U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

June 19, 2021

Jon Rahm

Torrey Pines Golf Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Jon, minus 2, three off the lead. Anything can happen on a U.S. Open Sunday. What is your strategy when you tee it up tomorrow?

JON RAHM: Well, as simple as it may sound, shoot as low as I can. I couldn't tell you on the strategy. I vary a lot based on the pin position and the wind, and that's what I'm going to have to see, but I feel like it's to my advantage because I've played good golf here in the past. I've had some good Sundays out here, and I'm confident about tomorrow.

Q. Does your mental approach change when you're a few shots back or when you're starting Sunday in the lead?

JON RAHM: I mean, it shouldn't change. You should still try to go out there and shoot the lowest possible, but I feel like it's easy when you're in the lead to get a little tentative and start trying to be a little bit more safe in certain parts. I feel like, when you're a couple shots back, you have nothing to lose early on. So I feel like you can be a little bit more aggressive and try to get some birdies.

There will be somebody who gets a fast start, and hopefully that's me tomorrow, and I get a fast start, and I get it going fast.

Q. This is a special place for you personally. How do you rank the Torrey Pines golf course against other U.S. Open venues?

JON RAHM: Well, it's tough, right, because it's only the second time it's happened here, and you have many other iconic places like Shinnecock, like Winged Foot, like Pebble. To me, a U.S. Open at Pebble, it's almost the pinnacle of golf. It's kind of like it's supposed to be, right? It's up there. Being on the coast of California, this is pretty similar. It's a close second. I think it's going to become a crowd favorite because of how the setup is. You don't need to do much to this golf course to be U.S. Open ready.

I don't know how it compares. I'm very biased. I love this golf course, but I think it's going to become one of those iconic venues as well.

Q. So you had a really steady round today, just one three-putt, and then on 18 you had a beautiful lag putt down there for tap-in for birdie. How were the green conditions today?

JON RAHM: Greens are fast, and pins are a little tricky. Towards the end, poa annua greens in the traffic, they always get a little bumpy, and that's what happened to me. That first putt on 14 got away from me a little bit, and that four-footer, the next one, just bumped. It happens. It wasn't the first one today, and that's certainly not going to be the last time it's going to happen here.

To people that don't mention it, I definitely pushed my par putt on 15 and it ended up going in, so maybe it balanced it. And you mentioned it, it's really easy to three-putt from where I was on 18. I'm gong across the green, the hardest putt you can find out there, and it ends up with a tap-in birdie. So it all balances out. 1-over is not going to lose me this event.

Q. One final question. You're a new dad. You're playing U.S. Open on father's day. Does that bring a special meaning to tomorrow?

JON RAHM: Oh, yeah. I feel like it's also cool that I have my dad here. So we have three generations of Rahms, and it was my first win out here. Hopefully, I can make it tomorrow, another break through.