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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 18, 2016

Jon Rahm

Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Q. Did you finish? Did you get to finish today?
JON RAHM: Yeah, I bogeyed my last hole, 2 over.

Q. Talk about the eagle. That's a good memory.
JON RAHM: It's a great memory to have. I like looking back at that because it's a special moment to make an eagle, and probably one of the hardest par 5s I've ever played.

I hit a good drive. I thought it was going to be worse at the tee, but it ended up in the fairway, and I had like 280 to the pin. I was discussing with my caddie Ben, I'm like, Is it worth it? Like I know I can fly that bunker that's 35 yards short of the green and maybe trickle it up there, but is it worth it?

He said, If you can hit it past the pin, it makes sense. I said, yeah, the odds of doing that on such a narrow green makes no sense. I'm going to lay up something to a full shot and then be able to stop it there, right?

Got a perfect distance. 132 yards.

Q. What did you hit?
JON RAHM: I hit a 6 iron over the left bunker, and I had 132 yards. I knew it was a flat spot so I could fly close to the pin, and it was a full gap wedge. I hit perfect. Next thing I know --

Q. Didn't back up into the pin?
JON RAHM: I haven't see the shot yet. I can't wait to see it.

Q. I was watching it. Talk about your round. How do you feel after three rounds? You're the amateur.
JON RAHM: Well, it's kind of a sweet and sour moment right now because I feel like I played better than my score reflects. I played really good. At the beginning, I feel like I couldn't hold my -- like I couldn't keep it on the same level. Like I made the birdie and I got excited. Then I made a three-putt, then an eagle, then a three-putt, then bogey. I was all over the place. I couldn't keep it level.

After that I went on a par streak, started playing well, but missing putts. That was the main -- I missed three footer on 11, three feet on 11, three feet on 13, four footer on 17. A couple other putts I thought I hit good that didn't go in. So that kind of got me frustrated.

Then when I hit No. 3, I started making way too aggressive swings, extremely aggressive, and I missed 3, 4, and 5 fairways, and that cost a couple bogeys because I didn't get great lies. I made a birdie on 4, but it cost a couple bogeys.

Q. Fairways will just take a stroke?
JON RAHM: If I had been in the fairway, it would have been a different thing. But I lost my patience a little bit there, tried to hit it a little too hard.

Put it back together on 6, hit a great shot. On 7, hit it perfect. I hit another great shot on 8. I couldn't make the putts, but they were great shots.

And then on 9, I hit probably the longest 4 iron I've ever hit in my life, and I nooked it to the back of the green, so I had about 70 feet to the pin. It was a good putt to hit it to 12 feet.

Q. That's a fast putt from there? From the back, it's pretty --
JON RAHM: I had no chance. Like I was behind the pin, and the green slopes right to left. So like I knew -- you know, whatever I did will roll all the way down. It was just a matter of making a 10-footer or 12-footer.

Q. What's your thoughts about tomorrow? I know you've got to rest, get horizontal here quick.
JON RAHM: Oh, yeah, I need it. I've been one of those guys who have been -- my alarm has been at 5:00 a.m. the last four days. So I'm looking forward to changing that a bit.

I'm feeling good. I'm used to 36 hole days from college, but I just need to rest for one day. My thoughts for tomorrow, I mean, I'm feeling confident. We've got to see the pin positions tomorrow, but being my last round as an amateur, I just want to enjoy it as much as I can. As much as I can, I'm going to try to go low, but I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Q. What is your future (finishes in Spanish?
JON RAHM: He just congratulated me for making that putt on 17. That was a good one.

Being my last round as an amateur, I want to embrace it. I just want to enjoy it as much as possible and hope to have a really good score. I know that I'm playing good and I'm close. I just need to get the speed of the greens better, and I'll be good.

Q. What's next for you in your career? Last day as an amateur. What are you going to do?
JON RAHM: Well, I'm playing Quicken Loans, Barracuda, Barbasol, and John Deere so far.

Q. As a pro?
JON RAHM: Exactly. I'm turning pro as soon as I'm done. I know two other starts that I think they're going to give me. They haven't made it official yet, so I can't say anything. But hopefully, playing six events, and that's as far as I've done. I want to go through those six events and see what happens.

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