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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 22, 2019

Jon Rahm

Surrey, England

Q. Did it almost feel like a match-play situation between you and Danny over those last couple holes?
JON RAHM: I'm not sure how to answer that. Yeah.

Q. You had to be aggressive on 18. Can you talk us through what happened?
JON RAHM: I didn't hit it good. I was in-between clubs. The hybrid 4-iron that I have, which is more between a 3 and a 2, it was -- hit good, have a chance of going long. A normal 4-iron with a draw had a very small margin of error, and I was in that semi-rough, not the best of lies, and I had to hit it with some height. I didn't want to get a knuckleball and go low and just have no chance to bring it up-and-down. I wanted to give myself a chance.

I just caught it a little off the toe. It wasn't great contact and it was short. I was sill surprised because it came up with a decent trajectory, but I thought at least it would make that front edge, especially on the line that it was on. It was quite right and thought it would make the firm edge, but no.

Again, it wasn't the best of contacts. Had I hit that solid, it would have gone at the pin but still would have covered.

Q. How much confidence does this give you going into an important stretch with Dunhill and the Spanish Open?
JON RAHM: I'm not thinking that far ahead right now. I'm not going to lie. It hurts. It stings. I played good all week, and up until the 13th hole, I was incapable of hitting an iron close to the pin and made a couple stupid mistakes. I should have come closer than two shots on the last two holes. I had my chances; the lipout on 16.

Again, I did what I had to do. Just had a couple of really stupid mistakes there. I'm just going to have to figure out why it happened and that's it.

At the same time, Danny played amazing golf. He played really, really good. I believe that 11th hole was the key moment of the match, on the game, right. He had a long, long putt for bogey and I had a decent chance, look for a birdie, and he makes a bomb for a bogey and I missed my putt right. That was at least a one-shot swing right there and if he doesn't make it, I'm putting more relaxed without the whole crowd going crazy. That was a key moment of the match.

That stretch through 11 through 14 was key. Even though I made that birdie on 13, that those mistakes on 12 and 14 cost me a lot and that's why Danny came out on top.

It's easy to fixate 18 because I hit it in the water, but there was moments out there I could have done a lot more. The first few holes, I had short irons into the green and good shots, and just couldn't hit it close and hitting 30-footers all day and I couldn't put any pressure.

At the same time, after coming from three weeks off, it was a solid round, solid tournament. Happy the way I played but it still hurts a little bit.

Q. Appreciate your time. On 10, you made a great 2 after Danny hit a great tee shot in there but then the next hole was a bit of a game-changer, wasn't it?
JON RAHM: I think the next few holes were where the day was at. He made an amazing bogey from where he was and I didn't hit the best of wedges. I was confident of the shot. I just got a little too steep on it and blocked it a little and gave myself a 30-footer instead of having something inside 20 feet that's makeable.

But still, if you tell me after the tee shot on 10 that I was going to be only one back on 12 tee, I would have taken it, right. And then 12, 13, 14 was key. Even though I made a good birdie on 13, I made two bad mistakes on 12 and 14 short-siding myself. Once I'm short of the green, I just need to put it on the green and give myself a birdie chance.

Then 14, I need to put it on the green. I felt great on the greens and all I had to do was put it on the green. Give Danny a two-shot lead coming down the stretch, a very painful lipout on 16, and then 18, he did what he had to do. I was hoping on 17 my ball was farther from the hole so I could chip it close and give him a little bit of pressure but I just couldn't do it today.

I had a lot of chances to put him against the ropes, but never did, a lot of iron shots that I could have hit a little bit closer to give myself a chance.

But still, good tournament. It hurts a little bit to finish this way, but still, went down fighting, a couple mistakes and hopefully it's the beginning of a good stretch here in Europe.

Q. How quick are you to get over something like this and take the positives out of the week?
JON RAHM: Like I said, it just finished. Maybe by comparison, but it's like Anthony Joshua, when he lost the belt, how are you feeling looking towards the future. It's a little painful. Nothing a good dinner and a bottle of wine can't fix.

And at the same time, tomorrow I'm flying to St. Andrews with my dad. I've never been to St. Andrews before. I'm going to play the Old Course with my dad for the first time, so there's a lot of positives to look at. It will be in bad weather, which I believe how golf is supposed to be played in Scotland I guess, right. It is how it is. There's many reasons why I should be smiling. The week after that, I'm going to Spain.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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