ARLO WHITE: Hello, everybody. Good morning. Great to see so many of you here today at The Cardinal Saint John. My name is Arlo White, broadcaster, host, play-by-play announcer for the LIV Golf broadcast, and this is going to be a very fun three days here at Cardinal Saint John as we round out a spectacular 2025 LIV Golf season.
This is the 2025 LIV Golf Team Championship selection show and press conference. We've had 13 events across nine countries in four continents, and it all, in the team aspect, comes down to this. With previous experience, this three days and this weekend is going to be absolutely spectacular.
We've got a different format to tell you about this year. There are no byes. So all of these great players you see behind me will be in action from the get-go from Friday in the quarterfinals.
Ian Poulter, successful yesterday. We had a play-in match here yesterday, effectively an eliminator between the 12 and the 13 seeds, and the Majesticks edged Kevin Na's Iron Heads 2-1, so they make up our field of 12.
Rankings: So the picks will be made based on the final standings in the regular season, 1 through 12. The higher teams will choose their opponents. Each matchup -- so there will be six of them on Friday, two singles matches and one foursomes/alternate-shot, depending on which side of the pond you're from. Three points therefore available in each matchup, and the first to two will progress.
Before we reveal the matchups, let's introduce the captains that you see on the stage. Firstly, the No. 1 seed, four-time winners this season, and he is the individual season-long LIV Golf champion. The captain of Legion XIII is Jon Rahm.
The No. 2 seed, 2023 LIV Golf League champions. They won three times this season, the captain of Crushers GC, Bryson DeChambeau.
The No. 3 seed, also three-time winners this season, the captain of Fireballs GC, Sergio Garcia.
In at No. 4, victorious in Indianapolis last week, five-time individual winner this season, the captain of Torque GC, Joaquín Niemann.
The 2022 champions in our first season in LIV Golf, six podium finishes this season, a return to form, captain of the 4Aces is Dustin Johnson.
The reigning champions, victorious in Dallas last year. They also won the event in Miami earlier this season, the captain of the Aussies, the proud Aussies, Ripper GC, Cam Smith.
Next up, they won in Chicago two weeks ago in dramatic style in a playoff, proudly representing South Africa, the captain of Stinger GC, Louis Oosthuizen.
This team had three podium finishes this season, five times they finished in the top five, captain of Smash GC, Brooks Koepka.
The No. 9 seeds, 11th in the standings individually this year -- amazing what you can do with two good knees -- the captain of RangeGoats GC, Bubba Watson.
The 10th seed is no stranger to team golf, of course. The captain of HyFlyers GC, the maestro, Phil Mickelson.
Next, a team looking to reach their first final, the captain of Cleeks Golf Club, Martin Kaymer.
And victorious in that nail-biting eliminator yesterday, the captain of Majesticks GC, Ian Poulter.
Time to find out the matchups for tomorrow's quarterfinals. Jon, with the first pick, Legion XIII have selected who?
JON RAHM: We select the Cleeks.
ARLO WHITE: Cleeks Golf Club against Legion XIII to start. Let's take a look at the matchups. This is another new development this year. The higher the seed, the higher the pick. Also, you get to see your opponent's lineup, and you can match up.
This is what Martin chose: Richard Bland, Adrian Meronk in the singles; Freddy Kjettrup and Martin Kaymer in the foursomes. Jon, you have the choice. You've gone with Tyrrell Hatton to play Richard Bland, yourself against Adrian Meronk, and Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin will play in the foursomes.
They weren't the lowest seeds, Jon. Why did you choose the Cleeks?
JON RAHM: In my mind, it was between obviously whoever won yesterday and the Cleeks, and with the Majesticks coming on top and the amount of match play experience they have with how many awards they've won between three of them in match play, I felt like with an extra day of practice on the golf course and competition, they could be a very dangerous, dangerous team.
