LIV GOLF MIAMI

April 2, 2025

Bryson DeChambeau

Brooks Koepka

Joaquin Niemann

Trump National Doral

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined today by Bryson DeChambeau, the captain of Crushers GC; Joaquín Niemann, the captain of Torque GC; and Brooks Koepka, the captain of Smash GC. Welcome, guys. We are returning to the famed Blue Monster this week. We're going to start with that, talking about how it requires precision, power and patience from all of you. How much of an advantage do long hitters have at the Blue Monster, Bryson?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, 18, to start off, is a hole if you can fly it 305, 310, you've got a huge advantage relative to the fairway. Yeah, it's pretty big.

The Blue Monster, you've just got to have pretty much every part of your game working well. It's not only just driving, you've got to iron play it well. It can get windy out here. There's water all around the greens, on the par-3s, so you've got to be a good ball striker around here to play well. It's a good test going into the Masters.

THE MODERATOR: Brooks, how do you feel this course helps you prepare heading into Augusta next week?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, your ball striking, like Bryson said, it's just got to be on point. You've got to hit fairways. It's important out here because if you're in the rough you can't control your golf ball.

You've got to hit it long, hit a lot of fairways, and then you've got a lot of mid, long irons into the greens. Yeah, it's a tough golf course, especially if the wind blows.

THE MODERATOR: Joaquín, when you step on to that 18th tee box and looking at the water and looking at that hole --

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Aim right.

THE MODERATOR: How does it make you feel knowing you've got to perform on that hole to close out your round?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I feel like it's going to be playing into the wind, I think, so it's going to be a massive carry going into the water. Maybe Bryson can get it over, depending on the spin of his ball.

Yeah, it's a tough hole. You've got to hit that tee shot. You've got to hit the fairway, and you've still got to hit a 200 second shot into the green. You can't fake it around this course, and I think it's going to be a good challenge for us.

THE MODERATOR: You guys are all three chasing your very first green jacket. You guys are all in excellent form. Joaquín, you have a 50 percent win rate on LIV so far this year. Does that type of momentum give you confidence heading into next week to try to win your first green jacket?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, obviously I've been playing great to start the year. I haven't been in the position that these guys have been of already winning majors. It's something that I'm obviously looking forward to and dream of. Yeah, my game is feeling great. I know if I can keep my head in the right spot, I can have a good week. It's more a matter of doing the preparation that I feel like everybody has done, so it's just a matter of go there, play golf and see what happens until the end of the week.

THE MODERATOR: Bryson, Brooks, you both had near wins; last year you finished T6, the year prior you finished T2. What lessons did you take from those close calls that you can carry into next week?

BROOKS KOEPKA: There's a lot to learn. Every time you go play Augusta, I feel like your knowledge gets a little bit better about the place. I learned a lot. I'm not going to share everything. I can't give away all the secrets. But look, I've got a good idea how to play that place. I've finished second twice in '19 and then two years ago.

I feel like I've got a good understanding of the golf course, how to play it for certain pins, different wind directions, things likes that. You've just got to go out and execute, point blank. You've got to play good, first off, and then give yourself a chance with nine holes to go.

Q. Bryson, what did you learn last year that you can take into this year?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think it's a big patience game out there. The wind is going to swirl. You're going to be thrown some weird obstacles and some interesting putts.

It's really about playing a strategic game out there and getting yourself into position to make birdies and getting yourself a chance to win come that last nine holes of the tournament. It's a big patience game for me.

Q. You're all a couple of LIV seasons into your career now. I wonder how the preparation for the majors, particularly the Masters, you've had to be dynamic the last two and a half years.

BROOKS KOEPKA: My prep is still the same; doesn't matter what I do. My prep started a month ago, and it's the same -- nobody is changing their prep. We've still got a lot of time to practice, and everybody does the same thing.

Q. I think what I meant was more just a 5 versus 8 -- usually top players will play around eight PGA Tour events leading into the Masters. Does that make it any different at all?

BROOKS KOEPKA: We still play a lot when we're at home.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think that everybody has their own prep work that they do. For me personally, I like having time off, getting ready for these events, focusing on them, and getting my game good into a good place, getting a strategy and game plan set up. So if anything, I think it's been a tremendous help for me personally, giving myself a little bit more time to get ready for these events, and it's honestly been a blessing for me.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, it's the same. I feel like we also -- we're all working together on kind of getting a good schedule for the majors, and I feel like it fits really good for where we want it, and for me especially having weeks at home working with my team and trying to kind of push harder during the time off that I have at my house is where I feel like I can get the most confidence out of my game.

Yeah, I think it's a nice balance of prepping at home and then playing courses like Singapore, like this week. They really prove that you've got to have the ball-striking and your best game out there, so yeah.

