LIV GOLF INDIANAPOLIS

August 20, 2026

Laurie Canter

Lee Westwood

The Club at Chatham Hills

Majesticks GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome to the media center majestic golf club, our overall leader after round 1, Laurie Canter, well played, 8-under 62, and co-captain Lee Westwood, also well played, currently two back, T4 with a 64. Laurie, take us through the round. Is that about as comfortable or confident as you've felt this season?

LAURIE CANTER: Yeah, I mean, I didn't get off to the best of starts. I think I bogeyed 8, hit it in the right trap but it still going me going. I think I had three birdies off the back of that. Drove the ball great. I hit a lot of fairways, and kind of the way the golf course is playing with no wind and you have to take it at pretty much all the pins, I stayed aggressive for the day and made a lot of birdies.

Q. Lee, we're playing a few events in a row now where you've had a pretty hot start. How are you feeling about the status of your game and at this point in the season?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, my game is in good shape. Generally I play well from sort of the middle of the year onwards. Historically that's what's happened. I'm not surprised we're playing well. I've been working quite hard on my game recently, and I've putting as good as I've ever putted, I think. I think I had 20 putts today, if we're just counting the ones on the greens, which is pretty much unheard of for me.

I'm pleased with the way I played and I'm pleased with the way Laurie played, obviously, and the team. We're leading, which is probably the first time that's happened since LIV started, but we've been --

LAURIE CANTER: Let's go!

LEE WESTWOOD: We've been rounding into form really. We've finished fifth the last two events, and I think we feel like we let one slip in New York. I think we could have certainly finished better than fifth and even won it. It's nice to see us get off to a good start, not be chasing.

Q. This is the Team Championship. The team made a statement today. Obviously still three rounds to play, but how meaningful would a team victory be for the Majesticks this week?

LEE WESTWOOD: It would mean a lot. Our best finish and our only podium finish was in the very first event, a third, so we'd bookend that pretty well, wouldn't we, with a win this week.

Yeah, it's a strange situation because we've not played great as a team throughout most of the year. Obviously we've just hit a bit of form recently. But to have a great chance to do something this week is obviously something we didn't expect to happen.

We're obviously grabbing it with both hands.

Q. Laurie, can you take us through this season and what it's been like to come back to LIV? Obviously you had some experience before, but then to come back to the Majesticks.

LAURIE CANTER: Yeah, early on, to be honest, because I felt like I was really not finding my game, my sort of personal pride probably took a hit with it. I've wanted to play better and contribute to the team more and try and feel like I could drive some good performances. Maybe I tried a bit hard to do that initially.

My experience of LIV has overwhelmingly been positive since 2022. Coming back here, I knew what to expect. Things have changed. The team is like a ton more, I'm going to say, kind of professional, like the back outfit and the support we get has changed and evolved, and it really feels like a team.

That's kind of been my biggest -- the thing I've noticed most.

Then yeah, I guess, like Westy said, the last three or four events as a team we've played better, and it does make a massive difference. You get a big boost seeing Sam have that start early. I think undoubtedly you can carry each other forward.

Yeah, I hope we can do that the next three days. It would be massive. For all the people who work for Majesticks and us as players, to have a real run at a team event would be a lot of fun.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the format this week. Obviously the first Team Championship where we've had stroke play. The last three years in match play, you guys haven't been able to get out of the quarterfinals. Do you think that because you're trending, because it's stroke play now, that when you heard about the switch that it was going to be a positive this week?

LEE WESTWOOD: For sure. I think if you're trending in the right direction, then you want it to be a format where it rewards consistency. With the format being match play in previous years, it's very fast. It's like a sprint over 18 holes. But this week if we're all playing well and trending into form, then 72 holes is going to suit us more.