I thought it might be a bit more interesting in a matchup to play against the Cleeks and just not banking on the Majesticks not learning enough from what they did. I think they could surprise anybody. Not that anybody here can't; I think the Iron Heads proved that last year.
You have to take everybody seriously. Whatever we've done until now, it doesn't matter. It's 18 holes to win. Just based on the extra experience and what they've done in match play, decided to go with the Cleeks.
ARLO WHITE: Was it a slight advantage to see how Martin lined up so therefore you could respond, or had you already decided?
JON RAHM: I had a slight idea. I did go through a few scenarios in my head because I think we have quite a versatile team in that sense. You can put quite a few different players in foursomes and make it work really well.
In the end, I think Caleb and Tom have a really good understanding of each other's games and what they can do, and I think obviously me and Tyrrell individually are really strong individuals. I wanted to put what I thought was the best out there.
It's not set in stone depending on what Martin did or things that could change, but I felt comfortable with what we had planned.
ARLO WHITE: Martin, how did it feel to be picked first?
MARTIN KAYMER: Well, that shows a little bit our performances here, we were just not good enough, unfortunately. At the end of the day, Jon, he picked us, which it's going to be very difficult. Obviously they played great all year.
Jon showed what he can do, which I thought was amazing. First of all, I think we need to show a lot of respect to Jon. He had to finish top 12 every single tournament. That was very, very impressive.
I do feel like it's a good lineup for us. Adrian, he showed this year he can win golf tournaments. He plays against the best competitor we had in LIV 2025 this year. Blandy is a very consistent player. Also Tyrrell is, but I think Blandy has a good chance against Tyrrell.
There are no easy matches. With Freddy and me playing the foursome, foursome is difficult to play. It doesn't matter who you are, how many Ryder Cups you've played, there's always an adjustment.
I feel like, yes, we need our A-game absolutely tomorrow, but I do like the lineup, and I do think there's a chance.
ARLO WHITE: Thank you, Martin. The first of six quarterfinals on day one will be Legion XIII against Cleeks Golf Club. Hatton against Bland, Rahm against Meronk, and then Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin face Freddy Kjettrup and Martin Kaymer.
The second pick, Bryson's Crushers GC finished second in the standings. Bryson, who have you gone for?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: We've gone for the Majesticks.
ARLO WHITE: There we go. Quarterfinal No. 2, Crushers GC against the Majesticks. Bryson had an opportunity to see the Majesticks' lineup, and this is how he has responded to that.
Bryson against Lee Westwood, echoes of the Ryder Cup about that one. Anirban Lahiri against Sam Horsfield, who won a nail-biting singles yesterday against the Iron Heads. Then Paul Casey and Charles Howell III against Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter.
Bryson, firstly congratulations on automatic selection for the Ryder Cup in September. You've chosen to play a team that contains two Ryder Cup legends. May I ask why?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think that they haven't played their best this year, albeit anything can happen, like Jon said, tomorrow.
It's one of those situation that we're trying to pick the team that we think can match up pretty well against each other. Having Paul Casey and Charles that are pretty consistent and guys that just don't waver that much, it's something I'm willing to put up against the Majesticks.
Baan's been playing good golf. I think he'll pair well with Horsfield. Lee has been playing pretty solid golf. I want to take him on.
ARLO WHITE: There's one change that you've made to previous tournaments, and you've broken up the pairing between Charles Howell and Anirban Lahiri. Why is that?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think we wanted a change there. We wanted to see how Charles and Baan would fare against each other. I feel like their games actually complement each other. Almost even better, Paul is someone that's -- they're both super consistent. I think they're not going to get themselves in trouble. They're also not afraid to go at it.
I just felt that was a better choice for our team this year and where everybody's games are at.
ARLO WHITE: Thanks, Bryson.