Q. Bryson, a consensus on the league is that one of the benefits of LIV is because it's only three rounds, you really have to jump out of the gates here versus other traditional leagues. Does that help you with the majors, that you really are more intense from the first shot?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think that's a great point that you bring up is that every shot matters more out here at LIV because if you make a double or triple you're so far behind the 8-ball that it's tough to get back. Very rarely have we had players make a triple or a double and come back and win, if any.

I think that's the point is getting of to that jump start, that fast start, allowing us to be in that mindset of attack, attack, attack, has helped us in certain scenarios, and obviously when you've got a U.S. Open or a British Open where there's extreme patience required, it's a little bit of a change, but for the most part, gunning after it, it's definitely helped I think all three of us up here.

Q. The league is going into its fourth year. When you look at the ratings and the interest globally and in the U.S. and in terms of sponsorships, where do you think it's at? Is it just keep the head down and keep charging, or what changes need to be made?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'd say that's a Scott question. Scott O'Neil will take a stab at that. We don't know everything that's going on, but from what we've heard, there's a lot of positive growth and positive momentum from a sponsorship side.

I'd say from a golf course side we're playing golf courses that are somewhat easier right now, and I think it's getting more difficult as the season goes on. I hope we can continue to play some more difficult golf courses, but as our fourth year, look, it's a startup. It's still four years in, and we're working towards what we've always believed in this league is this team golf, and we're still individuals playing stroke play events, but there's a team component, which is really cool.

It's just another business vertical and another opportunity for us. I personally like it. I'm happy with kind of where it's at. I think there's always going to be improvements just like any business, just like anything, whatever side you're on. But there definitely needs to be some continued thought around what LIV Golf is doing for the global game of golf.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that's no secret. No matter where you're at, you always hope everything is further along. But they're making progress, and it seems to be going in the right direction.

Q. It's a different atmosphere, but then you throw in Miami. I'm just curious, is there stuff you've seen on this course -- I know it can get a little crazy. What's the craziest thing you've seen as you're walking down a fairway or getting ready to hit a shot, or here specifically in Miami?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, Brooks handed me a drink on 9.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, look, Miami is fun. We've always had good fans, even when we've been out here 10 years ago on the Tour when we were here. It was always a good fan base. But I wouldn't say it's the wildest, craziest fan base that you're going to get.

I mean, you look at Adelaide, those guys are crazy. Waste Management can get kind of crazy. It's fun, though. I enjoy it. A little bit of chaos is always fun.

Q. First major of the year, how do you guys prepare your games to peak at the right time for those events, and what does that process look like and when does it start?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: That's probably something that everybody tries to figure out, and if someone has figured that out, it's probably Brooks. He always plays good in major season. I feel like if there's anything that we can learn from someone, it might be Brooks.

I still haven't had any pretty good results in majors. I'm still trying to figure it out, trying to do some new stuff, trying to work harder and trying to just become a better golfer and try to handle those situations better.

I feel like I've improved a lot. I've still got to test myself on those stages. Yeah, I'm still figuring it out.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I'd say mine starts probably like a month ago. Typically a slow starter when it comes to playing actually good tournament golf, but everything seems to be piecing together nicely. I like where I'm at right now. Just focused a lot on ball-striking. Everything inside maybe 200 yards is kind of what I tend to focus on quite a bit, and just touch around the greens, because you're going to need that at Augusta.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, my prep starts the first tournament of the year, whatever that is. I kind of see where my game is at and kind of go off of that and iterate off of it.

I really start to heighten my focus probably two, three weeks before the start of the major season, and I get prepped in that kind of capacity. Whatever is struggling, whatever is falling short, I go after it.

Q. Brooks, the last year the Masters seemed like an outlier for you. What happened there? (Indiscernible) your major season wasn't up to your standard. I'm curious, is that just golf or something that the timing was off for you last year?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I still do the same prep work, still the same thing I've done my entire career. I feel like overall as my major career over the last, I don't know, 10 years has been pretty solid, like last year I don't think I played very good just all throughout. The whole year wasn't quite as consistent as I wanted, and I think the bigger the event, the more pressure, the cracks kind of show, and it just wasn't my year.

But trying to fix that. I feel like my game is in a lot better shape right now, and we'll see where it's at, obviously, next week.

Q. Did the Masters result come as a surprise, though? You were, I think, trending okay going in there, felt good about your swing and your game and everything and then just something happened.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I just always last year felt like there was always a four- or five-hole stretch that really just threw me out of the golf tournament. I don't know whether that was focus, but there was, I think, maybe the middle of the round at Augusta, I think the first day kind of threw me off, but it wasn't anything the PGA -- I think during the third round or something like that, second, third round, it was six holes from 10 to 15. Other than that, I would have been right there. But yeah, I just couldn't piece together 18 holes last year of solid golf, and that was kind of my issue.

