LIV GOLF LAS VEGAS

February 9, 2024

Bryson DeChambeau

Jon Rahm

Las Vegas Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome the captain of Crushers GC, Bryson DeChambeau, and the captain of Legion XIII, Jon Rahm. Welcome, guys. Bryson, you shot 8-under 62. You're currently tied for the lead with Dustin Johnson. Tell us a little bit about your day.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I got off to a hot start. Very pleased with the way I played. Wedging felt a little off. I putted well and drove it pretty well for the most part and just got to tidy up some things for tomorrow.

Q. Jon, you had a bogey-free 7-under 63 today. Tell us about your round.

JON RAHM: It was a very good day, very organized day I would say. I drove it really well. When you have a traditional golf course like this one, it might not be the longest, but it is pretty narrow. If you can put those drives in the fairway, you're definitely going to give yourself a few birdie chances, like I feel like I did today. I gave myself a ton of looks. Even though I missed a few, which obviously I'd say you might miss a few, I still ended shooting a very low score. So very pleased, and hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow, as well.

Q. You're only two shots off the lead. It seems like the way this course plays that that's gettable for you.

JON RAHM: Yeah. I mean, two shots is gettable anywhere. Could be one simple hole and you're back at it.

I'm going to need a low one tomorrow. Bryson, Dustin or somebody else at 8- or 9-under is most likely going to come in and shoot somewhat similar to what we shot today. We're going to need to post something not extremely low but a low round, as well, to end up with the win. Unless it's a windy day, it's a golf course that somebody is going to come out and play good and make birdies.

Q. Bryson, you are tied for the lead with Dustin. You're probably going to be in this marquee group tomorrow with Dustin and Jon. Does that provide a bit of extra motivation or a little bit of extra pressure?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, they're always great guys to play with. It's a lot of fun anytime you get to play with the best players in the world and go head-to-head against each other. It's more of a sprint to the finish now, and with a lot of birdie holes out there, it's going to be exciting. A lot of fireworks.

Q. What's your strategy going into tomorrow to try to break away from the pack?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I've got to get my wedging better and drive it a little bit better, and if I can do that, I'll be attacking every hole.

Q. Are we going to see you on the range in a little bit?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Not at all. You're never going to see me on the range.

Q. You called it a weird day, a suboptimal day. 62?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It was the weirdest 62 I've ever had.

Q. Why is that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, usually when you're playing well, you'll finish it off and you'll shoot 62, even if you make a bogey on the last hole to shoot 62 or whatnot. But I had five straight holes where they were all gettable, and I was at 8-under par, and I was like, I could easily go 59, 58. If I play perfect golf, it's 57.

I was even thinking that on 15. I was like counting the holes, and I birdied 15, birdied 16, then I just got a little uncomfortable with the driver. I don't know why. Then just didn't wedge it close enough and didn't go my way on that -- I lipped out a 30-footer on the last, so it was kind of weird.

It was just weird; it was like, oh, it's going to happen. Nope. No, it's not. It was a good chance for --

JON RAHM: Hang in there, bud.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Thanks, appreciate it. Thanks for the sentiment.

Q. Jon, obviously this is just your second LIV event, but you guys are going to be in a marquee group tomorrow. Is this kind of what you thought it would be? You guys are the best in the world in the final group in the final round?

JON RAHM: I think it's what everybody wants to see. It's always a little bit better for a player when you win and you know you actually had to compete against the best in the world at their best. There's no better feeling.

As much as we enjoy it, the spectators will enjoy it more. It's what everybody wants to see. You want to see the best at their best, and may the best win.

Q. You alluded to it earlier, but I think it is supposed to be somewhat windy tomorrow. How much will that impact the game plan and affect how you might attack the course a little bit?

JON RAHM: Just like Bryson, I go out with no game plan at all. In my case, it's get to the tee, see where the pin is, and from there backtrack to see what's the best scenario for me to make a birdie. When it gets a little windy out here, your margins of error are not very big out here.

The greens are small. It's small corners of the green to give yourself the easiest putts. That's why yesterday you saw a couple low scores but a lot of average scores. I feel like Bryson, Brooks and I didn't play great, didn't play our worst. But it just complicates itself a little bit more.

I think the wind, if it becomes a little bit unpredictable, which can happen with the trees, it can be a little bit more difficult, but even then, you're still going to need a low one. Like I said, somebody is going to come out here, hit it good and make birdies either way.

Q. I was curious, the adjustment to playing 54 holes is new to you. You're two rounds in, yet you're sprinting to the finish tomorrow. How is that working out for you?

JON RAHM: Honestly, I forget it's 54 holes.

Q. It's just a final round --

JON RAHM: Up until you mentioned it, I completely forget. It's just competition. You go out there, shoot the lowest you can, and that's it. That's all I can say.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: You know tomorrow is the final day.

JON RAHM: Yeah, it really doesn't make a difference. I remember people telling me, oh, you have to start out hot; the average score of the winner is 5-under. I'm like, well, three days shoot as low as you can. That's about it.

Last week I forgot we played three days until somebody mentioned it afterwards, and if you hadn't said anything right now, I completely would have forgotten, as well.

Q. Is there less margin for error playing just three rounds?

JON RAHM: I don't know. That's a question for --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, there is. You can't make a triple right off the bat. It puts you behind the 8-ball out here, and it's difficult to get it back. You can get on runs and whatnot, but in order to win, you've got to shoot low pretty much every day or play some of the best golf every single day you can. If you don't, you're going to be behind the 8-ball.

JON RAHM: I feel like if you played college golf, though, you have some experience with 54-hole days. Four years of college golf, I feel like you don't forget all of that.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Caleb knows it well.

JON RAHM: Caleb, same for him.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It was just a couple weeks ago.

JON RAHM: He'll actually have more room now on the range than they probably did in college.

Q. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the Las Vegas Country Club now that you've played it for two days?

JON RAHM: I'm going to go with what a lot of people told me. Just very pure greens. Even with the amount of rain they had early this week, the greens are fantastic.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think they're tricky, as well. They're in great condition, but they're very tricky. There's a little bit of grain in them, which makes it unique and difficult, and I don't think that's why a lot of scores are super low out here. As short as it is, it's still not easy to make putts and play well here. It's very tight. But I certainly like the golf course. I know there's some good history here, too.

Q. What are you expecting from the atmosphere tomorrow? Obviously the party hole, Saturday, Las Vegas, in a marquee group.

JON RAHM: I kind of wish the party hole was later in the round. It's the 8th hole so you kind of get over it very quickly. If that was the 17th hole, it would be quite special.

But I think the atmosphere will be good. Hopefully the weather, it feels as warm as it did today, and all the people that are coming for the Super Bowl decide to have a little bit of extra energy a day early to actually come here and show it because it has the potential to be a fantastic Saturday.