Ian, it's been a busy week, a stressful week for Majesticks GC, with the events in Indianapolis last week and the play-in event yesterday which you were successful in. Does playing the course in match conditions give you any sort of advantage?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, I hope so, definitely playing it under tournament stress conditions. I think giving us that early look is probably in our favor. I think, firstly, respect for Jon for not picking us. That would have been a difficult matchup. I'm not saying the Crushers are going to be an easier matchup, but we've got two slightly elder teams, us obviously the wily old foxes against a couple of veterans on the Crushers team.
Hopefully our match yesterday gives us an early look, which hopefully we can lean on tomorrow afternoon. Matches coming down to the 18th hole yesterday which was difficult, stressful. Impressive to see Sam finish that match off, and hopefully we can do the job tomorrow.
ARLO WHITE: Thank you, Ian. So Bryson DeChambeau against Lee Westwood, Anirban Lahiri against Sam Horsfield in the singles in this matchup, Paul Casey and Charles Howell III against Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter. That's the Crushers against the Majesticks.
Now then, Sergio next. The third seeds, the Fireballs, three victories this season, all in succession in the early part of the season. Sergio, who have you selected with pick No. 3?
SERGIO GARCIA: Can't remember. (Laughter). We picked the Iron Heads. Oh, no, they're not in. (Laughter).
ARLO WHITE: They've gone home, Sergio.
SERGIO GARCIA: We picked the HyFlyers.
ARLO WHITE: The HyFlyers against the Fireballs is the third quarterfinal. Let's take a look at the lineups and the matchups for that one. This should be a fascinating encounter.
We've got David Puig against Phil Mickelson. Abraham Ancer against Cameron Tringale, who, by the way, has a record of 5-0 in match play in the LIV Golf League. Then Sergio with Josele Ballester, this fantastic youngster against Brendan Steele and Andy Ogletree.
So you took a look at Phil's lineup and put David Puig against the great man. What's the thinking behind your lineup?
SERGIO GARCIA: I think that, kind of like Jon said, anybody -- I feel like anybody on my team could have played anybody in any spot.
We decided to kind of change up the foursomes a little bit this year with me not playing with Abe. We feel like this course sets up quite nicely for Abe, and he's been playing very nicely. The two youngsters, obviously they have amazing potential, and we've seen what David can do.
I felt like that was a good lineup for us. Then it just comes down to playing well tomorrow and getting the win, simple as that.
ARLO WHITE: Tell us a little bit about Josele because he almost pulled off the victory in Chicago. He's just so, so good. He's talented, he seems confident, talented, down to earth, very respectful individual. How impressed have you been with him since he's come into the league?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I've known him for a long time. I knew what he was capable of. Obviously he played very well a couple weeks earlier at JCB and had a good finish there, had a strong finish.
Yeah, it's been fun to see him kind of settled in and getting more and more comfortable. Obviously he's an unbelievable player, great potential, beautiful person. Very excited to obviously have him in our team and really excited to play foursomes with him tomorrow.
ARLO WHITE: Thanks, Sergio.
Phil, what are your thoughts about this matchup?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think that we're -- I believe in our team. We haven't had the year we wanted. I believe in our team. The Fireballs have won a number of times this year. They're just a bunch of great players.
I think David Puig and Josele are two of the most exciting young players in the game today with firepower you can't believe because they have 190 ball speed and incredible wedge play. Both of them do have incredible short games. I've got a really tough match tomorrow.
I thought it would have been fun to have a bit of a rematch of like the 2016 Ryder Cup, where Sergio and I went head-to-head. I thought that would have been fun, but I understand why he wanted to play with Josele after having him just come to the league recently. I understand why his leadership and guidance and partnership with him will help bring out the best in him. So I understand his pairings. I thought it would have been fun, though, to have a match against him.
David has got -- he's got incredible speed and an incredible short game. He's just got a lot of firepower. That's why he's been so successful in the league. We have our work cut out for us. Again, I believe in our team. I believe what we're capable of. Even though we've had some challenges this year, I do believe in what we're able to do.
ARLO WHITE: Phil, you've challenged for wins individually this season and provided some fantastic moments out on the golf course in the LIV Golf League. How are you feeling about your game and where it's at at the moment?
