LIV GOLF ANDALUCíA

June 2, 2026

Sergio Garcia

David Puig

Josele Ballester

Luis Masaveu

Real Club Valderrama

Fireballs GC

Press Conference

Q. David and Josele, you have the Open Championship exemption on the line this week, and you guys both have mathematical shots at it. Just wanted to get your thoughts on getting that Open exemption.

DAVID PUIG: Yeah, I know I have a chance. I think it's either win or second maybe for me, something like that. I mean, yeah, if I want to get it this week, it's fairways, greens, and hopefully make a few putts, avoid the trees, play smart.

If I get it, it would be amazing.

I in a way still have a little chance if I have a good week at the U.S. Open and Italy. I think they have an exemption there on the DP Tour and maybe Scotland. I still have a little small chance after this, or if not, the qualifier. But I would love to get it this week. It would mean I played really good golf.

SERGIO GARCIA: Also with world ranking points if you get in the top 50.

DAVID PUIG: I think it closed last week already.

JOSELE BALLESTER: In my case, I know I have fewer options than David, but I'm confident of what I can do and looking forward to taking on this challenge and hopefully make it to the Open on the third time because I've been short a couple times on qualifying, Singapore Open and Australian Open last year, and if this is another opportunity, it would be good to do it here.

Q. Sergio, you were 13 years old, I think, when you first played here at Valderrama. What do you remember about that first day when you stepped on the course?

SERGIO GARCIA: I remember I loved it from the beginning. I think if I remember correctly, it was probably a Spain against England match or something like that. I think Luke Donald was part of that, too.

But I remember that I loved the course. I loved the amazing conditions that it always had and how -- one of the things that I've always enjoyed about Valderrama is that it feels like it's a course that you have to use every club in your bag. That doesn't happen every week for sure.

It shows you the quality of the course itself. That's something very unique.

Q. For the other three guys, does Sergio ever mention his track record here at Valderrama? It's pretty amazing.

DAVID PUIG: Every day. He keeps reminding us every day of how good he played here. Yeah, we know. Right, Sergio?

SERGIO GARCIA: Wouldn't you?

DAVID PUIG: No, I'm kidding. What did he do exactly, a couple top 30s and a few missed cuts, right? Average.

Q. I think it's four wins and 17 top 10s.

SERGIO GARCIA: And I've only played 20 times here.

DAVID PUIG: Do you count that match against England as a top 10? There were only two teams.

Q. Sergio, obviously there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of the league. Just from your involvement in the meetings that you've had with the executives here, what are your confidence levels for LIV existing beyond this year?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I wouldn't say there's a lot of uncertainty. I think that obviously there's a little bit of uncertainty. But we're really excited about the work that our CEO, Scott, and his team are putting in.

We enjoy being involved in it, giving our input and seeing how we can help make sure that the league keeps going forward.

We're very confident that that's going to happen. It's just going to look different.

In my opinion, more than being worried about if LIV is going to keep going or the league is going to keep going, it's more how is it going to look going forward. I think that's where we are, and we're trying to figure out the best way possible moving forward and how we can be excited for all of us, not only ourselves but our fans, our sponsors, everyone that is involved.

We're looking forward to seeing the final product.

Q. You are a mentor to the three men sat beside you. How have you guided them through it? Have they taken it quite easily in terms of the doubts and the news and all the updates, or have you had to help them find a focus?

SERGIO GARCIA: No, obviously I try to give them updates on what's going on, and obviously they want to know what's going on. But at the end of the day, they can make their own decisions. The only thing that I can do is provide them with the most information possible about what's going on moving forward.

But not only myself. Obviously they are smart individuals, and they're asking also the right people around the league about what's happening because they want to know. It's nice to see, but I think we're all excited to see where we are going forward.

Q. Considering that change is inevitable, are there any things you'd like to see the league change, improve, or maximize things you're already doing well? Are there any key areas of focus that you were running the ship that you'd like to see at the forefront of a new LIV Golf product?

JOSELE BALLESTER: It's a great question. Honestly, me personally, I haven't thought about it much. As you said before, this uncertainty or just not knowing that much maybe as a captain like Sergio could be a little different. But I like to think always in the same way and just focusing on my golf, and knowing that if I play good golf, things will fix for me, and I'll have the chance to do or decide what I want to do.

There's not much I can control, and I just can focus on my golf.

--------------------------------------------------

Spanish translated quotes

Q: Good afternoon, thank you very much for joining us today. We welcome the Fireballs GC team with captain Sergio Garcia, Luis Masaveu, David Puig, and Josele Ballester. Welcome, thank you very much. If it's okay, we are going to start with questions in Spanish first and then we will switch to English. Sergio, with everything you have achieved here at Valderrama, including your individual and team victory in 2024 as captain, what does it mean to you to return every year to Real Club Valderrama?

Sergio Garcia: Well, it's always a very, very special week, being here again, being at Valderrama, my favorite course, and well, in front of our people, it's just the usual. We are really looking forward to it and well, excited and eager to see how the week unfolds.

Q: Luis, as one of the youngest players on the team, what would you say are the lessons you have learned during this time and with your teammates, especially captain Sergio Garcia?

Luis Masaveu: Well, I think in the end, playing in LIV with so many good players, courses all over the world, different grasses, I think well, you have to adapt your game every week, you have to improve every week and well, I think it's a long process in the end. Golf is a sport that is played for many years and well, I think you learn a bit of all that: patience, working hard, knowing how to adapt, and well, I think little by little I am improving.

