LIV GOLF RIYADH

February 2, 2026

Martin Kaymer

Adrian Meronk

Richard Bland

Victor Perez

Riyadh Golf Club

Cleeks GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the final press conference today of ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh. We're joined today by Cleeks Golf Club captain Martin Kaymer, new league addition Victor Perez, Richard Bland, and our individual defending champion, Adrian Meronk.

Captain, it's been a busy off-season for the Cleeks Golf Club. You've got a new teammate. There's a new 72-hole format. Can you talk about some of the team energy and some of your goals as a team of Cleeks Golf Club as you head into 2026?

MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, ideally we would like to have the same feeling again that we had in Houston a couple years ago when we could win one of these events. It was really cool. I think ultimately it was down to Adrian on the last hole and we all came and watched him play the last hole in Houston. I think we felt that was the point where we had the chance to win for the first time, and obviously as a team we did great there, and hopefully we can do that again.

With Victor on the team, it's already a different team spirit. We really enjoy each other's time, company. Hopefully we can support each other throughout the year. It's nice to have people that -- when you have a team, if there's enough respect for each other, then you can also show weaknesses and talk about weaknesses, ask for certain advices that might help your game that the other players might be a little bit better at, and that comes with a respect for each other.

I feel like the four of us have a lot of respect for each other's games and also as people. I'm very excited for 2026, not only golf-wise, but also as a team we can grow together for the upcoming years; it's not only about one season.

Q. Adrian, you return to Riyadh this week as the defending individual champion of LIV Golf Riyadh. Can you take us through your win last year, what stands out for you from that week, and what does it mean to be back here at Riyadh Golf Club with that title to defend?

ADRIAN MERONK: Yeah, obviously great memories from last year. It was definitely my highlight of the year. Great start to the season. I really enjoyed playing the night golf, and it worked out quite well.

But I think the most important thing for me last year, I came into the week with no expectations. I just focused on my game and played as well as I could, and I guess it worked out.

I think as much as I want to repeat that from last year, I'm going to do my best to kind of have the same attitude this week, do my job, prepare well, and just play as well as possible and we'll see what happens.

But it feels good to be back here as the defending champ, and really looking forward to a great year with Victor on our team, as well. I think it's going to be an exciting year for Cleeks.

Q. Victor, you join the Cleeks Golf Club as the league's first French player. What's the excitement for you heading into this week being part of LIV Golf and how are you feeling heading into this week and the rest of the season to come?

VICTOR PEREZ: Yeah, very excited. Feeling quite good. I've had a good week in Dubai last week to prepare and kind of get obviously on the time zone after playing an event before that. So yeah, really looking forward to the week.

I'm going to try to play nine holes tonight under the lights. I think I got the rookie treatment on Tuesday to play early and not necessarily see too much darkness. But that's fine; that's part of the game. So I'll play tonight and get ready for Wednesday.

Q. Richard, with LIV Golf moving from 54 holes to 72 holes for the 2026 season, how do you see this extra day of playing golf playing to your strengths, your consistency over the last couple of years?

RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, to me, I've played enough 72-hole events in my career, probably more than these guys all put together. But like you say, I'm just going to prepare as best I can. Obviously, yes, rest and recovery is more important as I've got older.

But the good thing is I know what works for me. I know what doesn't. So if I just keep doing the right things and I do them well, then hopefully the results will show that and I can play well individually but also help the team, as Martin said, to stand on that top step again.

I know three of us have experienced that, and it would be great to experience that with Victor, as well. I think it's going to be a good year for us all.

Q. Blandy, you're one of nine guys out here that have started every LIV Golf tournament. As we mentioned, you turn 53 tomorrow. What kind of impact has the last four years been for your career out here?

RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, massive. Obviously it was a risk to come at my age. But it was an opportunity that I couldn't afford to turn down. Fortunately I've been able to play to a level that's been good enough to compete on numerous occasions, and as I've said many times, I think it's made me a much better player.

I get to play against the best players in the world week in, week out, and I mean, the very top players week in, week out, where normally, no disrespect to any other tours or anything like that, sometimes that's not the case. I don't get to play against Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau 14 times a year. Maybe a couple of times a year in major. But actually you get to then play with them, as well. I was fortunate enough to play with Jon quite a few times in 2024. That can only make you a better player.

I feel like as a player, I'm probably the best version of myself since I came to LIV. I can only be thankful.

Q. Do you feel like you still can get to another level?

RICHARD BLAND: I'm trying. I'm trying. I'm obviously trying to -- Mother Nature is a cruel thing sometimes. I'm pushing as hard as I can against that door. It's not getting any easier; I'll admit that. It's not. But I enjoy the challenge.

When you've got, as Martin said earlier, you've got guys to lean on, which is the cool thing. I think with LIV, you've got three other guys you can lean on. We've got a guy here who's been World No. 1, done everything in the game you can possibly imagine, so how can you not tap into that. That's a great thing. With Adrian winning last year, yeah, it just catapults you and the team, hopefully, forward on to greater things.

