LIV GOLF MEXICO CITY

April 18, 2026

Branden Grace

Club de Golf Chapultepec

Southern Guards GC

Press Conference

Q. 65-, 6-under round today. Great start. Can you take us through your first five holes?

BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, obviously started on the 4th hole, which is not an easy hole, but it's one of your nicer holes to settle into the round. Managed to hit a pretty decent drive just to the right side where you have to miss it. Gave myself a nice opportunity, a little bit longer than what I wanted to do. Had about a 15-footer and managed to make that putt.

When you make a putt like that on the first hole, the momentum keeps going.

I've kind of struggled with the tee shot on the 5th hole this whole week trying to get that distance. It was just a perfect number today, full 8-iron for me. Hit it to about 15 feet and made the putt. It was good. Played good, kept on hitting good shots.

Got really lucky on the 6th. I hit it just right, got a flier, hit it in the bushes, managed to get it out, get on the green, made a 25-footer for par. That's the type of things you need to get when you get this round going or to keep your round going.

Otherwise it was just very, very solid. I gave myself chances. I think I made eight birdies and an eagle today and then obviously a couple of mishaps out there, but around a place like this, it's easy to do.

Q. T3 in your last start, game trending in the right direction, looking good. What can you tell us about your game?

BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, I'm playing good. Obviously, like you said, we had such a fantastic week at LIV South Africa. I think I'm still running on that momentum. But I've really well the whole season. I've gave myself some good chances. I've been in there. I feel obviously now I've given myself a good chance again, a couple behind, whatever it is. But doing things right, and that's good to know.

Obviously now maybe a good one tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

Q. You were talking about South Africa. Obviously a terrific performance, but certainly some disappointment from the team standpoint. Did it take a while to kind of get past the disappointment and look at the positives?

BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, definitely, as in I think if you would have told us at the beginning of the week we would have had two guys in the top 5 or top 6 and we would have been there or thereabouts in the team competition, we would have taken it. There's so much more going on in that week specifically than any other week. It's so much more media obligations, sponsor stuff, dinners, green room stuff, and obviously with golf itself, we had all our families. That's a handful of people on its own. Then obviously the crowd.

But it was phenomenal. Listen, we rode the wave, and what a fantastic first event it was in South Africa, and I think the four of us is like how did those guys finish the way they did. I don't think we threw it away. Those guys just outplayed us on the last three holes. It is what it is.

I think we can take the positive out of it like that, then we can look forward and carry on.

Q. You're obviously part of the only sweep on an individual podium by a team our first event. Legion XIII has a chance to do that tomorrow. Take us back to what that was like and just how rare -- obviously we haven't had that.

BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, we haven't. Things are a little bit different since back then, I must say. The fields have gotten a lot stronger. The guys are phenomenal players. Not that it wasn't back then, but I feel that now there is nothing that's given to you. You have to really go out there, play good golf and give yourself a chance and push.

They are four fantastic players, but around this place, anything can happen. Greens get crusty those last four or five holes and the wind gets swirling.

Listen, I'm going to try for it not to happen; let's put it that way.