PHIL MICKELSON: I had a really good start to the year. I've played some good golf lately but not as good as I did starting the year. I'm going to have to turn it on. It meant a lot to me to finish top 24 at 55, to be able to kind of hang with the guys, but I was in a much better spot after the first half of the season and would have liked to have finished the year a little bit better, and this is an opportunity to do that.
ARLO WHITE: It's a reset, isn't it? Thank you very much indeed. The Fireballs against HyFlyers, Puig against Mickelson, Ancer versus Tringale in the singles. Ballester and Garcia will take on Brendan Steele and Andy Ogletree in the foursomes.
Next up with the fourth pick, congratulations on a great season. Joaco, five individual wins. Great season. Who have you picked for Torque GC?
JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: We've got the RangeGoats.
ARLO WHITE: The RangeGoats against Torque GC. This is going to be fascinating. Let's take a look at the individual matchups then. We've got a blockbuster to start, Joaco against Bubba Watson. Mito Pereira will take on Ben Campbell. And then it's Sebastian Muñoz, victorious in Indianapolis last week, and Carlos Ortiz, who ended the season strongly, against Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein.
The strategy? A couple of eyebrows might be raised that Sebastian Muñoz and Carlos Ortiz are paired together. What was your thinking behind it?
JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: Obviously we've got a few different options. I feel like putting Sebastian with Carlos is a pretty strong foursome. I think it's pretty good for this course as well. They're pretty consistent. They've been together since college, so they know each other pretty well.
It's always hard to play foursomes. I feel like for them to be together, it's going to be easier.
For Mito, I think he's going to be more comfortable playing by himself, playing his own game. He's been playing pretty good the last few weeks. Also for myself, I like playing by myself too. It will be a good match.
ARLO WHITE: Yes, with Bubba Watson. What was your thinking about going up against Bubba?
JOAQUÍN NIEMANN: I feel like I knew Bubba was going to be in single. I feel like he's obviously a different player compared to the rest. I've played obviously a few times with Bubba lately. He's been playing amazing golf too. I feel like he's going to be a good match. I like to be pushed. So I feel like it's going to be a good setup.
ARLO WHITE: Joaco, thank you and congratulations again on your season individually as well.
Bubba, you decided to lead from the front. First name on the team sheet. What was your thinking behind that selection?
BUBBA WATSON: It was quite simple. You knew that he was going to be No. 1 or put himself next to mine, I believe, and for me, hitting first into the holes, maybe put pressure on him, my iron game. These young kids are hitting it so far, like Phil was saying, 190 ball speed and everything.
The reason why I put me and Ben out there is Ben hits a lot of fairways and we were trying to hit the pressure shot into the hole and maybe put some pressure on the other guys and pull that off.
Then our team matchup, they play the same golf ball, so there's no worries there. They play at home back down in West Palm. They're members at the same course, and they play the same kind of game, hit the ball hard off the tee and then try to find it and hit it onto the green. (Laughter). Let's just call it like it is; we've seen their stats.
So they have the same game, right? They play the same ball, and they've played with each other so many times, really good friends. I wanted to challenge them. They're playing against, gosh, No. 4 and No. 8, I think I looked at, against Carlos and Muñoz, so they have a tough matchup, but they wanted the challenge. I said, well, have fun with that match. (Laughter).
Here we are. It's 18 holes, and we have a shot at it. It's a really tough matchup, but it should be fun.
ARLO WHITE: Bubba, thank you very much indeed. A reminder then, Torque GC against the RangeGoats, Joaco Niemann against Bubba Watson, Mito Pereira against Ben Campbell. In the foursomes, Muñoz and Ortiz against Wolff and Uihlein.
Now then to the next pick, pick No. 5. DJ, you're down to either Smash, Stinger, or Ripper. Who have you gone for?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: We chose Smash. There was only three teams left, so there really wasn't much to pick from. That was just the next pick.
ARLO WHITE: 4Aces against Smash, and we know what this means. Let's take a look at the lineups and the matchups. Dustin Johnson against Brooks Koepka. You might get a few eyeballs on that one. Patrick Reed against Talor Gooch is another great matchup. And Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters against Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak. You saw the lineup and decided to go up against Brooks Koepka?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, there wasn't really any other choice, I think, except for myself to play against Brooks, then P-Reed going against Gooch, and Thomas and Harold are good buddies. I think they play the same or similar golf balls, and their games are pretty similar. Yeah, they play a lot of golf together. I think they're comfortable playing together.
Then obviously me and P-Reed are really comfortable playing singles.
ARLO WHITE: You won in 2022, our inaugural season. A bit of a dropoff maybe last year, but there were signs that the 4Aces were kind of getting back to their best. Do you come into this tournament with a lot of confidence?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think everybody's playing well. We've all played fairly solid this year. I mean, if anything, I've struggled. I haven't played as well as I'd like to, but over the past few weeks, I felt like the game is starting to come back to form.
I'm looking forward to this week. Obviously it's going to be a tough match tomorrow, but I think the guys are up for it, and ready to see what happens.
ARLO WHITE: Dustin, thank you very much indeed. Brooks Koepka, what's your reaction to this, and how excited are you to be facing DJ?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I think it will be a good matchup. They're a tough team. I think all the way through, all four guys are very difficult matchups. It will be interesting to see. We just put our lineup out. G-Mac's played, I think every foursomes match in the Ryder Cup but one, so it was pretty obvious he was going to be in a foursomes.
Gooch has played really well this year, so he was pretty much a lock for singles. I don't think there was any surprise how that was going to fall. I thought J matched up with Graeme better than I did. Yeah, we pretty much knew what we were going to get.
ARLO WHITE: Thanks very much indeed. The 4Aces against Smash, Dustin Johnson against Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed against Talor Gooch, and in the foursomes Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters, they'll take on Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak.
The final pick, by the powers of deduction, it will be Ripper GC against Stinger GC. It's a repeat of the first ever team playoff that we had in Adelaide last year, which was just so dramatic. It was one of the great moments so far in LIV Golf League history. Let's take a look at the matchups in this tie tomorrow.
We've got Lucas Herbert, who will face Dean Burmester, Cameron Smith against Branden Grace, and Marc Leishman and Jones partnered together against Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Cam, you are the defending champions. You probably felt you could have finished a little higher this year in the table, so you're going to have to do it the hard way. What's your reaction to the Aussie-South Africa matchup here?
CAM SMITH: I think we all probably haven't played our best golf, particularly the second half of the season, so we're really going to have to step it up this week. These guys only won a couple of weeks ago in Chicago. Then we have an individual win. So it's going to be a tough matchup.
It will be fun. The like you mentioned, a rematch, if you will, of Adelaide, and I'm sure these boys want to get one back on us. So we're going to have to play pretty well tomorrow.
ARLO WHITE: What did it mean to win the title last year, the four of you?
CAM SMITH: It was a ton of fun. It's probably the most fun and most stress I've had on the golf course all at once. Those last four teams were all so close. Anyone could have won with three or four holes to play and managed to edge the day out.
We had her by play some great golf the last few holes, and everyone just kind of hung on. Herby brings out his best stuff in this environment, and that's why we put him out first against Burmy. Looking for the best from the other guys in foursomes.
ARLO WHITE: Louis, Dean Burmester won a competition recently in Chicago. Branden Grace was really under pressure to avoid relegation and in the end almost made it to the top four. His resurgence has been incredible. What's your thinking behind the lineup that you brought out here?
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I think right now those two are our best on the team. Branden the last four or five tournaments has played unbelievable golf. I know the match player that he is. He's a real little bulldog, and he can be in your face the whole time.
Dean's obviously playing some good golf with a win a couple of weeks ago.