I'm sure with Victor coming on to the team, we've played a few times in DP World, we've seen how good a player he actually is. He is that good. If I can keep up with these guys, then I'll do my job.

Q. Martin, when you joined LIV four years ago as captain, did you envision this team being like a Eurocentric team? You're representing a lot of different European countries up there; was that kind of your original goal, or did you have that in the back of your mind?

MARTIN KAYMER: Well, at that time I didn't really have that much in mind. I knew that I had the possibility to become the captain of the Cleeks Golf Club, and I didn't really know what to expect. I needed to grow into that role, as well. There were ideas of having a more international team, maybe Asian players, American players on the team.

But at the end of the day, this is what LIV also wanted and what we feel very comfortable with, creating our own European culture, values within our team. The new sponsor that we signed with, Icelandic Waters, Glacier now, as well, we share similar values. All of us share the same values.

I think that doesn't really work with different cultures sometimes. Of course, we can have an American or Asian player on our team at one stage; I don't see a problem with that. But I see that you don't need to always speak in a -- I don't know how to say it in English properly, but we speak the same language from Europe. We don't need to communicate too complicated. That is nice that we now have a team that really functions really well on a fun level.

We enjoy each other's company, and at that time when I become the captain, I didn't really know what to get into. But I enjoy the ride. I really enjoy seeing the future, and this is so important whatever you do; I'm sure for your job as well, you need to see where the future could get to, how can the future look like. And that is exciting. That keeps you motivated.

It's not about the past or how it is now. Even though we went to live in the present, I think the future is very important, what you look forward to.

Q. Adrian, what's the secret to success at night golf?

ADRIAN MERONK: That's a good question. I'm not sure, to be honest. Just enjoy it, I guess. Last year I felt like I was ready. I prepared well, played a lot of -- not a lot of, but a few times in Dubai night golf, so I kind of knew what to expect.

It seems like a lot of guys went that route this year, as well. I seen them a lot in Dubai last week practicing. So I guess it's going to be more competitive this year.

I think just enjoy the experience. It was completely new for everyone. I know a few players complained about it, that it didn't make sense. I think straight away you stay behind if you keep complaining and stuff like that.

I think just enjoy it and start trying to make as many birdies as possible. I think that's the key. There's no secret to it.

Q. What's the biggest challenge?

ADRIAN MERONK: Last year I think I found myself sometimes with the light behind me and the shadow over the ball. A couple of times it was hard to see the ball. But I feel like this year the setup is a little bit better. I think there's more lights, especially in some parts of the course it's a little bit brighter, so I think there will be no excuses this year.

Q. Victor, you're the first French player we've had out here. What is your primary goal to impact the culture out here? Is it more Ratatouille in player dining?

VICTOR PEREZ: I don't know where to go from there, to be honest. No, probably not, unfortunately. I'm sorry to disappoint.

I think coming back to kind of the first question, yeah, excited to be here. Excited to have a couple days of practice with those guys. Obviously having Adrian winning last year is huge for us because I think Martin was mentioning relying on each other and asking the right questions. I think just feeling like the player who won is sitting right next to you, going to dinner with you, kind of can give you a little lift, and get ready for Wednesday.

Q. What's been the most eye-opening thing so far? Obviously you haven't played a tournament yet. Anything stand out in these first three weeks as a LIV Golfer?

VICTOR PEREZ: Well, to be honest, I think the media week was really fun. I think we had a really good time together. I think we had great bonding. It was great to feel as comfortable as I expected to feel right away.

But just as much as I enjoy the fun and all the stuff, I definitely feel like I've been here a couple of hours, and you can sense just a little bit more tension because it is tournament week and you can see that everybody was laughing and having all sorts of fun at media week and hitting all sorts of crazy fun golf.

Yeah, I quite like that the dial has been turned up slightly and we're getting ready to go.

Q. From all of you guys, I want to get your thoughts on night golf's place in the sport. Is it something you think is key to expanding the sport? Do you want to see more of it? Or are you quite happy with it being a one-off?

MARTIN KAYMER: I think it could be one or two events -- you're talking about LIV Golf in general?

Q. Across the men's professional game.

MARTIN KAYMER: I think it's a very nice thing to do, depending on where you live in what country. When you do it in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or here in Saudi, I think it's a great thing to do.

I guess in America it could also work really well. They have the right weather. I wouldn't do it every week, but once or twice a year it's really fun.

I think back to your question of what the good thing about the night golf is, you only really see what you want to see. You only see the fairways. You don't see all the other crap where you don't want to go. It's an advantage, really, I think. You don't see the stuff where you don't want to hit it anyways.

I think the night golf is fun. As I said, I wouldn't do it every week, but once in a while it's fun for the spectators, as well. It's a different way of playing golf, and I definitely will try it out. We really enjoyed it last year.

RICHARD BLAND: I was actually going to say, yeah, I'm surprised other tours haven't done it. I know maybe DP World, they had maybe the opportunity in Turkey. I know they have some night golf down there, and we used to play there. I think it's really cool.

I'm surprised no one else has done it, to be fair. Like you said, I think a couple of times of year is great. It just gives the golf fan just a different look at it, and sometimes that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to get new people into the game.

