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SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 6, 2018

Jon Rahm

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii

Q. Moving day on Saturday. You make the move, big smile on your face. It was good to see a couple of putts drop out there.
JON RAHM: Yeah, it was just technique. I had to call my mental coach this morning and I said, man, I feel as tense as I can be over the ball when I'm putting. And he told me a couple things, got it figured out. And I think it all started on No. 5. I didn't make that putt, but it was a really good putt and it felt great and after that I just kept hitting really good putts and made a few of them.

Q. That was the first of the par-5s that you took advantage of. How key is it now that you've been around this golf course a couple times in competition to make sure that you take advantage of those par-5s?
JON RAHM: Well, it is key, just because it's so windy and all of them are reachable. And if you hit a good tee shot you have a very good eagle opportunity. And I've been fortunate enough to make two eagles this week and you can always get it close and make birdies. And if you can make four birdies a round, you just need to get a feel for the putts like I did today.

Q. How good was it to play with Jordan? I saw you guys talking a lot during the round. You're talkative guys, you think a lot on the golf course. Is it sort of helpful to have a guy like that with a similar mentality dragging you around?
JON RAHM: I don't think there's two guys that speak to the ball more than we do. It's true. It's fun because we both react similarly when we hit a shot. It's great. To be honest, I feel like we reversed the roles a little bit today. I made all the putts I had to make, I played really good golf. And last time I played with Jordan it was quite the opposite. I was the one struggling hitting good shots and nothing happening. But we all know how good he is and what he's capable of and it was a really fun day and hopefully we get to play again.

Q. How would you assess your round out there?
JON RAHM: Great round. Bogey-free. I didn't think this week it was going to be a bogey-free week, but really extremely content for what happened today. Felt really comfortable throughout, especially on my short game. I relied a lot on it, a couple of good chip shots and some really good putts, it was good to see a couple go in.

Q. What do you take the more confidence from, being bogey-free or finishing 5-under on the last five?
JON RAHM: Probably being bogey-free. It shows I haven't made many mistakes and the last I made I was able to fix. We all know that the final stretch of this course is very gettable, at least that's what I was thinking all week and that's basically where I scored all three days. Yesterday I kind of had it going too. I birdied 14, 15, and 16 and then shouldn't have made the bogey there at 17, but I made a birdie on 18 again. So I've been kind of relying on those last few holes. Hopefully I get it done a little earlier tomorrow and just have a good day.

Q. How important was it to make that second putt at 18 when you left the first one as short as you did? I'm sure that wouldn't have tasted very good?
JON RAHM: Well, we all know it was into the wind, up slope, into the grain. It was an extremely slow putt. Very easy to get a little brave, especially with the way things were going and hitting it like five, six feet by and then the putt coming back would have been extremely defensive. So I wanted to hit it really good speed. Maybe I focused on that too much and didn't hit it enough. But it was nine to 10 feet straight up the hill and it's not the hardest putt to have. Even if I had had a 3-putt I knew how good of a round it was. It wouldn't have felt great, but luckily I made it.

Q. You've gone head-to-head with Dustin Johnson before. Do you enjoy that? How much do you enjoy it?
JON RAHM: Boy, I do enjoy it, but the outcome hasn't been great for me. Hopefully I can play good down the stretch like I've been doing, like I said, just start a little better on the front nine. Not like today was bad, bogey-free, 2-under is a great score. But I mean if I can make a birdie before I get to 5 it will be, I'll be happy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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