LIV GOLF CHICAGO

September 13, 2024

Joaquin Niemann

Jon Rahm

Bolingbrook Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Joaco, a round of 68 on a golf course that's getting more and more difficult. How would you assess your round today?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I mean, really nice course. It's playing pretty good right now. It's playing tough. Just seeing Brooks' round today was pretty impressive. It's going to be a good test for the rest of the week.

Q. Jon, only one bogey today but only two birdies. Was it a case that perhaps you just didn't give yourself enough good looks?

JON RAHM: I think it's one of those days where my score is better than how I played today. It wasn't my best by any stretch, and I had some really good up-and-downs. I think it was 1, 3 and 12 to make pars, tap-in pars to keep the round going.

But yeah, it's tricky. I know you see one 8-under, but the rest of the scores are not that easy. With the fairways as bouncy as they are, I don't recall ever playing fairways like this, short of being on a dry links golf course. It's a tricky golf course, and with the wind added, it's not the easiest to shoot low when you're not feeling your best. But we've got two more days. Hopefully we'll keep it going and get a little bit better every day.

Q. With the par putt on the last day, Joaco, it looks like you're probably not going to be playing with Jon tomorrow. Do you prefer that or do you prefer to be seeing what he's doing at the same time?

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: No, it's always nice to play with Jon. I'm going to miss him. But no, we had a few rounds together. I enjoyed playing with him. It's one of those, maybe on Sunday we might get together.

Q. Jon, you're expecting your third child imminently. Did you find your mind wandering when you were out there playing?

JON RAHM: No. Third time around. They've always been around tournament play. They've never come in the off-season.

I'll consider myself a seasoned veteran at this point of playing with the possibility of hitting the exit button mid-round. It's just life at that point; nothing you can control. I've got to go and play golf, and if at some point they tell me it's time to go, then I'm gone. But I can't be thinking about that.

Now after the round I can start thinking about it and call them and see how it's going, but it's all business until I get told that I need to go.