MEN'S OLYMPIC GOLF COMPETITION

August 4, 2024

Jon Rahm

Le Golf National

Quick Quotes

Q. How are you feeling today?

JON RAHM: I don't remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this -- I don't know what the word is because, you know, I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it's a lot more painful than I would like it to be.

I've gotten the question, where this tournament would rank in my opinion or what I would think it would feel like to win, and I think by losing today, I'm getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal, right.

I'm getting a taste of how much it really mattered. I've been very honoured to represent Spain in many, many different events, and to not get this one done stings quite a bit.

Q. What went wrong for you? A bit of everything?

JON RAHM: Yeah, I think a little bit. 11 and 12, to be honest, the more I think about it is just things that can happen in golf. It's not like it was terrible. You know, it was a lot more wind than we can feel on 11, that's why it went long played five long and ended up being 10 long. Hit a good putt but misread it.

The three-putt situation has been an issue the whole week. I think I three-putted pretty much every day and this is not something I'm used to. I think I had three, four, five, six 3-putts for the week and that's way too many.

The main mistake is the third shot on 14. Once I missed the fairway, which can't happen because it's a tough tee shot to hit, you know, put a lay up -- it was a good lay up, I can't do what I did on the third shot. Can't go left. 8-iron, 162 metres, I believe. Trying to take long out of play and knowing that short right is fine. Yeah, can't go left of that green, right, and ended up in a terrible lie. Ended up paying the price for compounding mistakes on that hole.

Q. I'm not sure how many leaderboards were out there but coming off 14 green, I'm sure it's kind of a shock to the system, how hard was it? Did you know your position on that part? Was it hard to get your mind back to where --

JON RAHM: I kind of put myself in the attack for a second. I told Adam, we told ourselves, four 3s have a chance and try to get myself a chance on 15, and made a great player on 16 and saw I needed two more to tie Scottie. It doesn't feel like I made that bad of swings. It's just that hard of golf course. It's just that simple.

On 18, it's just unfortunate I couldn't really give myself a better chance to take Hideki into a playoff.

The mistake was done early. I was 20 yards away on 11 tee and let it slip away. I did it myself. What it represents and what it could have been for Spain is what makes it more painful.

Q. Is it a different kind of pressure, perhaps, than compared to a major? I'm not saying more or less.

JON RAHM: Not while you're competing, no. It's just afterwards, the feeling of the afterwards is a little different, yeah.

Q. Do you find yourself, even if you don't get a chance to win, you finds yourself conscious of second or third?

JON RAHM: Oh, a hundred per cent. A hundred per cent, yeah.

I mean, Tommy had bogeyed -- knowing he made bogey, if I made that putt on 17, which still, I hit a good putt. I know it looks -- they look like mistakes on the board but it just doesn't feel as bad as it looked on the last few holes, which is probably where I'm going to have to learn about what happened today.

But make that putt, I'm at 17, who knows. I put that ball on 18, it 8-iron, it's a doable pin. I could have given myself a chance to tie Tommy for Silver. Not as sharp as I would have liked it to be.

Q. At any point were you surprised to see Scottie doing what he's doing?

JON RAHM: Yeah, I mean, 9-under is a joke of a round out here. To see two of them this week is pretty impressive.

Not surprising at this point that Scottie is doing any of that. Yeah, at one point, there's a couple of us. Rory was at 17. There's a bunch of people at 17. Everybody was going low. With the wind conditions we had, it was very blowy, you can do it. But the second you miss a golf shot, this golf course is going to make you pay the tries.

Q. Did you ever imagine a tournament where you make no money would mean that much?

JON RAHM: A hundred per cent. Two of the most meaningful weeks in my career is two events where we make no money. And I've said that a million times, and I'll say it again because the Ryder Cup and this one are up there.

Q. Has the Olympics moved into that category?

JON RAHM: It's different to the Ryder Cup. It's different. It's not a major either. But I feel like it's almost the ultimate prize representing your country. And yeah, I mean, that's what makes it so special.

Q. What do you take away from the week?

JON RAHM: Maybe a little too early to think about that right now. Played in really good golf. At one point between Friday and the front nine today, probably about as good as I've played since early last year.

So that's a massive positive to think about going towards the end of the season in LIV. I would have liked it play that good earlier in the year but it's nice to on a fourth week in a row to putt up that performance. It's too bad I couldn't finish it off.