Q. Pablo, the big question is you turned 22 last week; what did you do for your birthday?
PABLO ERENO: I don't know, I just played this really nice course in Madrid called La Finca, and then I just spent some time with the family and then with my friends later at night, which was honestly the highlight of the day. I just love being back home with my family and my friends. I've missed them while I was in school for the last four years, so it was nice to be at least that day with them.
Q. You're the youngest player in this field. Do you feel like you're the most aggressive player in this field? Does that give you any kind of advantage of youth?
PABLO ERENO: I don't know. I think I might be the youngest, yeah, but I think the last four years at UCLA, they allowed me to get better and to be a better player. So I think I'm really prepared to play with these pros. It's still new to me to think that I'm a professional golfer, but yeah, I think I'm really prepared, and my golf is good enough to compete with these guys. I think I'm ready, so yeah.
Q. Did you feel confident coming in? Obviously you played like you were confident today.
PABLO ERENO: Yeah, yeah. I've been working a lot this last month. I've had time off at home and just been working on my swing, working pretty hard in the gym.
I think my team and I have been really focusing on what we can improve on, and I think I've been doing a good job, so yeah, I'm confident in my game.
Q. Obviously LIV has several young Spanish golfers. I don't know how close you are to them or if you've talked to them about what life is like on LIV?
PABLO ERENO: No, I'm super close, especially with Josele and Luis Masaveu. I've only heard good things about it so that's why I'm here trying to earn my spot for next year.
They're really happy playing on LIV, and I think I would be, too, in the case I play great this week.
Q. Did you see them and what they've been able to accomplish and felt encouraged that LIV offers a way for young golfers to improve?
PABLO ERENO: Yeah, for sure. You can only see what Josele is doing right now. He's won an International Series event already. He's been playing great the last two or three months.
So yeah. I look up to them, and they only help me get better. To think that I've always been competing with these guys, growing up, playing with them, and I know I can do as well as they're doing, so I'm just trying to practice hard and keep getting better so I can maybe share a spot with them next year.
Q. What perhaps was the biggest thing that you learned at UCLA in terms of getting better?
PABLO ERENO: So shout-out to my coach Armen Kirakossian. He's been really obsessed with me getting better on chipping, putting and bunker game. So pretty much the short game area.
I've been really working hard on the easy chips, I guess. He says when I'm short-sided I'm pretty good at hitting flop shots or hitting hard shots with spin, but the easy ones are the ones I was always really bad at. He noticed that pretty quick, and he's had me work with different clubs around the greens, and he's helped me a lot just trying to develop as a player to know who I am on the golf course.
I think that's been the biggest thing. I'm really -- I think for me to play good golf, I need to be really happy on the course, and he's helped me see that, and now every time I play, try to just have fun because realistically I'm just out there playing what's my dream. So yeah, he's helped me a lot.
Q. In this format you could have a very short stay if you don't play well on the first day. Obviously you're moving on. Does that change the way you approached today or maybe how you need to approach tomorrow because it's the same 18-hole sprint?
PABLO ERENO: No, I just think every day I'm going to have kind of a reset where every day is a new day and we start from zero. So every day you need to play as hard. It doesn't matter if you shot 6-under yesterday or 1-under and got through just on the number. You start from zero the next day. It's just try to play the best golf you can and try to move on in each round.
Q. Aside from the three LIV Golf spots on offer, this tournament also offers to the top 10 finishers a card to play on the International Series next year. What do you think about that opportunity?
PABLO ERENO: It's a great opportunity. I think all the events that they offer, they're great events. I've never played one. I'd like to because I've only heard great things about it.
The fact that you get a chance to play in those events, it just makes your schedule for next year better. I'm really excited about it.
Q. Have you ever played in Asia?
PABLO ERENO: No, I've actually never been to Asia. I'm really excited to go there one time. I've never been but would like to.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports