THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 20, 2021

Jon Rahm

Liberty National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Would you take more pride being 36 holes bogey-free or tied for the lead?

JON RAHM: Tied for the lead, yeah. It's nice to be bogey-free, but it's not like it's goal No. 1, right. Might be actually first time I go 36 holes bogey-free. The goal is to win a tournament and put yourself in the best position. If I had to choose, I would rather be leading than bogey-free.

Q. How pleased are you with your game through 36 holes this week?

JON RAHM: I would say the way I've kept my composure. I definitely, believe it or not, hit my fair share of bad shots today. There was two of them. The second on 16 and the second on 3, two shots where I have a wedge in hand and I miss on the green and I'm leaving myself a really tough up-and-down and I was able to make good putts for par.

Much like yesterday, I was able to save a couple of good ones. Just accepting that I can miss shots, I guess that's the best way to explain it, is what happens here. You get a little too greedy, miss the green, and you can have a tough up-and-down, and I've been able to save those so far.

Coming into the weekend, I'm definitely going to have to clean a couple of those mistakes up.

Q. You said earlier in the week you're more well rested than a lot of guys; now that you're around them, do you sense it that they are more tired than you at this time of year?

JON RAHM: I think you would feel it more the third week. Today, I feel like pretty much a lot of the players here took a week off, or maybe two weeks off, and two can be a lot to rest. But when you're playing three in a row at the end of a long season and a long summer, I think towards the end is when you're going to feel it.

East Lake and Atlanta, that course is not the easiest walk and it's hot and humid, and you can get dehydrated easily, and that's where I think it's going to come to play. I don't think it's going to be that much of an advantage this week.

Q. Out of yesterday and today, which would be the up-and-down you're most proud of?

JON RAHM: Probably the one on 15 today, yeah. Mainly because two of them today, I just made good putts. It's not like the chip shot itself was the best, which again, at the end of the day, is making up-and-down. But that third shot on 15, after hitting a good drive that ended up in the bunker, hitting the wedge shot to easy tap-in was something that gives you a lot of confidence.

Q. This is your fifth year in the Playoffs, and I know you're used to it and this is the system we have, but do you like the idea that somebody could win two tournaments in a row and just kind of have a little bit of a bad week and have their entire FedExCup, whatever, finish?

JON RAHM: No, I don't like it.

Q. You don't like it?

JON RAHM: No, I don't think it's fair.

Q. Have you ever liked it?

JON RAHM: I don't like that at all. No. I think you have the Playoffs itself and win the first two, and if you don't play good on the last one, you don't -- you can end up with a really bad finish.

I don't like it. I understand the system, and the way I was told by one of the PGA TOUR officials, I'm a Patriots fan, and the Patriots win the Super Bowl -- win everything, and get to the Super Bowl and they don't win the Super Bowl, you don't win the Lombardi Trophy, right. My answer was, they still finished second.

They have to understand golf is a little different.

Q. What was their answer to your answer?

JON RAHM: At the end of the day you could win 15 events, including both Playoffs events, and you have a two-shot lead. I understand it's for TV purposes and excitement and just making it more of a winner-take-all, and they give you a two-shot advantage, but over four days that can be gone in two holes, right.

I don't know what system is best. I do like going to East Lake with this new one in the sense of knowing where you stand and what you have to do. You know, the years prior, so many different combinations of what could happen. It was kind of hard to get your head focused on one thing, right. But I do think -- you know, I don't think it's a fair system in that sense now, but it's the one we have and it's what we've got to deal with.

Q. How important is winning that trophy to you?

JON RAHM: It's important. The FedExCup has been a thing ever since I really can remember. It's a trophy that a very select group of people are going to be able to put their name in. It's one of those kind of like in majors and great events like THE PLAYERS to where we are called upon and you have to show up and play good, and that's what you have to do.

Hopefully you get there ranked high enough to not have to make up that big of a difference, but you know what you've got to do and what you're playing for, and I think that's what makes it so exciting.