LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 5, 2026

Dean Burmester

Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling

Southern Guards GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome to the media center Dean Burmester of Southern Guards GC. 8-under 62 today, strong start. Please take us through your round.

DEAN BURMESTER: Thanks for having me. It was pretty flawless. I made one mental error off the tee on 9 where I should have hit a 2-iron instead of a 3-wood and overshot the fairway a little bit and actually got lucky to make a 5, to be honest.

I played great, from the first tee shot all the way through to the last. I hardly missed a golf shot. I left a couple putts out there, but that's golf, and I'm very proud of the way I kind of just hung together and kept pushing in birdies. I saw a lot of guys making birdies, and I managed to do the same. Normally when that happens you feel like you've got to chase, and I never felt like I was doing that. I just felt like I was within myself, so it's one of those good in-the-zone days for sure.

Q. Could you please share your impressions of the course, today's conditions, which appeared a little bit different from the last couple of days?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, the of course, every time we come here is in fantastic condition. The paspalum fairways are perfect every time we get here and the Bermuda greens generally are amazing. They've got a little more grain on them this year than years past, and they're probably half a foot slower than we're used to, and I think that's just because of the rain they've had leading up to the event. As you can see by the scoring, it's playing softer and a lot easier than it generally is. But I know Saturday and Sunday the wind is going to come up, so I think that'll toughen the course up. It'll dry out and then we'll get the true experience of Fanling.

Q. Obviously you quite enjoy playing around here, but it was necessary that you needed a fast start, given the conditions. Does that change how you approach the day, or not really?

DEAN BURMESTER: I mean, I saw I played three holes, made three pars and I was three behind. So yeah, it kind of did. Yeah, I made four birdies in a row from there, and that kind of kick-started my day.

But definitely I knew I started -- 17 is probably kind of gettable. 18 and 1 are not so much. So I knew I was starting with a couple of the tougher holes out there, and I just needed to stay patient.

Hit a great wedge shot in on 2, left myself an uphill right-to-lefter, rolled it right in the middle. Hit driver, 6-iron pin high right on 3 and then two great shots in at 4, rolled that in. Made a nice bomb on 5, and then all of a sudden, I've made four in a row and I'm right in the tournament.

Yeah, I think that kind of momentum just kind of -- the start of the day for me was just perfect, exactly what I was looking for.

Q. You just talked about the wind at the weekend. Can you talk to us a little bit about how that might change some of those holes and some of the approaches?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, depending on the direction, if I just take a golf hole like 9, for instance, if that wind is off the left and it's going to blow upwards of, I think, like nearly 30 miles an hour, 25- to 30-mile-an-hour gusts, you've got to hit like a low hook off that tee, otherwise you're just going to hit it right every time. You've literally got to hook it.

It changes the whole dynamic, whereas now it's just a five-yard soft draw, which most guys can hit. It's going to toughen up the golf course for sure. Instead of having like today on 9, I would have had a 3-wood and a 9-iron or 3-wood and an 8-iron if I'd hit a good one. Now we're looking at probably a 3-wood and a 4-iron, and into that green it's not easy.

Then these par-3s with these upside-down saucer greens, if you get windy and they start getting firm and bouncy, hitting those greens is tough. Today it was nice for me; I made three birdies on the par-3s. Nice and soft greens, easy conditions, so I'm happy.

But come Saturday and Sunday it's going to be a different golf course for sure.

Q. Dean, obviously last week was a big week for you, and obviously to kind of back it up again today, how proud are you that you can have this consistency, especially leading up to the next few weeks coming?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, I am proud. Obviously I had a great start last week in the South African Open and then I tested my driver when I got here on Tuesday and I had a dent in it, so it makes sense why I wasn't hitting any fairways last week. So I got a new driver head and got that tested and it's all good, and today I drove it great.

To be able to put in consistent performances not only for myself but for the team is important to me. It was a big goal of mine at the start of the year. I want to do that throughout the season because I think the great players and the best players in the world do that week in and week out. You look at a guy like Jon Rahm and how consistent he is, I'm not saying I'm going to be up to that standard, but that's what I'm aiming for, and I'm going to do my damn best to get there.

Q. Obviously there's a lot of pressure on you to kind of lead the Southern Guards. Do you feel that you kind of are in a mental space that you can lift the boys up and get them through this tough patch that they're going through?

DEAN BURMESTER: Look, it's a team sport now, and that's probably the positive part about it. Me having a great day, I know all of those guys when I see them in a little bit are going to congratulate me and we'll probably talk a little bit of golf and a little bit of shop. But there's also the other side of that coin where if they ask for my help, I'll get there and I'll give it to them.

We're very close. We're basically four brothers. That's a special bond that we have and we share and we're able to deal with. It's not singular anymore. Because of that fact, I know that the rest of the team didn't do great today, but they'll be pushing because they've seen me do well; they want to help us get to the top and get a victory. We're not out of it.

For that reason, I'm pretty sure the boys are probably practicing right now.

Q. I know it was a year ago, but how much, if any, can you draw upon the 62 that you shot in the final round last year?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, obviously I played great that final day. I had a good pairing. Today I had another great pairing. It was just good fun to be out there with the guys and enjoy myself.

There were a lot of flags out there actually that were final round flags from last year, so I was reminiscing on a couple of the putts, i.e., the second hole. I had that exact same putt pretty much, uphill right to left. There were a few of those moments where I felt like I was back there. I think that always happens when you come and revisit golf courses like this. I definitely pulled on it a little bit. There are a few things I can still improve on and do better to catch the man behind you, but we'll do what we can do.