MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2021

Jon Rahm

Quick Quotes

Q. A little bit of a life change there, huh? How is everything going back home?

JON RAHM: Good. I was going to be a little sarcastic. I'm not going to.

It's been really good. It's certainly a very unique experience. Like I told Kelley, I definitely gained a whole new respect for women everywhere because what their body goes through, it's something I like never want to experience because the amount of pain I saw is -- it's a lot.

Then again, added to the satisfaction of giving birth and all that, so she really enjoyed it. She had a really good birth, which made it a lot better for me.

Q. What is your concern coming here on Wednesday in terms of your preparation, and what are your plans for Wednesday practice?

JON RAHM: Well, my concern is that I'm coming to a Masters, and from Thursday to Monday didn't sleep much, didn't hit a single golf shot. You know, maybe haven't prepared as much as I have in the past, but definitely mentally in a different state, right. A lot of times practicing for a major you spend so much time thinking about golf, and for four or five days, it wasn't even on my mind, which is kind of refreshing.

Coming here later than usual, but I'm here ready to compete. I wouldn't be here otherwise.

Q. What are your plans for a practice round today?

JON RAHM: I have no idea. I mean, to be honest, I just got into Augusta National. I'm doing this, and then I have to register, and then I'll figure it out.

Yeah, probably going to do a little bit of work on the range, make sure I can still hit the golf ball decently straight, and then go out on the course.

We just pulled through the gate. I jumped out, stopped, and they parked the car for me.

Q. When the baby was born, did you know right away, okay, I'm going to wait until Wednesday to come here?

JON RAHM: Well, she started delivery Friday morning, and they told us it could take a long time because she broke water first before even feeling contractions. They told us that's the longest way, and we were expecting her to deliver sometime Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon.

It ended up being earlier, but we couldn't be home earlier than Sunday at noon, and we had the first pediatrician appointment on Tuesday, so I was going to wait at least until Tuesday morning. That was always the plan.

Q. How long was the labor?

JON RAHM: When does labor start really? Because she broke -- her water broke at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, and then she delivered at 12:15 in the morning, but again, she didn't really feel contractions until maybe 5:00, 6:00 p.m. I would say official labor itself might have taken six, seven hours.

Q. What have you done in your first couple days as a dad?

JON RAHM: Stay up all night and change diapers. That's basically all I can do, try to get the baby to sleep and help her breastfeed. That's about it. I feel like I learned pretty quickly, she is the one that has obviously all the power over the baby, right; she feeds and everything. My job was taking care of Kelley. Make sure she's eating, make sure she's drinking, make sure she's trying to rest at the right times, period, and that's what I did.

Q. Did you take any practice rounds here leading up to this just knowing that this was a possibility?

JON RAHM: No, I haven't been here since November. I mean, the course hasn't changed. I might need to spend a little bit of extra time today hitting lag putts and hitting some chips because the last time we played here it was a little softer and slower, but tee to green it doesn't really change much. Luckily I've played here before, and I always have a good vibe when I come here.

Q. Did Adam come early?

JON RAHM: Yesterday. We were kind of hoping the late arrival just plays in our favor somehow.

Q. Is there any backstory to the name of the baby?

JON RAHM: No, but I do think a lot of people believe I'm a Chelsea fan now. No, so the same Kepa is Basque. It's where I'm from in the Basque country, and when we were going through Basque names, because she agreed to honor my heritage that way, we just had to find one that she could pronounce, and that's the one we came up with that she really liked, and we used Cahill as the middle name because in Spanish tradition usually your name, you take over your dad's last name and your mom's last name, and I didn't want her to lose that, so that's why we made his middle name her last name, and that's what it is.

Q. Have you talked to any of the guys or watched any of the broadcast on TV? Of course it is playing a little different.

JON RAHM: I have not seen anything. Adam told me there's less rough in some places. That's about it. We'll see it. Again, some minor differences. I'm guessing because of how good the weather was, it might be a little bit firmer on the greens, which is a great thing. I've been looking forward to that. Pretty much all four Masters I've played the greens haven't been as firm as I've seen in some broadcasts, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. How concerned are you about coming in here hot and not having any practice under your belt?

JON RAHM: I'm not concerned. I went through a major life experience. If anything I'm just happier. I'm thankful to be here. If anything, definitely a different mental state, but I would say it's a better mental state.

Q. How?

JON RAHM: I don't know, becoming a father is just a little different. And again, for so long I didn't think I was going to be able to be here. I thought Wednesday, Thursday, Friday I was just going to have to get the ticket back home, right, so again, I'm happy that she's healthy. I'm happy that he is healthy. I'm grateful that they're both doing great, and I'm really happy I can be here rested and ready to compete.

Q. How tough was it to leave?

JON RAHM: Extremely. That was the hardest part. Monday thinking about it, I'm like, man, I'm going to have to leave, and that was not easy whatsoever. For the first few days it was even hard to leave her room if she was doing something with him and I had to go somewhere else.

You know, it's all they talk about, right? All these instincts that come on. I had never changed a diaper in my life, apparently never really held a baby in my life, and as soon as it was my turn, somehow I knew what to do, and those protective instincts, as well, just came in and it was really hard to leave.

But again, just knowing that they're both so healthy made it a lot easier. I'm not going to lie; that flight here, wi-fi wasn't working while they were on the visit with the pediatrician, so I was a little bit of a nerve wreck for those three hours, but besides that it's been a great experience.