LIV GOLF ANDALUCíA

July 12, 2025

Jon Rahm

Real Club Valderrama

Legion XIII

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Jon Rahm, captain of Legion XIII. 1-under par round of 70, currently tied for fourth. Talk us through your round today. Which parts of your game felt strongest out there?

JON RAHM: Really good round of golf in general. Everything was good. Even the putts I didn't make, they felt good. It was just short. I just didn't quite get them to the hole. Had better speed, obviously a couple of those might have gone in, and it would have been a different day. It's just such a tricky golf course, and it got windier as the day went on. It's just never easy.

Not that I'm surprised, but a little bit at some of the scores at 7-under, 5-under. Is it doable? Yes. But you need to play really good golf, which is obviously what they did.

Q. The crowds were behind you today. How nice were some of the interactions with the fans out there? Can you share what it means to you?

JON RAHM: It means the world. It also feels a little heavier on you when you make mistakes or don't take advantage of the ones that could have been. I'm not only upset for myself but I'm a little bit upset for them as well that I'm not going to have a better chance tomorrow.

But I always like to think that things tend to even out throughout the week, and I'm hoping that those that I haven't made today go in tomorrow.

Q. Last year Sergio came back from seven strokes down. Is that pretty much an indication that no lead is really safe out here?

JON RAHM: Yes. The course is playing trickier than I'm assuming it's going to tomorrow. The greens were a little firmer. It was a windy Sunday as well.

Yeah, in my case I'm going to have to do the same thing. I'm going to have to shoot 4- to 6-under and need a little help from the people ahead of me.

It's doable. It's doable. But you need a combination. You need to go out there and shoot very low, which is probably the hardest thing. It's a lot easier to expect them to shoot 1- or 2-over. It's a different thing to go out there and shoot 5-under, and it's a tough course. But I am playing good enough. I feel like I played good enough today to give myself a chance to shoot a score like that, so hopefully I can do it again.

Q. It feels like you were just a hair's breadth away from a perfect round. That's the feeling from the outside.

I don't know if you feel the same way.

JON RAHM: Yes, it's exactly the same.

I played very, very well. I took advantage of the shots I missed. As a general rule, I took advantage very well today. And that gives me options to make birdies and save pars. Except for the last hole, which was a bit unlucky.

But yeah.

It's very, very close, just like yesterday.

It's such a difficult course that you have to play very well just to give yourself that chance.

And he plays very well. Let's see if I can do the same tomorrow from tee to green and sink a couple of putts at the beginning and who knows. Give me a chance to finish at the end.

Q. Jon, I don't know if you feel the same way, but again, it seemed like you were there, you were there, you were there, you were getting closer, you were very close to the leader. And then you had two setbacks, especially on the 17th hole and also on the 2nd hole. I don't know if you have that feeling this season and you're a little tired of those things happening.

JON RAHM: Well, yes, because I'm playing well and it's like every time I get close, they don't quite come out right.

That's the truth.

On 17, I could say that I felt like I played it twice and didn't miss a shot. And they say that I ended up a little bit screwed both times, but that's golf, I was lucky on the first one and it's enough to enjoy dinner a little more. That's how it is.

I also don't know if I expected anyone, one of the leaders, to go -5, to be honest, and he's had a normal round and is still at 4 or 5, I'm there. But he's had a great day of golf and he still has 18 holes to go, right?

In any tournament played at Valderrama, at some point you're going to suffer. If the game goes well tomorrow, well done, then congratulations, but let's see if I can play that well, start strong and get close in those first nine, to have a chance in the second nine.

Q. Hi Jon. We saw a spectacular birdie at the 6th with a magnificent first shot. What was your perspective?

JON RAHM: Yes, a great shot, honestly. I think it was about 144 meters. I was lucky enough to see Paul's ball first, knowing that the wind was going to affect it much more from right to left than it looked, because on that tee between the trees you don't realize how exposed you are to the wind on that shot. And that helped me a lot. A 9-iron, nice and soft, which came out perfect here, to be honest.

I hit a ball close for birdie on the hole and, above all, it's a gift and I'm very happy and well, let's see if I can get another good shot tomorrow. I don't know, but I hope it's another good one.

Q. Jon, as you said today, it's the kind of day that you might see next week with more distance if you analyze the whole day and give more credit to the mistakes you might have made today because of the details you missed. But ultimately, everything is still in play for tomorrow. Right?

JON RAHM: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. And in the heat of the moment, having just finished, missing the putt on the first and the bogey on the second, I'm going to be more disappointed. But the truth is that I've done 1-under and it's been a great day of golf 95 percent of the time and I've hit some very good putts and it's not like I was close. I was a certain distance away and I just missed by a hair. The winds were a little slower. It didn't cost me much. Maybe there are a couple of short putts that I'm going to blame myself a little more than the rest, but I'd say two or three.

The whole day was a great day of golf. If you take away two results, shooting -1 is very, very good.

Q. Hi Jon. You've already answered and said that we know that at Valderrama, a difference like the one you made at this point can vary with a good round from you. But the difference becomes a little bigger, knowing that Gooch has already won here at Valderrama. Or is the impression the same?

JON RAHM: It's the same. Anyone can have a bad day. At the end of the day, Talor's style of play and the type of ball he has is good for Valderrama.

He has a lot of quality to be able to keep that ball very flat. Low ball, on the draw and on the fade, which is what you need here in the headwind. With the greens, "A little softer" with the wind behind you, you don't need to adjust anything. So it's not that no one is comfortable, or that anyone is comfortable here, but obviously knowing that he's already won, and he's playing well, he's someone who -- well, what good options does he have?

Anyway, it's the same thing. I played with Cristian too, I also shot a 5- or 6- that year, and let's see if you can cut the distance in half in nine holes. It's not that much, and if I end up making a couple of birdies if I play the first nine well, and with a couple of bad swings, it changes a lot. It's possible, yes.

But it's a bit like I said before. It's harder to make a few tomorrow than it is for him to make one or two more.

Thank you very much.