LIV GOLF MEXICO CITY

April 18, 2026

Sergio Garcia

David Puig

Josele Ballester

Luis Masaveu

Club de Golf Chapultepec

Fireballs GC

Press Conference

DAVID PUIG: My driver was a little better than yesterday. Or actually, quite a bit better than yesterday. And in the end, well, on holes—I don’t know—11, 12, the par-5, 13, and 16, 17, I kind of had a lot of wedges. I was able to get them relatively close. Same with, well, 1, 2, and 3. That’s where I really got a little more out of the course.

But I’m really, really happy. Honestly, I didn’t quite feel 100 percent, but I think my short game was really good today, especially my putting. And well, obviously very happy to be able to shoot nine under. And even though it might not seem like it, I’m also really happy with the mindset of not wanting to settle and wanting a little more. And that’s it. Overall, as I said, very happy.

Q. Josele, earlier this week you were joking a bit about how many drives over 340 yards you were going to hit. How did you feel about the distance? How did you see your game with the drive?

JOSELE BALLESTER: To be honest, I’ve been hitting it pretty long. I don’t know how many I’ve hit over 400. Maybe it’s already been more than six. It could be.

But more than just the distance I’m hitting, the truth is I’m feeling very comfortable. I’m also hitting a lot of fairways, moving the ball well. And honestly, with my height and my distance, it’s definitely an advantage. And hopefully tomorrow I can continue along those same lines off the tee.

Q. Luis, a third round under par. Tell us in general how the tournament has gone for you and how you felt today.

LUIS MASAVEU: Yeah, well, overall, quite a bit better. I think in this tournament I’ve seen that things are starting to come together. Today was a bit of a shame, because it was the day I hit the ball best off the tee, from long range, and I think that gives you a big advantage on this course.

The only thing is that I wasn’t able to capitalize on it, and that was a bit of a shame, because I missed on the wrong sides, but overall, it’s been pretty positive so far. Let’s see if I can play well tomorrow.

Q. Sergio, Fireballs are in second place as a team, a bit behind Legion XIII, but still in contention. What would it mean for you to make the podium tomorrow?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, obviously I’m very proud of the guys. I finally shot a round under par today. But honestly, the three of them are playing at a very high level, and I’m happy that we’re there in second place. With a shot at the podium. And well, if we don’t have a really, really good day tomorrow, that’s just how it goes. Right? Honestly, it’s been great.

Q. Josele, yesterday on the 2nd hole, we saw you looking a little annoyed, a little uncomfortable with the course conditions. Tell us a little more about those conditions and how you feel about them.

JOSELE BALLESTER: I wasn’t annoyed by the conditions. I was annoyed because I hit a great 3-iron, it hit the top of the pine tree, and it ended up behind a tree. That’s about it, really.

The truth is, I was doing pretty well. Some pretty negative thoughts crossed my mind on the way to the third ball. I think the fact that I took a deep breath and more or less controlled my nerves helped me make the approach to the putt. But as for the conditions, honestly, I have no complaints.

Q. Luis, what was the toughest moment of your round? How did you manage to get through it?

LUIS MASAVEU: I think the finish was pretty tough for me today. I think the bogey on the 14th slowed me down a bit. I was tired from the whole day. I think I tried to take a breather with my caddie. I played a little too aggressively on the 17th and it cost me a bogey.

But anyway, I think overall I was able to play pretty well, pretty calmly. I also had a pretty tough moment on the 8th; I hit a pretty good shot and the wind shifted, and it went into the water. So, overall, I think I fought pretty well today.

Q. David, when you got to the 17th, was 59 crossing your mind at all?

DAVID PUIG: A little bit, yeah. I was actually 2-under teeing off on hole 16 on the course, and I played the next six holes 7-under, which is pretty unbelievable.

After that, I definitely thought about it. At the same time, holes 4, 5 and 6, they're pretty demanding, so I played the holes pretty good, but I didn't really hit them that close. And 7 to finish, I knew that maybe an eagle was an option, so I definitely thought about the 59. But at the end of the day, I was still a little far behind.

As I said, pretty happy with how I responded and how I kind of finished the round, too.

Q. Sergio, what did you tell the three young guys this week? You must have given them some type of pep talk the way they're playing this week.

SERGIO GARCIA: No, not much. They're good enough to do what they do. The only thing that we try to tell each other is we just cheer each other on, wish each other good luck, and we know that we're all cheering for each other. That's pretty much the only thing you can do.

But they've been playing great, and it's nice to watch.

Q. Josele, you're first this week in strokes gained off the tee. Can you talk a little bit about the place your driver swing is in right now?

JOSELE BALLESTER: It's been pretty much the same over the last six months, I would say. Just swing hard and left. It's been working great. I feel like in this altitude, the ball doesn't curve as much, so that feeling of actually swinging left produces a little fade that is pretty consistent.

I've been hitting my driver better overall, and that also gives me the confidence when I have to hit a draw to believe I can do it. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't. But so far I've been pretty happy with how I've been hitting it.

Q. I'm curious about the way you played 2 this week. Are you in between clubs here and you have to hit driving iron a little short?

JOSELE BALLESTER: Yeah, exactly. I wish I had like a 5-wood or a 7-wood. I play mini-driver, so mini-driver is not an option. I have a closed strong 3-iron that is not enough, but I cannot hit mini-driver. If I hit it a little too hot, it's going OB.

I hit a good shot today. I cannot really hit it farther than what I hit it, and I put it at the front of the green, just couldn't make birdie. It's been a little unfortunate because we've played that hole every single day into the wind. I feel like if we get there and there's no wind and I can rip a 3-iron, I can put it there. But we will see tomorrow.

Q. David, I wanted to see on your final hole, on 7, why did you lay up there? Was it dictated by the lie or the number between clubs?

DAVID PUIG: No, yeah, I hit a good drive, but it kind of clipped the tree, I think, or it was just kind of under those branches, so I didn't really have an option to go for it. I needed to hit it really low and kind of far. It wasn't really an option. Lay-up was the only option, so I kind of did that, then came up a couple yards short with a wedge and spun all the way back. It was a pretty stressful par.

Yeah, I wish I would have hit it a touch more left, and I think I probably would have had 7-, 6-, 8-iron into the green.

Q. Your mentality going into tomorrow knowing you're four shots behind Rahm, are you going to be firing at pins and being aggressive?

DAVID PUIG: Probably, yeah. I think this course with how soft the greens are, it kind of gives you a little more room to be more aggressive because if you kind of hit the yardage you're supposed to hit, they usually don't really move that much, the balls, once they bounce. But I think it's still a pretty demanding course off the tee, so I'll try and focus on that and hopefully kind of hit as many fairways as I can or hit it to the right spots off the tee, and if I'm able to do that, I'm sure I'll fire at as many pins as I can.