Following his sensational round of 62 strokes that places him as co-leader of the classification in the LIV Golf Jeddah, Jon Rahm analysed for the media the keys to his good game this Friday, his opinion on the course of the King Abdullah Economic City where he had never competed before and, above all, his experience playing team golf, something he had been doing all his life until he turned professional and that, until his jump to LIV Golf, he had only been able to enjoy again during his appearances in the Ryder Cup.
Assessment of his round: “Very, very good day. I managed it very well. I did very well, except for a tee shot on the 12th, where I even ended up in a good place. When you make 62 strokes without bogeys, there’s not much that has gone wrong. I played to the right places and had opportunities. The key to this low result were the three long putts I made. One long one on the 6th, one long one on the 16th, and perhaps a medium to long one on the last, on the 2nd, to finish the day. That obviously improved the result a bit, but overall it was very good. Within three metres, I made almost all the putts I took, so that’s always going to be good. I hope to continue playing as well as I have so far and keep making strokes”.
His first time at Royal Greens: “Like everything, there are going to be some points where when you’ve played a couple more times, a couple of situations, wind differences, you’re going to have more experience, but it’s not a golf course that’s very complicated from tee to green. It’s very much in front of you. You know where you have to go. You just have to hit good shots. I think my record when I play tournaments for the first time has been quite good for some reason. Sometimes, not knowing is a blessing”.
“I think my record when I play tournaments for the first time has been quite good for some reason”
Great atmosphere in his group with Niemann and Mickelson: “Yes, I think we were 19 under as a group. When you see your competitors, your playing partners hitting good shots after good shots, even on the par threes or on holes where you’re in a similar situation, you see them go first and hit good shots, it’s always going to feed the rest of the group. You keep seeing the ball go in. I feel it’s such a positive vibe that it shows. It makes you play a little better. Also, it’s great to play with Joaquín, and Phil and I have played many rounds of golf together, and being with him again on the golf course was a lot of fun. I could say that today I had a lot of things in my favour to make a good round”.
The pressure as captain of Legion XIII: “To say that I don’t have much experience in team sports is not… That’s not true. I’ve been part of teams all my life. Growing up, the way you basically get into golf in Spain, is always through teams. First maybe it would be my province’s team, and then you become your state’s team and then the national team and then in college. I’ve been part of a team all my life. They are some of the most rewarding memories I have on the golf course. That’s why I don’t think it was such a hard transition in that sense, because I’ve been part of… more than four years of college golf. I think when I turned professional, it was the first time I wasn’t part of a team. It’s something I enjoy. I don’t feel the pressure to go out there and lead, but if I’m not having my best day and I see my teammates doing well, it definitely helps you in a different way to play a little better if necessary”.
“I’ve been part of teams all my life, growing up, the way you get into golf in Spain is always through teams”
The incredible finish on hole 18: “It’s funny because after the tee shot I told Adam, we can make four the traditional way, and when I did, he told me, that wasn’t the traditional way. I told him, in any case it’s the Spanish way. From problem to problem, good shot, make the putt. I hit it to the left. I thought about going to the green, but I didn’t have a good position, and I got a great flight on the… I was 220 yards from that bunker, trying to hit with an 8 iron, and it never came down. Then, from the bunker, luckily, I made a good shot. It wasn’t the hardest shot in the world. I didn’t expect it to go left of the flag. But in terms of distance, it was a good number and a good ‘lie’. It wasn’t the hardest with the conditions we had today, but obviously you have to hit it. You have to fight for the result in every shot, in every situation. I certainly didn’t shy away from trying to make a birdie, that’s for sure”.
A desert course coming from Arizona: “It’s not the same. On most of the courses we play there, once you get off the grass, you’re on the rocks. So the ball is not really playable many times. It’s a bit different, and also the type of grass is different. Do I feel comfortable with the slightly dustier aspect and the heat? Yes. It’s not far from what Arizona is. But the golf course itself is very different from what we would see. But it’s like what Joaco said; it’s a fantastic golf course where you need to hit quality shots, and if you’re aggressive and you get it, you can get a score, and that’s what we did today”.
“This is a fantastic golf course where you need quality shots and to be aggressive to get a good result”
The strategy to follow: “Strategy, keep executing the shots as you see them. There’s no elaborate answer to that. It’s just keep playing good golf. You have to stay aggressive and give yourself many opportunities. It’s a golf course that allows you to be aggressive, and I think if you try to tone it down a bit, it’s hard to score on it. I think you can see with us two, Niemann and I, every opportunity we could, the driver was in our hands, hit it as close as possible to the green and give yourself a wedge because that’s how you can attack this golf course. If the wind picks up, the scores will be a bit lower, but it doesn’t really change in that sense”.
Message to his teammates: “We’re all adults. They can take care of themselves. When they play so well, I have nothing to say to them. Everyone on the team is very competitive. If there’s anything I have to say, it’s to keep fighting. Every shot counts. Whatever happens, keep trying to score, especially on Sunday, when every point really counts. Never give up and stay strong because we’ve all been playing well, and Kieran is playing very good golf, he’s just not there yet, and I think at some point it’s going to click and he’s going to make a low score. When things are going so well, there’s not much I should say, I think. Just let them do what they have to do”.
