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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2018

Jon Rahm

St. Louis, Missouri

Q. Great round of golf.
JON RAHM: Thank you.

Q. A couple birdies on the back nine. Wasn't giving up too many birdies today.
JON RAHM: It wasn't?

Q. Talk about -- just statistic golf. Talk about your round.
JON RAHM: What am I going to say? It was a very, very, very solid round. If there was one thing in my game that wasn't feeling quite as good as usual was my driving, but I still managed to keep it in play. There were a couple of wild misses, but I was smart enough today to know where I could miss and where I could allow myself to miss.

Besides that, my iron play is just really solid. I'm really comfortable with my irons right now, and I think that was the key to having a lot of birdie chances and hitting greens and not making too many mistakes.

Q. How does it feel going into tomorrow just a couple of the lead?
JON RAHM: Feels great. The only Major I really had a chance was at Augusta, and I was 6 back starting the day, and I think at one point I was 2 or 3 back. It's a good feeling. I've been working hard to change some things. It's great to see it's peaking at the right point, at the right time, and I'm having a chance on Sunday to contend for my first Major.

Q. When you look at the leaderboard and look at this golf course and the potential for a lot of birdies tomorrow, what do you think it's going to take out of you to get it done?
JON RAHM: Well, based on the pin placements I've seen, I don't think it's -- doesn't feel like there's going to be a lot of birdies. They're all pretty tucked. It's hard to shoot a low score on a Sunday in a Major, and it's really hard to do it here just because the pins are in really small zones. You can either hit it really close or hit it to 40 feet. So it's a big difference. You still need to hit fairways, and you still need to make the putts.

With how humid the course is, raining again yesterday, playing in the last group or one of the last groups is still going to be a little bumpy. It's not easy to make putts. I just hope I can start the front nine making a birdie before No. 7. The last few days, I had kind of slow starts. So getting to that back nine within a couple of the lead, and you never know what's going to happen. Brooks had a huge lead, and a couple holes later, he had only a one-shot lead. I don't know what happened after 16.

But it is Major championship golf. Going to the back nine within three shots is nothing crazy to manage.

Q. You mentioned being in contention at the Masters. Is there anything you can pull from that experience for tomorrow?
JON RAHM: That I can do it and that I know that I can do it. The shot on the Masters at 15, the 6 iron on the second shot that I thought was going to carry carries, I'd most likely chip up for birdie and I'm within two playing the last three holes. Things can change. I might make a birdie. You never know what's going to happen, but it didn't. So up until that point, I was in contention, and I knew I could get it done.

So I just keep doing the same thing, keep trusting my game, and keep hitting the shots that I've been hitting. And hopefully, like I said, maybe one of the ones that has a good putt in me on Sunday.

Q. How you manage your energy in this heat?
JON RAHM: It wasn't that hot today. I've been doing a really good job the last few weeks even before coming here and hydrating, make sure I'm staying hydrated throughout the day, before I go to the golf course, throughout the night, eating the right foods, eating the right stuff. My energy level is fine, to be honest. Today it was quite pleasant. This breeze that we had today was great. It wasn't that bad at all. Yesterday morning it was a lot harder to play, but today was fine.

Q. Jon, do you dare to dream? What would a first major title mean to you?
JON RAHM: I dare to dream in the fact of accomplishing one of my goals this year, which is having a chance on a Sunday in a Major. To be honest, right now is not the time to think about what would it feel like to win? We still have 18 holes to play. If by any chance, by any possibility I hit a shot into 18 green to within easy two-putt range and I have more than a one-shot lead, at that point, I allow myself to dream. Until then, until the last putt is made, anything could happen.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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