I'm surprised no one else has done it.

ADRIAN MERONK: I agree with the guys, obviously. I think it's a great addition, and I think LIV is bringing golf to new places and also bringing golf into night golf, so I think it's expanding those boundaries and I think giving the people and us players new experiences, which is, I think, cool. Just keep going forward, and I think it's a great addition. But I think one or two a year it would be a great addition to kind of mix things up.

Q. The team is well-known and famous for their lifestyle off the course. How important is that aspect to you guys, and what can people expect from you this season?

MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, I think our vision is very clear through our team, with my manager, with our GM, that what we want to do in the future, we want to tap more into music, fashion and art to bring different cultures of lifestyles into the golf world.

I think it's very important for us, and I think it can value it or it can make our brand even stronger, brings new people into the game of golf. It's also what we enjoy. It's very important for us that we do something that is authentic to us.

So we enjoy those three parts, and we would like to have a bit more of that this year. You're going to see 14 different golf bags. Every week we're going to have a different golf bag from different artists, different designers. So that is the art part of our vision for the future.

Then fashion and music, fashion we already tapped into it a little bit, working with the company Public Drip. It's a guy from New York that worked with us last year a little bit, and we really enjoy what he does. He has a lot of passion for what he does, and it's motivating also for us to be associated to him.

The music thing, it's in the planning, I would say. But it's a very cool thing that it's not all about golf, but it also taps into golf. That's what we focus on.

Q. Adrian, coming back here to Saudi Arabia and Riyadh, you got lucky last year with becoming the champion. Do you think that Riyadh is going to also continue giving you this luck and making you the champion back-to-back?

ADRIAN MERONK: Well, to be honest, I kind of always feel good playing in Saudi Arabia. I'm based in Dubai the last couple of years, so it's kind of the same landscape, the same scenery. When you go to the golf course you have grass and sand everywhere, same grass. I just feel comfortable if it's here in Riyadh or in Jeddah. I feel like I always play well in Saudi.

It would be great to win back-to-back, obviously, but as I said at the beginning, I think last year the key was not going into the week with any expectations, just play my best and see what happens. I'm going to do my best this week, as well, to kind of set that attitude, as well, and see what happens.

But I do enjoy playing here for sure.

Q. Blandy, you and Martin have been on this journey for four years. What have you learned about Martin that you might not otherwise have learned if you hadn't been his teammate?

RICHARD BLAND: Oh, wow. There's a question. It's a good question. For Martin to have accomplished in the game what he has, obviously you have to be incredibly dedicated to the sport and what have you. But I just didn't know how much, the work that he puts in.

Sometimes when I've come to him and asked him questions about when he was World No. 1 and in certain positions, he's always happy to share that information that maybe can help me if I get into a position to win, and it helps you that way.

No matter what you ask him, he'll answer it for you. Yeah, it's helped me, and also just the -- we have some laughs off the golf course, as well. I always try and keep it sort of lighthearted as I can. I feel we've kind of bounced off each other quite well that way.

But he's been a great captain as long as I've been here. Hopefully I can be here a little longer. He's just a good guy to be around.

Q. Martin, have you learned something about Blandy in these four years?

MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, one thing that's stood out is that I think he found his own way of becoming the best player that he can be. He found his own way. There are so many advices that you get from coaches and from other people. But nothing -- if there's a possibility to gain a percent here and there, he's capable of changing. But he's all true to what he does and it works so well, so he found his method.

I learn a lot from him, how he can compete out here with what he has. It means he cannot keep up with a Bryson. He can't keep up with those guys hitting the ball that long.

But his strength is really within the wedges, maybe up to the 9-iron and around the greens. He knew that. He saw that. He worked extremely hard on that.

A lot of guys, we see our weaknesses, but are you willing to put in the hours to push yourself to make it your strength? It takes so much time and dedication and will and motivation, and that I admire a lot, how dialed in he is with his plan. He made his plan, and he sticks to his plan. It doesn't go anywhere else.

I enjoy watching him when he has a wedge in his hand. I really enjoy watching the way he strikes the ball, the consistency. I try to copy his practice drill that he does with the wedges, with those 20 shots, 40 points.

So that is something that I know I can become better at, and through him it was more eye-opening for me, how many shots you can actually save when you do things properly, and he found his way of doing it.

Q. Martin, we've seen during the off-season a lot of the teams form partnerships with a lot of brands that haven't necessarily had a foothold in golf before. Today you've announced a partnership with Icelandic Glacier. Can you talk about how important that is for you as a team and that recognition from some of these major brands from around the world?

MARTIN KAYMER: Yeah, again, it comes down to how authentic is it. Icelandic Glacier, I met the guys, I would say, a couple of years ago. We played in Spain a round of golf. The people behind it, they were very nice, very kind, very genuine, interested in golf, and I believe they share the same values as we have. It's a European company. It stands for exclusivity. It's a very classy company, and that is how we want to see ourselves, as well, in the future.

Those are companies that we would like to be with, hopefully, as long as possible.