so I was quite confident about the shot, and I was just aiming a little bit right of the pin, nice little draw, and I think I ball finished four, five feet from the hole. It was probably the biggest shot for me this round.
Q. A win like this, the way you had to battle on the back nine, does it make it perhaps even sweeter that you were able to come through as opposed to you weren't really pushed at all? Obviously you had to make some big shots and come back from some obstacles.
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, definitely. That's what I'm saying. It's a big relief and satisfaction because I could have given up after two bogeys and then not such a good tee shot on the next hole. But I just -- I've been in that position before before I was leading the tournament and then it wasn't going my way. But I managed to close it off, so I just kept telling to myself that I can do it. I think that's the best strategy going forward.
Q. You talked about your off-season, how hard you worked. You made a coaching change, that type of thing. Did you expect to get immediate results like you did this week?
ADRIAN MERONK: To be honest, the last couple weeks I shot really low numbers back in Dubai where I was practicing, so I knew the game was there. I knew I had to stay patient and keep doing my thing.
With golf, you never know when you get a good form and perform, and that's what happened for me this week, so I'm super happy that it happened in the first tournament. I will continue to work on my game, and hopefully I can bring more trophies.
Q. How much of an impact has being part of the Cleeks and having Martin as your captain, how much has that made an impact on your game since you joined LIV?
ADRIAN MERONK: Since I joined LIV and the Cleeks, I've been really enjoying my life much more. We have such a good team chemistry within the team, and I'm just enjoying traveling together with all the guys. We spend so much time together. It's just super fun. Much more fun than before LIV.
Q. Obviously this is our first tournament under the lights. Can you sum up the week, what it was like, and does this make you the "night king"?
ADRIAN MERONK: No, I really enjoyed it. I think it was a great setup. The lights were bright enough. We managed to see the ball quite well, even in the desert sometimes.
But yeah, I thought it was a good setup. I heard there was good feedback from TV. Yeah, I think we can definitely keep doing that and maybe add one more somewhere else.
Q. You led from day one; can we say now that Riyadh has a special place in your heart, and can you tell us about your experience in the city?
ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, definitely. Definitely the first win will always have a special place in my heart. I'm super happy it happened here.
My first time here was in December. I really like the place. I think it's a great part of the world, and I really enjoy playing on that golf course.
I don't know the schedule for next year, but I'm sure we'll be back here.
Q. Can you tell me what's the difficult part about this championship for you?
ADRIAN MERONK: Probably the last -- like during the night golf or just overall? I don't know, like each tournament is difficult. Our job is not the easiest in the world, so you have to stay patient, keep believing in yourself. You have 54 really good players, so there's no room for error.
I think staying consistent is the most difficult and tricky part.
Q. You live in Dubai, and you touched on practicing there at night in order for you to have a feel for it here also in Riyadh. Can we see Adrian one day living here in Riyadh?
ADRIAN MERONK: That's a good question. To be honest, I don't know. We'll see. But for now, I really enjoy Dubai. I like living there. I've been there for over two and a half years.
I think I won't be moving anytime soon, but who knows.
Q. You've also spoken about the game at night and how different it is compared to other events. What's so special about playing at night in your opinion, and can we say that you feel more comfortable playing at night?
ADRIAN MERONK: More comfortable I wouldn't say, but I think I prepared well for this tournament, playing a few rounds in Dubai, like night golf, because you have to get used to the shadows, the lighting, the perception is a little bit different, especially around the greens and on the greens, reading the greens.
But I really enjoyed it. I never played a tournament before, so that was my first one, I guess for everyone. But I like changes. I like new things. So I really enjoyed it, and I didn't mind it at all.
The setup of the course with the lights and everything was really good, and I think all the players, most of the players liked it. Definitely it was a nice tournament.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports