THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Sergio Garcia, the captain of Fireballs GC. Sergio, you are the clubhouse leader. You are currently sitting at 9-under. You had another awesome day. You shot 4-under today. Tell us a little bit about your round.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it was a really nice start. Obviously I got a nice little break on 1 and made birdie, and then made a nice par putt on 2. Then I made three birdies in the last four holes on the front nine. I actually didn't birdie 8 with a 4-iron.
You know, it was nice. I felt like the back nine got a little bit tougher. I fought hard, and I managed to make a couple nice birdies on the last four holes. Very happy to be up top with a couple of shots back.
Q. Heading into this week, all of you guys said this is quite possibly the hardest course we play all year on LIV. Do you feel like you're getting beat up out there? You're making it look pretty easy.
SERGIO GARCIA: No, it's definitely not easy, that's for sure. I think this one and Valderrama for me will be two of the toughest courses we play all year on LIV. Nice to put a couple solid rounds to start with, and we've still got to finish it up tomorrow. One more solid day and we'll see what happens.
Q. Your family is here with you; what are your plans tonight to get some good mojo heading into tomorrow?
SERGIO GARCIA: Not much. Just rest for a little bit, have a nice dinner, and go to sleep and just try to be ready for tomorrow.
Q. You had the most beautiful moment when you were walking up and your kids were waiting for you and your daughter said, "Daddy, you're in first place!" Does that type of thing give you extra motivation out on the course when the course is beating you up?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it definitely does. Obviously to have the family here and be playing well, it's always an extra sweetness on it, I guess. I'm very happy to have the chance of being up there and the possibility of winning tomorrow, and we're going to play hard. Hopefully both me and my teammates play well, and let's see where we end up.
Q. I think you've got like 50 something rounds out here throughout the years. Is there anything about this course that surprises you anymore?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, not really. I guess we've seen it throughout all these years, so we know a little bit more or less what to expect. But it's the kind of golf course that you have to hit good shots. If you don't, it's tough. It's not easy to score if you're not hitting good shots on this golf course.
Hopefully I'll be able to do that tomorrow and see if we can get it done.
Q. Does that give you any kind of edge, with all the experience? Do you have an advantage with that? Can that play into your favor?
SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know, to be totally honest. I think the only thing that's going to play to my favor is if I'm as committed as I can be and trusting what I'm doing. I think that's the most important thing. It doesn't matter which course you play. Obviously this course is asking you a little bit more than some others do.
Q. Obviously you've had a couple of playoffs out here. How much is that kind of a motivating factor knowing you've already knocked on the door a couple times and would love to crash through here on LIV?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I think at the end of the day, you've just got to keep giving yourself chances. I'm trying my hardest out there every time. I'm trying my best. Sometimes my best is really good, sometimes my best is not quite as good. Hopefully tomorrow my best will be really good and we'll be able to get it done, and if not, we'll just keep working at it.
Q. I noticed you had switched back to one of your older Scotty Camerons that you had used earlier in your career. You used a different putter earlier on this season. How much do you think that switch contributed to your performance this week? You had a clutch putt on 18, putted well all day. How much did that add to your performance?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I'm not going to lie, I feel like I've been putting well with the Golfyr putter that I was using. I've been talking to them, and they're making me a smaller version of it. It just felt a little bit too big for what I like to see. That's going to take a little bit of time, and I thought, well, what better way to do than to go back to my putter from 1999 that Scotty Cameron made for me, a putter that I've always loved, that has given me a lot of success. When the other putter will be ready, I'll try it out, and if it feels better, I'll put it in play, and if it doesn't, I'll stick with this one.
We'll see when that comes.
Q. Your form has looked great all year. It's obviously showing this week. The Masters is next week. Have you had a chance to go down and scout that, and have you got any information from any of the other 12 players that are headed to Augusta, as well?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I played last week, last Tuesday. It was great. The course looked probably the best I've ever seen it. They told us that the winter was quite mild, so there was a lot of grass. It looked really, really beautiful. It was actually quite firm, so it was nice to see.
The azaleas were starting to bloom, so it's going to be very, very pretty. The weather at the moment looks like it should be pretty good. It would be nice to have a dry Masters for a change and see how it plays out.
Q. What do you do to prepare mentally and physically the day of the tournament?
SERGIO GARCIA: Which day?
Q. Tomorrow. What do you have planned?
SERGIO GARCIA: Just rest. Obviously I'll do a little bit of -- I've got my compression boots and just some stretching and make sure that I relax a little bit, try to rest as well as possible, feed myself, get some fuel in my body for tomorrow, then just go out there and play.
Q. How hard is it to be in first place at a golf tournament?
SERGIO GARCIA: It is hard. It's not easy. Everyone is really good out here. A lot of amazing players. It's never easy to put yourself in first position. I'm very proud of being able to do that for the last two days, and I've just got to finish in the same spot tomorrow.
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