ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 25, 2021

Jon Rahm

Ryan Palmer

TPC Louisiana

Quick Quotes

Q. Not quite the title defense you were after, but a nice finish there.

JON RAHM: Yeah. I think we played really good tee to green much like two years ago when we won. The only difference is we just couldn't get it going on the greens. We had a lot of good looks, a lot of good putts, but towards the end, especially in my case, frustration started setting in. I'm pretty sure we played tee to green as good as the leaders did. We just weren't able to make the putts.

Q. It was an emotional victory here for you in 2019. Obviously you couldn't return last year with COVID, but how special is it for you to come back and relive some of those memories out there?

RYAN PALMER: It's always special for me, especially coming back here. It was awesome in 2019 when my wife and son, Mason, flew in for that and hadn't won since 2010 so obviously to do that then. But I always love coming here. I've got a lot of close friends here in New Orleans. We have dinners with Sean Payton of the Saints. I've got a lot of friend and fans here in the area. So it was awesome to come back and defend. I love playing next to this guy. The game I watch him play inspires me even more. So unfortunately the putter wasn't there, but he carried us along a lot. But, no, we both played solid golf tee to green, like he said. It just wasn't in the cards for us.

JON RAHM: You carried me quite a bit two days ago, so it's all right.

Q. Give us an idea of what conditions are like out there and what we can expect to see from some of the leaders coming in?

JON RAHM: It's not easy. The one thing the leaders have going for them is that they know what's going on and they can adjust their strategy. Greens are rolling really well. So if they can just keep giving themselves chances, they don't even need to be inside 10 feet, if you have 20-, 30-footers, you might roll one in. But there's a couple key holes. 14's not easy. 15 is playing really difficult, and then the certain shots here and there, 16, 17, that you might need to survive. I don't know what hole they're on, but you definitely need to be precise.

So, again, the one positive is the greens are rolling well, but you need to play really aggressive.

Q. How is fatherhood treating you?

JON RAHM: It's good. I haven't been around for two out of the three weeks, but luckily I'm taking next week off and, I mean, I'll spend four or five days of quality with Kelley and him. It's been wonderful, definitely life changing. She insists on breastfeeding and not doing any bottles at night yet, so there's nothing I can do. I'm just there for support and trying to get her whatever she needs and that's about it. So I think this next week is my turn to return the favor and hopefully soon enough they can come and watch.

Q. Ryan knows what you mean.

RYAN PALMER: 14 years of it. No, he's in for a lot of changing, but the most amazing thing. Watching a little child like that grow up and you'll never hold anything more precious in your hands and he's going to have a lot of fun here in the next -- a lot of sleepless fun.

JON RAHM: I wouldn't call it that, but that's all right.

RYAN PALMER: It is. It's, just watching them grow into their own little person they are. So I'll be there for advice if he ever needs it.

JON RAHM: I'm sure that's coming at some point.