LIV GOLF MEXICO CITY

April 17, 2026

Jon Rahm

Club de Golf Chapultepec

Legion XIII

Quick Quotes

Q. I wanted to start with the team. That was an incredible day by the team. You've got a 19-shot lead.

JON RAHM: I honestly was completely clueless until the end. It's still only Friday, so I'm not really looking at leaderboards unless I need some inspiration, which luckily I didn't need it today. I saw it on 18 when I had that tap-in for par, and to look up and see -- anytime you have to count and do some math to realize how many ahead you are, it's an amazing thing. I saw that Tom is 9-under, Tyrrell went to 7-under. I think Caleb had a little bit of a better day than yesterday, but he's no stranger to a strong finish.

I'm hoping we all keep playing to the same level, and come Sunday, the last few holes is not even a contest and we have a 20-some, 30-some-shot lead, that would be amazing. But you have to expect other teams are going to come in swinging and play good. So we still need to do what we've been doing and playing really good golf.

Q. Is there such a thing as horses for courses for an entire team?

JON RAHM: It could be. The greens were, for the most part, impossible you're going to hole less putts than others, or throughout the year. The ball-striking takes a premium. I would say statistically we are probably one of the better ball-striking teams. That's probably why we've done well in the past and why we're doing well now.

Q. From a personal standpoint, obviously chasing your second win of the season. It was an interesting round. You didn't seem very happy walking off 7 and then you found a ball in the water on 8.

JON RAHM: Well, it's one of those things in altitude; that 7th green is so soft and you have to try to hit something in there without spin, and that changes how far the ball flies. That's an example of what can happen here. 1 is downwind and the wind doesn't help it at all. The next shot is equally into the wind, and that ball went straight through the wind. Both good swings straight at the pin. It's kind of what I told Adam and he told me walking off the green on 8, he's like, I don't think you can make a better swing with a 7-iron. It was about as perfect as it was.

I was even par on that 9th tee, and I thought, well, if I hit a good tee shot on 9, I'm going to give myself a birdie chance. If I keep hitting good drives like I've been doing so far, I was going to give myself really good chances at 10, 11 and 12, so I think I told Adam, if we can get one or two before we get to the par-5s, I think we're in a good spot, and kind of took it that way.

I think early on it's just what can happen. It's not like they were bad swings. The three bogeys I made came from three good iron shots, just the number was off, and it is what it is.

Q. Going into the weekend, you're in such good form. Is it almost like you dial in in at any moment and it just will carry through the rest of the round?

JON RAHM: Well, I'm working on some things right now that I've been doing wrong with the swing and I definitely did last week, and some of those swings are still appearing, like the tee shot on 12 and the tee shot on 15. So still trying to work through things like that.

But I guess just try to take it one shot at a time; that's all you can do.

Q. Jon, you started with a bogey on the first hole. Then the ball landed in the water. But you finished as the leader. How would you describe the ups and downs of this round that has now put you in the lead?

JON RAHM: Well, it’s just golf. That’s golf for you. And maybe it’s a bit about playing at altitude. And on the first hole, not knowing if it’s firm or soft, and whether it’s going to be on the green. I hit a shot thinking it would be a bit firmer, and I was wrong. But that’s how you learn. And on to the next one.

I’m playing well; I feel just as good as I did yesterday. It’s a shame about a few shots—the second shot on the 7th. The shot on the 8th where I hit it into the water. The shot on the 18th—it’s a bit of the wind and the elevation, which makes it really tough to try sometimes.

Q. How do you stay calm when things don’t start going the way you want?

JON RAHM: Well, I usually get angry. First, I get angry. Then I remind myself that this happens to all of us, and there’s still a lot of golf left to play.

Q. Hey Jon, the mental aspect—how much does it factor into the flow of the game, the round?

JON RAHM: Well, in golf, at the end of the four and a half hours we’ve been out there today, the actual time spent taking shots isn’t that long. Maybe, I don’t know, an hour or so of that. The rest is “mental”—dealing with your thoughts.

Golf is one of those sports that’s mostly mental.

Q. From what I saw yesterday and today, people really support you and follow you closely. Does that influence how you feel on the course in any way?

JON RAHM: Well, support is always welcome. Having the crowd behind you, cheering you on whenever things aren’t going well, always helps. I really appreciate it.

Q. Especially the kids, right?

JON RAHM: The kids and the adults. Both, actually. I think the adults are really passionate, and I almost hear them more than the kids.

Q. Jon, yesterday you talked about how comfortable you feel on these greens. And the top 3 on the leaderboard are in the top ten in average putts. So, how important is it for you to be familiar with this type of grass?

JON RAHM: I don’t know if I’m completely comfortable, but I’m so familiar with it from growing up with bentgrass that I understand what’s going to happen. I understand that there are going to be putts where— —you do everything right and the ball rolls completely wrong. And that’s going to happen to all of us. And that doesn’t take away from how frustrating it really is. Right?

But then I realize that’s just part of it. And I think that, like everything else, when the ball rolls a little differently, a little weird, there’s surely been a putt I’ve made that on other days wouldn’t have gone in, but it did. You have to remember that both sides of it come with it.

Q. Jon, I wanted to ask you a bit more about the cultural aspect. The theme of being in a Latin American setting, the alebrijes. But you also see people cheering. Maybe you turn around and see mariachis. But right now we’re listening to cumbias, which is very typical of this region. What does that make you think of as golfers—Europeans in your case—but also many others from other countries?

JON RAHM: Well, it’s part of what makes LIV Golf so exciting, isn’t it? Being able to go to parts of the world we wouldn’t normally visit. And enjoying the local culture, the cuisine, the people, the traditions. Right?

I imagine that if you did a survey, very few people would know what an alebrije is. And those who know a little, like me, know it from the movie Coco. So, learning what it is and how people think in other parts of the world and how they live is very, very important. It’s part of what makes LIV Golf so exciting. (unclear).

Q. Continuing with the dream, is it true what they say? That Latinos—Mexicans, in this case—are like, well, better hosts. Warmer. You’ve been to Vallarta, you’ve been here. Is that true?

JON RAHM: From my experiences around the world, it’s very hard to match the level of hospitality that Mexico shows. Whether it’s here, whether it’s Mayakoba, whether it’s in Puerto Vallarta, whether it’s in Los Cabos. Surely there are many more places.

There are few places where we’re welcomed and treated as well as we are here. And that makes us want to come back and play in front of a crowd like this. And in front of volunteers and staff like the ones here.