Q. Prior to last year, your results at the Masters weren't great, and then last year you were in the lead for the start of the tournament, finished T6, your best start ever. Do you think you've figured something out last year that you can now use going forward to be a major contender to win the Masters again?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think every year that you go to Augusta and the Masters, you're learning more and more, and that place is a special place that requires a lot of patience because you're not going to get it all the time your first time around, second, third, fourth. It takes time to understand the nuances of that place. It's a very tricky, intricate place, and that's why I think it's just an accumulation of a lot of factors coming into play.

I have a driver that's worked pretty dang well now, and I've used it for quite a bit. That's been a tremendous asset. I think over the course of time, it's just going to be one of those games of learning little bits here and there to get in small places just a little bit better every single time. There's not really one thing that I could lock down and nail it down to be, but it's just being a little bit smarter around the golf course and thinking through it a little clearer.

Q. Phil was in here earlier, and he talked about needing to learn how to play 15 and that actually made the difference between him not winning the tournament and him winning the tournament. Are there any holes that you foresee that you still feel like you need to figure out to maybe get you over the hump to win the tournament?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, it just matters whether you're playing well or not. All 18 are pretty difficult if you don't put it in the right spot. You can put yourself -- you can hit the green and be in the wrong spot. It just is what it is.

I'd probably like to have 12 tee shot back in '19, but then again, I was three or four back standing on that tee. I would say if there's any hole, it would probably be that one.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: I feel the same. All 18 holes really matters at that stage. But I feel like there's some tricky shots there, especially with the wind swirling, on 11, 12. You hit a good tee shot on 13 you can really take advantage of it.

15, as well, if you hit a second shot, you're putting for eagle. It's a really tough shot you're hitting downhill into the grain, pretty firm green. So yeah, it's a tough course, and probably for Phil it's going to be easier to say where he has struggled or not because he has a lot of history there, a lot of years playing there. For me it's only four or five years, so yeah, I feel like all 18 for me is a big challenge.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: There's a few holes out there that are difficult, but like I said earlier, it's just about learning a little bit more each time you hit certain shots and experience a different wind off a different lie. It's tricky out there. You've got to really focus on where you're placing that ball strategically out there on the golf course. It's a brilliant design that plays differently almost every single time you go out there.

Q. Bryson, obviously there's pressure with all the majors. That comes with the territory, obviously. Then you have the 36-hole lead last year. Did you feel like there was an extra element in that, when you're carrying the LIV flag, because you don't see those guys every week like you used to, obviously. Did you feel like that added a little bit more to it last year?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: To be honest, last year I was just having fun. I was so grateful to be there and having fun and competing and being at the top of that leaderboard. You're always going to feel nerves no matter what tournament you're in and especially in majors you're going to feel that heightened sense of pressure.

So yeah, was I feeling pressure? Yeah. Was I doing it for all of LIV? Sure, you can say that. For me, I'm just out there trying to win a golf tournament, and if that does great for LIV, then that's awesome. I love that. I think it's great. But for me, you're still just out there trying to win a golf tournament, and whatever comes from that is awesome.

But no, I was honestly just super happy about what was going on last year. It was fun.

Q. Just curious, do you think we'll ever see a true Grand Slam? We've never had one in one year.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I guess I've seen crazier things in life, so you never know. A Grand Slam is pretty crazy in this era, but there's been wilder things that have gone on, and you just never know. Would it be cool to see? Yeah, I'd love to see somebody do it. It would be fun. Hopefully it's me. If it's someone out here at LIV, great. I think it's good for the game if that happens at some point.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely possible. You've got to have a lot of things go your way. It's very difficult. I think it would be very cool to see somebody do it.

Q. Did you ever feel like going into majors season that -- obviously you'd won two at one point --

BROOKS KOEPKA: That was a pretty good year with two. I can't imagine what all four would feel like. Yeah, it's tough. I forget what year it was. Even finishing top 4 in all of them was still pretty impressive. But winning is hard in general, so to be able to do that at the four biggest stages we've got in golf is quite impressive.

Q. Brooks, I know that you feel like maybe the public perception here is maybe last season wasn't your best statistically, but it feels like because of "Full Swing" and other things, my generation is more interested in you and in golf in general than ever before. Is it a little weird for you now knowing that people outside of golf even connect with you more than ever but maybe you're not performing the way you'd like to?

BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I don't think -- look, I've enjoyed -- I think my life has changed a lot the last four years. Obviously having son changes, too, my perspective on life, not just golf. Maybe golf was kind of everything for me. But having Crew, it definitely changes my perspective. It's definitely softened me quite a bit. I'm enjoying this new -- I don't want to say new me, but just a softer side. It's really fun.