LIV GOLF KOREA

May 28, 2026

Charles Howell

Asiad Country Club

Crushers GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the media center, Charles Howell III of Crushers GC. 5-under 65, currently tied for first. Please walk us through today's round, how you felt out there.

CHARLES HOWELL III: It was a good day. Anytime you play a new golf course in a tournament setting, it takes a bit of -- some more reps around it to kind of get used to it and learn some of the little nuances of it. I think today was as good as you could expect.

Obviously I liked the venue last year, but this golf course does suit my eye well. It's a really neat golf course. The two nines are quite a bit different from each other, and it's in wonderful shape.

Q. As you alluded to, competing here in Korea alongside some of your teammates is not a new experience for you. How does it feel to look up at the leaderboard at the end of the day and know that some familiar faces are right up there?

CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, team-wise, it's wonderful. Individual-wise, it's terrible. Team-wise I love him up there at the top. Individually I wish he was at the bottom.

Obviously Bryson, more weeks than not, he plays extremely well, and if my name is near his, I'm usually doing something pretty good. He's great to play with. He's a wonderful captain, motivates all of us. If my name is near him on the leaderboard, I'm pretty good.

Q. When you guys have a battle like you had last year, tied with three holes left, and you guys see each other all the time, do you ever discuss that? Do you bring back memories, or is it from your perspective, I don't want to talk about it?

CHARLES HOWELL III: No, there's usually some ribbing, but it's from the one that won towards me, so he does most of the chirping, as he does a lot of. Obviously that was great. It was a blast. To play golf like that and obviously chasing, obviously, I think one of the top players in the world like that and watching his do his thing at the end to win the tournament, yeah, it's great.

Bryson, obviously from the leadership he's taken in LIV right now, to do the things going forward to help the league going forward, but then as a golfer and watching, man, the great golf he has played, it's pretty impressive on all fronts what he's been able to do.

Q. How similar is this course to last year, and what are the main differences?

CHARLES HOWELL III: This course is a bit shorter, a bit more position golf. Last year was a bit more open off the tee. You could hit a lot of drivers. This place, quite a bit more thinking. If you drive the ball in the rough here, it's really difficult to get it close to the flags. The green complexes are big, but with allthe massive slopes in them, if you miss the fairway, it's either a tough two-putt from 60 feet or some type of fiddly chip.

The defense of the golf course clearly is the greens. You've just got to drive the ball in the fairway.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the eagle, 2.

CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, it was actually a really nice yardage. It was 90 yards a little bit downwind, just a really good number with a 60-degree. Now, that doesn't mean they're going to go in or even go close, but it was a perfect number. When the ball disappeared I thought I had one-hopped it over the green, but obviously the cheering said otherwise. Yeah, I'll take those. They don't happen often.