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WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 20, 2018

Jon Rahm

Austin, Texas

Q. Jon, great success for your last two, is it the golf course or the format that gives you so much inspiration, because you're an aggressive player, I'm guessing?
JON RAHM: I am an aggressive player. I think it's a combination. I think, first and foremost, the golf course is good for match play. For all those that love match play and might be aggressive, it fits their game. Then again, with the city of Austin, I like the format. So it's a combination of a whole lot of things that make me like this tournament a lot.

At the end of the day, you still have to play well to get around here. Looking forward to the best, hopefully.

Q. How is your game coming this week?
JON RAHM: It's good, I took four to five weeks off, which to be honest last week I was pulling my hair a little bit because I really wanted to compete, especially seeing that leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer, I really wanted to be there. But my body needed some rest, and hopefully I'll get that ambition a little more here than it usually is hopefully on a match play week.

Q. Did you play match play growing up?
JON RAHM: A lot, yeah, it's something that I love. Because it's the only time that it's actually one-on-one. And golf is usually you against yourself or 130 other people. This time it's you against the other play competing with you. It's much more mental than a regular tournament week. You might be one back, and the person you're playing with is either way ahead or way behind.

This time he's right next to you. So hitting the right shots at the right time, making the right putts at the right time constricts the momentum in such a way that it can shift the match toward one player real easily. We saw it last year in the final. I derailed on the front 9. I was 5-under on 8 tee, DJ made a couple of mistakes and the momentum changed and I was able to make a comeback.

That's the deal with match play, it's not over until it's over. So it makes it that much more fun.

Q. What stands out from that championship match on Sunday with DJ?
JON RAHM: I just said how bad it was at first, and how good it ended up being on the back nine. The drive on 13, almost holed it out and that hole kind of got everything going. I needed something to happen on that one. And followed with birdies on 15 and 16, made it almost impossible to dream up a win. It's not easy to get rid of that guy.

Q. Have you asked them to remove the porta potties and doors --
JON RAHM: Everybody thinks that was the main thing. It was such a hardship. The course was so firm and fast, I had to die that ball, otherwise I was going to leave myself 15, 20 feet, if not, missing the green. So I had to do it like that. And that was basically an inch from being perfect. One inch makes a difference between losing the championship, in this case it was losing. But I felt it was so long ago, and I've played such good golf since then, and I've become a much better player. Hopefully this time, if I get to the final, I'll play a little better.

Q. People who are good at match play, do you think there's something they have in common personality-wise, some trait?
JON RAHM: We had Seve, one of the best match play players of all time. It's a combination of things. I think the willingness to win and then never giving up attitude. And then you have to play good. If you're playing really bad, it's going to be hard to win a match. But I think the attitude, people who are right there with their emotions, and your emotions can affect the other player, you have a lot going on, I think those players can be successful.

There are so many players and I think the one trait is players that play aggressive. When you're aggressive in match play you play good, even if you make a lot of birdies, it's really hard to get even.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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