Me and Charl are very comfortable playing from under the trees at the moment, so we won't be yelling at each other. Yeah, the two of us has been together for a long time and know each other really well. We normally play very good alternate shot.
ARLO WHITE: Just a word, Louis, about next season and the first ever LIV Golf League event in South Africa. You must be delighted, very proud. What can people expect?
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I think that's also going to be another Aussie-South Africa matchup where we're going to try to match Adelaide with crowds. Yeah, you can look forward to it being a great event.
ARLO WHITE: Great stuff, Louis. Let's remind ourselves of the full lineup for the quarterfinals. Tomorrow is going to be a spectacular day of team golf.
Legion XIII, the top seeds, will take on the Cleeks Golf Club. Second seeds, Crushers GC, 2023 champions, against the Majesticks who came through that eliminator against the Iron Heads yesterday. No. 3 seeds, the Fireballs, take on Phil's HyFlyers. Torque GC, victorious last week in Indianapolis, will take on Bubba's RangeGoats GC. 2022 champions 4Aces against Smash GC. Then the reigning champions from Australia, Ripper GC against the South Africans of Stinger GC.
Captains, thank you very much indeed. Let the team championship begin. Tomorrow is going to be terrific. I'll hand it over to you now to open it up to the floor for questions.
Q. Jon, obviously you didn't get a chance to play last year because of illness. How nice is it to have the opportunity to play in a match play now this year?
JON RAHM: I'm excited. Last year was hard being with the guys all year, and when it came down to it, not being able to play was rough. But they did incredible without me, really good players. This year I'm just really happy to be a part of it and hopefully do as well as we did last year and even better on Sunday and share the experience with them.
Q. DJ, did it cross your mind at all to maybe play against Gooch? If not, why not?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Maybe for a second, but I don't know, it just didn't make any sense.
Q. Why? Why didn't it make any sense?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, why wouldn't I play against Brooks?
Q. Brooks do you want to respond to that?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I didn't get to choose it. I just put it out.
Q. Phil, Arlo mentioned that Cam was 5-0 in this event. Why do you think that's so? Why has he been able to find success in this team championship?
PHIL MICKELSON: He's just a very solid player. You've seen it every year on LIV. He's just consistent day in and day out. He's a great putter. He's just a great putter. He's kind of a quiet assassin. He's just a very tough competitor, never out of a hole. He's always in there. He's just a weapon the greens.
I didn't realize that was his record, but it doesn't surprise me.
Q. Bryson, there's also the strategy of the matchups, but within the matchups this week, the player who's teeing off on the odd holes is going to play all the par-3s and have much more of the approach shots. Is there a strategy that you're thinking about when it comes to which players are starting on which tees?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, if you're talking about --
Q. In foursomes.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: If you're talking about foursomes, I think Charles and Paul are incredible ball strikers in their own right. For them, it's depending on what they want to do ultimately. They felt on this golf course, they paired up best for the golf course.
Paul is an incredible iron player. He's been that way through his whole career. I feel like they'll choose to have him on the par-3s. We'll see where it goes, what they ultimately decide, because the way I try to lead the team is let them do what they do best. I don't try to influence. I mean, they're veterans. They know how to play golf; they know what to do. So I just try to stay out of the way.
Q. Brooks, you played DJ, I think, once professionally in the 2022 Dell Match Play, and DJ got you there. Do you feel like you owe him one here?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't owe anybody anything. He doesn't owe me anything. I just think it's a good matchup. The teams, I think it's probably -- it's definitely, I think, one of the tougher matchups.
They've got a real solid team all the way through. P-Reed is pretty good at match play. It doesn't matter who you're going to play on their team. They're pretty solid. It's a tough matchup whoever you play.
