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RBC CANADIAN OPEN

July 22, 2016

Jon Rahm

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Q. Interesting round of golf there, 15 through 4, it was like-roller coaster for you.
JON RAHM: It was. It really was. I wasn't doing anything really bad. It was just misunderstanding the course and the wind. On 14, got a flyer, went long. Got no chance making up-and-down from there, unless you make a long putt.

15, misunderstood the wind. On then on the par 5s, just took advantage of my length. And hit a pitching wedge onto 16 and a gap wedge -- and a 56-degree wedge on 18. Then 1, 2 and 3 I happened to make a couple good ones.

Q. They say roller coasters are fun, because it was a great four-hole stretch for you.
JON RAHM: Besides 17, it was just a good driver that didn't fade and went in the bunker and got a bad lie. But besides that one shot, it really was a good five-hole stretch, when I went eagle -- yeah, actually eagle and then four birdies in a row, it was great golf. It was really fun to play like that. I knew 4 was going to be tough when it happened.

Q. The wind has been so difficult.
JON RAHM: It's not only the wind. It's just, in my mind, I couldn't try to really drive it low because the greens are so firm, they are not going to hold it up. I couldn't decide. I committed to one shot that I wasn't sure about, and I mis-hit the shot and it went in the water. It happens every once in awhile. Next time I'll make sure to go long on that one.

Q. What's the story of the day for you?
JON RAHM: Story of the day? Oh, man, I've been saying a roller coaster, pretty much. Started steady, making pars, a couple good up-and-downs. Then a couple mistakes on 14 and 15, and then took off. Hit a great drive on 16. Good second shot, made the putt. Gave me a lot of confidence, even if I made bogey on 17. Came out with four straight birdies.

Too bad I couldn't finish with a birdie but the last four holes were tough. It was too windy. Greens were really firm, so it was hard to make a putt.

Q. How cool is it to be up on the leaderboard with Jared?
JON RAHM: It's so cool. It's a great feeling. Last time we played together and last time we were both on the leaderboard, it was still a college event. He's still in college. But to see it like that, it's a great feeling. I have got to say, him shooting low yesterday did motivate me a lot to do a good round.

Q. Did you get a chance to interact with each other when he walked by?
JON RAHM: He just asked me how I did, how I went. I told him I shoot under par, and good luck. Hit it and pray, because it's going to be hard.

Q. Do you think about what it would be like on the weekend if you get paired together?
JON RAHM: That would be extremely weird. I don't know. I feel like it would be kind of hard to get serious at some point.

Actually it would be great. Familiar face, a friend, to be able to tee it up with a friend in a PGA TOUR event, it would be more than an honor. It would be extremely fun for both of us.

Q. Did you feel like you had a solid round with the conditions or do you feel like you left some shots out there?
JON RAHM: I think it was pretty well balanced honestly. I did get a few moments of luck and a few moments of not luck. So I think I shot pretty much as low as I could have shot. I don't think the course took anything from me today.

Q. In the past few weeks -- any doubt in your mind you would be up here perhaps challenging for the tournament?
JON RAHM: I never doubted in my mind. I finished top five before. I finished top five just a month ago. I had a chance to win. I do believe that I belong here. I feel that I belong here. I feel like I've been working hard to get here, and now that I'm here, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity. I'm having as much fun as I've ever had playing golf, so I just hope I can keep playing like that.

Q. You and Jared du Toit were teammates for one year?
JON RAHM: Yeah.

Q. Were you ever roommates or just teammates?
JON RAHM: No, because his family has an apartment in Scottsdale. But pretty much for most of the year for travel, we were hotel roommates. We got a long really well. We both played well all year.

Q. Did you socialize together?
JON RAHM: Yeah, we became really good friends.

Q. What kind of things did you go together?
JON RAHM: We pretty much did everything as a team. I don't think there's anyone on the team who doesn't like Jared. He's just a genuine guy. Probably one of the most fun people I've ever met.

Q. We saw some very big drives in day two, really an up-and-down day scoring-wise. How would you characterize the way that you played and the way the golf course tested you today?
JON RAHM: Like I've said a couple times, it was a roller coaster. Started out great. Then everything went uphill and then for a stretch of five holes, everything was downhill; this is great, and then it got uphill again and just cruised till the end.

There was a lot of emotions going on. Started out with a couple bogeys and woke me up and made that eagle on 16 and then four straight birdies from 18 which really got me going. Too bad I missed the shot in the water on 4.

Q. All told, since you turned professional, you played very well. What has been the key to your success now that you're making money for a living playing this game?
JON RAHM: Well, first of all, not thinking about the money. Try to play the same way I've always played, playing for fun, to shoot as low as I can. But I would say, the experience I've had before, four or five PGA TOUR events I've played before, gave me a lot of experience to know how to play the PGA TOUR.

Patience is something that I've been working on a little more -- in college, sometimes we only played two days, three rounds, and to get used to having four rounds and being a little more patient, and today it worked out. I would just say overall, the experience I've gotten and self-confidence. Even when I'm not hitting it well, know that I have a good enough game to be up on the leaderboard.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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