U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2024

June 15, 2024

Aaron Rai

Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2)

Quick Quotes

Q. 2-under today. 1-over for the championship. How do you feel today?

AARON RAI: I feel pleased with how the day went. Tricky conditions. It was definitely a little windier today than it was in previous days. The course is firming up, as well.

Yeah, very pleased with the round. Anything level par or better is a great score, I think.

Q. Do you think with your 2-under round today you are in contention for this championship tomorrow?

AARON RAI: I think there's a long way to go. The leaders are just about to tee off. A lot can happen. We'll just have to see how things go once those guys finish.

I think, regardless of the situation, though, it's a course where you can't really press and step on the front foot too much. If there's a score out there, it comes to you rather than you trying to force it.

I think regardless of what the leaders do today, I'll try to approach tomorrow in a similar way.

Q. What was the difference between the first two days to today for you?

AARON RAI: Today felt pretty similar to how I played on the first day. I think the difference between today and yesterday was just being in position a little bit more off the tee. Gave me a little more control with the second shots into the greens. As a result, hit a few more greens.

Got the momentum going a little bit earlier today as well, whereas yesterday I got off to a pretty bad start. That kept the round moving nicely and kept the momentum going throughout the round.

Q. Can you expand on what happened on hole 13 with you guys.

AARON RAI: Yeah, it was a shame really. Neal hit a great drive. The pin's in a real tricky position there with it being front right. Hit a wedge shot, which looked good. Just spun back off the front of the green.

He went to play his third shot. Took the necessary precautions to kind of have his club further back behind the ball. Felt the lie was a little bit sketchy where the ball could move. Unfortunately it did move back.

Personally, I don't feel he caused the ball to move. I don't think it should have been a one-shot penalty. But the USGA officials deemed it to be that way. Unfortunate really.