Q. Bryson and Phil, welcome back to Detroit. The you guys have interesting history here. I was just wondering, if you could compare or explain a LIV Golf tournament for people who aren't familiar obviously here, how is it a better experience for you as players but also for the fans? Is there something you'd like to see improved in the tournament experience for LIV going forward?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think, as it comes to players, we've been up here in this area a few times. I've played well up here. I love the area. I love the people. It's always fun to come back up in the Detroit area.
I'd say from a player perspective, at least from my perspective, I've certainly enjoyed everything about LIV Golf, the team aspect. I mean, we get to do this, which is not normal; it's not what we used to do. Being able to play against the best players in the world is a lot of fun for me.
I think, as it comes down to it, having something different from stroke play is fun as well and something we don't do enough of, I personally think. So I love it.
Then from a fan experience, I would say that they get to see some intimate, unique, different style of golf. It's not just normal stroke play obviously. We barely get to see that throughout the year. You've got the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup that we play some team golf events, but seeing this more frequently is, I think, a different experience.
Then just walking around the complex and having the fan village and feeling like you're a part of the entertainment is a little different. So there's numerous reasons why this league's a lot different, a lot more fun from my perspective.
It's intense. When you get out there, we all want to win. I think that's the thing that people misunderstand about LIV Golf is that we're fighting for every single shot. I've said it numerous times, but like, when we're playing stroke play, every single shot matters. It doesn't matter if you're 40th and whatnot. Come to the last day, every single shot matters. No matter how bad you're playing, you still have to hit the next best shot.
I think that's what's a little bit different. There's that intensity change within the league, which is a misconception. For the fans around here, I think they're going to have a fun time. They're going to experience some high-level golf, and later this week hopefully have a fun, enjoyable time that hopefully changes their perspective.
PHIL MICKELSON: I can't really say from the fans' point of view other than what I've heard because I haven't been a spectator. It seems that, when fans are leaving, they've had a good time. They've left relaxed, enjoying and wanting more, rather than have the day drag on, being tired and run down, and being stressed about not interfering and being quiet and so forth. It seems as though the fans have walked away from the experience having fun and wanting more.
From the players' experience, rather than going into every little detail, I would just say that I used to have anxiousness going to a TOUR event with all the details and things that would go on. I would be anxious and not want to go. I'd go as late as I could.
A LIV event, I can't wait to get here. I come earlier. I can't wait to get here. The experience from a player's standpoint, it's better than I could have ever imagined.
Q. A little bit of a different question for Sergio. Tennis players are getting really into golf, especially from your country. Have you played with Nadal or Alcaraz or any tips for tennis players turned golfers?
SERGIO GARCIA: Tennis players are good golfers; I'll tell you that. I've played with a lot of them. I have a lot of them that are good friends. Obviously I haven't played with Rafa in a long time, but he loves it. He's improved a lot. He's a fighter just like he was as a tennis player.
Carlos, I played with him a couple of times. He's a little bit newer. I think he's been playing for maybe about two or three years. Obviously his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, is one of my best friends, and he's a really good golfer. We've played a lot of golf together.
Tennis players, they have great hand-eye coordination. That obviously helps a lot for golf. I think that's why you see so many good tennis players that are good golfers. So it's fun. Obviously I love tennis. I play a lot. It's always fun for me to be able to play both tennis and golf with them when I can.
Q. Same question for Jon. Do you have any thoughts? Have you played with any of those guys from Spain?
JON RAHM: Oh, man, I'm not as fit to answer that question as him because I barely ever picked up a racquet myself and never met Carlos. I've met Rafa two or three times, played once with him. I can't really answer. I feel like Rafa Nadal is going to be good at any sport he decides to be good at because he's that athletic and that determined.
But with what he said, you have to be so athletic to play the sport of tennis that I feel like for them, once they learn the basics, having to hit a ball that's not moving is probably a lot easier. Using all that ability that they have, especially that mental strength they have, knowing that basically they're not going to be taxed in a round of golf ever with what they do, it's a good challenge in a different way, and they have all the tools to be good golfers. At that point, it's how much time they dedicate to actually playing golf.
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