Q: David, you are putting together a very, very solid and consistent 2026 season, right now you hold the eighth position in the individual ranking, with your game in a good spot and the US Open coming up. What do you think of this course as training? Will it help you prepare?

David Puig: I hope so, I hope so. Let's see, they are two designs, I haven't played Shinnecock so I couldn't tell you what that course is like, but I think they are two relatively different designs but undoubtedly both demand pretty good shots to be able to finish near the top. So I think that will help me, especially mentally to prepare, trying, obviously, to be as sharp as possible off the tee, playing a little more strategically, and the short game will undoubtedly be very important in both events.

Q: Josele, you are also completing a great season and you arrive here in the top 10 of the individual standings, you have already achieved two top 5s in your career. What is the balance of these first months of the year and how do you prepare to compete and possibly win the title here in your country?

Josele Ballester: Yes, it's been okay, it's been a few months of a lot of learning. I haven't gotten the feelings I would like to have just yet, and well, what I'm learning is to compete and try to have good weeks without being at 100%. And it's something that in the year I've been a professional, I've improved quite a bit, but still, well, I trust and hope that the week where everything clicks will come. Hopefully. There's still half a season left to be able to do it, but as I said, I also trust that, well, even without being at 100%, I can also finish near the top and win tournaments.

Q: And well, you have a few busy weeks coming up but, will you make time to support Spain in the World Cup?

Sergio Garcia: Yes, without a doubt. Obviously we will watch it, I don't know if live, but if not, on television, and pushing hard to enjoy it to the fullest and see if the national team can give us our second little star.

Q: I wanted to ask Josele, who just talked about everything clicking, to see if everything clicks this week or in the coming weeks. What do you think is really missing for it to click? Because you already won at the end of last year, you are getting magnificent results now, so it seems you are right on the verge, that your game is ideal or almost ideal.

Josele Ballester: Yes, well, yes. It's funny how this works, I think it's all a bit about managing expectations. I expect a lot from what I can do and my abilities, and sometimes when there are things I consider I can do better and I don't execute them as I would like, it frustrates me. And I think it goes a bit in that direction, saying that well, maybe I'm hitting the ball much better than last year, but there are other aspects in the short game that aren't where I'd like them to be, and it's a bit more along those lines. However, well, as I said before, I trust that without being at 100% and without feeling completely comfortable in certain areas, I can still play well and achieve great positions at the end of the week.

Q: It is clear that one of the strong points of LIV is the team competition and that spirit that is created, which I think Fireballs represents very well, just seeing the camaraderie you all have here in this press conference, how well you get along, you're like a family, apparently. So I would like you to explain a bit about what has been generated within Fireballs; also, as captain, what do you do to cultivate it?

Sergio Garcia: Yes, I think it's the most beautiful and the most different thing about the League here. Obviously, being able to go out, play practice rounds together, have a good time, make a little bet here or there, play a match, the truth is that it's nice. But not only that, what happens off the course is also nice, especially for me since I've been on the tours for many years, I know how lonely it can be. And having not only the good moments, but especially the slightly tougher moments, having good friends by your side who support you, who you can go to dinner with, that there's a good atmosphere, that you laugh, that we mess with each other (mostly with Luis, but you always get it)... but well, I think that's one of the nicest things. And then when it comes to enjoying and celebrating the good moments, it's also very nice to be able to enjoy it together, when we do well as a team obviously, but when we do well individually, each of us is happy that our teammate has done well and that, honestly, is very special.

Q: Hi Sergio, a question for you. Valderrama is already difficult on its own, with this wind can it become an extremely complicated challenge?

Sergio Garcia: As David says, yes. Without a doubt, obviously Valderrama is a challenge in perfect weather. Obviously if the greens are soft and all, it gets a little bit easier, but without wind, with firm greens and such, it's already a challenge. Obviously with the wind we've played in today it gets much more complicated, because the margin of error when missing gets much smaller. So you have to be at your absolute best with every part of your game, because even hitting good shots, a gust can hit and you can end up 15 or 20 yards short of where the ball should go. So every moment is complicated, not only physically, but also mentally. But well, for me that's what I love about this course, that it demands so much from you without being a long course, and it's nice to see when many times you travel the world seeing that the only way they have to make courses more difficult is by adding distance. I really think there are other ways to do it, and Valderrama explains it in the best possible way.

Q: Let's see, Sergio, you are the player who knows the course best out of practically everyone in the tournament, I believe. Do you think that could at some point work against you? And also, what advice would you give your teammates who haven't played the course that much yet and don't know it as well? What would you warn them about?

Sergio Garcia: Well, let's see, obviously everything can be looked at in different ways. The more you know the course, the more things you know about it, good and bad, in a way; but when it's your favorite course you look at everything in a better light. For my teammates, well, I think we have already been here several times together and they already know what Valderrama demands of you. Obviously, the only things I tell them are things they already know, right? And a little bit here and a little bit there changes a lot. But well, the good thing also at the same time is knowing that no one is going to shoot 20 under par in these conditions, right? So knowing that if you are out there fighting and managing to scrape together a good round here and there, you are usually going to be in the mix, right?

Q: Well, this is a question for everyone. Ultimately it is also an important week because you are playing in Spain and the Spanish fans always throw their support behind the team, and I think it is quite a special week for you. What do you think of the week? Are you looking forward to those fans, that crowd that gives their all every year?

David Puig: Of course it motivates me to play in front of the Spanish fans. It is always very nice. In the end we all also have friends, family, people who come from where we live, from where we grew up. So, it's quite an honor. The truth is that for me, seeing Spanish flags, people sort of shouting your name, pronouncing my last name as it should be, which is Puig, well, the truth is it does make me happy.