LIV GOLF MEXICO CITY

April 16, 2026

Jon Rahm

Club de Golf Chapultepec

Legion XIII

Press Conference

Q. Welcome, Jon. 6-under par, tied for second place. This is a course where you’ve competed several times and usually have very good results. What do you like about the Chapultepec Golf Club?

JON RAHM: Aside from the altitude affecting how the ball flies, I’m somewhat familiar with the greens. The putting surface, it’s the same one I grew up with. It tends to be tricky. These are greens that might roll a bit differently from time to time. Knowing what to expect is part of golf. I think that helps me in that regard. Right? Being comfortable with that, and then the fact that, like at the Larrabea Golf Club, where I grew up in northern Spain in the Basque Country, there aren’t flat courses with straight shots and standard stances. It’s always a bit of a challenge; there’s always some kind of dogleg, right? That’s what I’m used to, and every time I come here, I feel a certain familiarity. I think that’s why I’ve played so well.

Q. There was a lot of talk this week, aside from the tournament, that LIV Golf might be facing financial problems. I just spoke with Scott O’Neil, and he says LIV Golf has absolutely nothing to worry about. And he also said that Mexico will be part of LIV Golf for many more years to come.

As golfers and players, how much did you think about all these rumors? How much did they distract you, or were you focused on your own game? Thank you.

JON RAHM: Until the people in charge told me whether the rumors were true or not. For me, it didn’t make sense to think about it or waste time thinking about it. We were here; we knew we were going to play, so the idea was to prepare for a tournament. And that’s it.

Since everything happened so suddenly and so quickly, I wasn’t very worried about it because normally, before the rumors start, we already know something. There’s always someone within the league who knows something; it happened so fast that I really didn’t worry about it.

Q. On the first hole, the kids were going crazy for you. Mexican fans love you; they adore you, but the best part is that you respond to that call. You approach them, sometimes you pat them on the head, and that makes them ecstatic. But above all, I think it’s a turning point; maybe many of them who admire you today want to be like you and follow in your footsteps. How do you feel about that?

JON RAHM: It’s a real honor. The truth is that every time I come to Mexico, it’s almost like when I play in Spain. I’m loved a lot, I’m cherished a lot, and having a Mexican in the group like Abraham, the support has been very strong.

Well, interacting with the kids at the first hole, before teeing off, yes. Once I’m playing the round, I try not to go out of my way too much. If they’re nearby and it works out for me, sure. But I try not to go out of my way too much just to shake a hand, you know? Because I still have to play. But before and after, I do try to give them that little bit of attention because you never know, right? That moment when I shake their hand or they see me, just saying hello might give them a memory that lasts a lifetime. I remember having memories like that when I was a kid and went to watch tournaments, and you never know when it might be the moment of inspiration that helps someone or motivates someone to reach the top, right?

There are good days. There are bad days. There are days when it’s easier to do than others, but whenever I can, I obviously try to make time for them.

Q. Rahmbo, out of the seven birdies you had, which one did you like the most? Which one did you enjoy the most from the tee to the hole?

JON RAHM: All seven.

Q. What was the shot of the day?

JON RAHM: The shot of the day... honestly, I played very cleanly. I got a little lucky on the 15th where I missed left and had a shot to the green. That second shot was probably from the trees. Being stuck there, getting it on the green would be great, right? And leaving it three meters for a birdie was fantastic, even though I didn’t make it. That shot saved me at least half a stroke on that hole, right?

But in terms of a good swing, a good shot would be among the wedges I hit on the 17th and the 11th, or the drive on the 17th.

Q. What do you hit from 150 yards?

JON RAHM: It depends on the wind, either a pitching wedge or a 9-iron. Here at this altitude, much less. At this altitude, 150 yards would be about 20 yards less, so 130. There, it would definitely be a sand wedge.

Q. Jon, normally I would think after a major, you might want some time to decompress, but given what happened last week, were you kind of glad to kind of get back on the horse a little bit this week?

JON RAHM: Honestly, sometimes after having a bad week and kind of understanding what I did wrong, I'd almost rather have a week after so I can get back at it again as fast as possible and prove myself wrong or right, however you want to look at it.

I was happy that we were playing this week for sure, and that's it. On Sunday I had a really good round, I had some good feels. So I wanted to hopefully keep that going, and I'm glad that I did.

Q. You have your parents out here. You had them out last week too. After a round, do you talk to them about actually golf?

JON RAHM: No. My dad might ask me a few things here and there. My mom, absolutely not. She would not care a single second about what I did on the golf course, which is nice, it's refreshing.

It's also very nice to have them here. I hadn't seen them in a little bit longer than I would have liked. They were here last week. They're obviously here this week, and they're going to be with me through the PGA. It's always nice to be around family. It's always nice to watch them play with their grandkids. Just a lot of good vibes in general in that sense.

Again, having family and other people around to disconnect after rounds is great.

Q. Obviously we had elevation in Riyadh and in South Africa. Do you feel like, though, this is a different level of elevation?

JON RAHM: Massively, yeah. Riyadh is very similar to Phoenix, altitude-wise. I just play however it goes in Phoenix, plus or minus temperature.

This one, this one it's a whole different animal, even with South Africa. The distances that you're playing here, it's so absurd that I learned quickly for Adam to not tell me the original number unless you're really close to the green because, if you start doing the math -- I think the 1st hole is 330 -- or the 2nd hole right here, plays down 10, then you do the 15 percent, I'm hitting 5-wood into the green into the wind.

You can't get caught up in that. So he gives me the actual number, and we play from there. Otherwise there's been times where I've told him, it's 240 yards, I can't hit a 7-iron. Hit a 6-iron and airmailed the green. Learned that fairly quickly and try not to get too caught up in how far the ball is actually going.

Actually, if I had to tell you the length of the holes, I would be so distorted because I never know the actual distance. Perfect example is 12, 620 yards into the wind, and I hit driver, 5-iron. Just because essentially it's playing, what is it, 90 yards shorter. It's just crazy.

Q. After the Masters, you said you kind of learned what not to do heading into a tournament. After kind of some time to reflect, can you share what you learned from that slow start?

JON RAHM: No.

Q. Even if you don't share it, can you --

JON RAHM: It's honestly so personal for each one, it's just -- there's not one little thing. There's a lot of things that I could have done better. It would be too complicated an answer to give you, to be honest.

Q. To follow up, did you employ any of those things that you learned this week to get off to a better start?

JON RAHM: Yeah, 100 percent.