PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 17, 2026

Jon Rahm

Aronimink Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Jon Rahm is with us at the 108th PGA Championship.

Q. What do you take out of today, this round, and just your general reflections on how the day went.

JON RAHM: I played really good golf. That's the only way to look at it. Just wish I'd have done better with the speed of the greens. Just couldn't seem to get it to the hole, and that's the reason why I didn't hole any more putts.

Even though, even so, what Aaron did today, catching him could have been very difficult. I don't know if could happen, but I would have liked a better chance playing the last two holes. I feel like I was still close on that play 16 until he made that long putt.

As far as I'm concerned, to be in the mix again and hit it as good as I did and perform as well as I did this weekend, it's been a great week. Four rounds and a par, even par, can't really ask too much more of myself. Just maybe obviously hole in a few more putts, which is not an easy task over here on these greens.

Q. Was there a moment or a shot out there that you thought was particularly pivotal, maybe even early on, especially maybe after those first two birdies? Maybe the shot at 3 or maybe at 7.

JON RAHM: I mean, 7, it was a wind change on 7. It was supposed to be a pretty straight in, especially how we played 5 and 6. When I hit it, it switched to quite a bit more left to right. That's why that tee shot ended up so far right. It wasn't my best swing but still shouldn't have been that far there. That was just unlucky.

3, yeah, I wasn't trying to go at the pin. I was trying to land it five to seven yards short and two to three left of it. So pushing a wedge shot five, six yards right, perhaps I gave the wind too much credit, but that's something that I could have done better.

But pivotal -- I mean, I was too close. All of the back nine, if there's anything, maybe the chip shot on 13. It's just with this setup and this pin location, it's not like you can be overly aggressive. Yeah, you want to hit it close, but the second you go a foot past the pin, most of the time you can end up off the green fast.

I would say the chip shot on 13, but again, I would have needed more than just one today too to have a chance.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Aaron Rai, what you know about him and what he did today.

JON RAHM: I haven't spent a lot of time with him. But I have heard consistently there's very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai. Anybody that wears or uses head covers in his irons because he coveted his irons when he was a kid so much that he wanted to respect the equipment so much, and to still do it? Yeah, exactly, he's still doing it shows a lot about a person.

I have heard absolutely nothing but good or great things about Aaron Rai. He's been playing great golf. He's a fantastic golfer. He's been able to perform really well. What he did today is nothing short of special.

Q. You mentioned at the Masters, you said definitely, there's some things I'm going to change preparation-wise, maybe in the lead-up to majors. Did any of that come into play for you in the lead-up to this tournament?

JON RAHM: Yes.

Q. Could you share at all what those might be?

JON RAHM: No. I think you guys always think it's going to be something life changing. It's just small, little details that, unless you're within, you're not really going to understand. It's hard to explain.

Q. What did you feel coming in, I guess, is a better way to put it?

JON RAHM: What did I feel coming in?

Q. What did you feel coming into this tournament?

JON RAHM: Well, most of Monday and Tuesday, I spent thinking what was wrong with me because everybody was saying we were going to shoot 15-to 20-under here, and I didn't see any chance in the world of that happening. 9 and 6 is still lower than what I expected.

No, I mean, obviously I performed well last week. I did really well in Mexico. After the Masters I've been playing good. I just -- when the pressure is the highest in majors, some of those things you're working on, those weak links can damage the foundation, right?

Just happy that all those things I felt like I could have done better at Augusta ended up working out this week.

Q. Aside from Aaron, the low scores today were early. It looked like there might be a lot more. Was there something about the course? Did it firm up? Were the pin placements that difficult that when you're trying to win, it just becomes too dicey? Any thoughts on why it was so much harder?

JON RAHM: I think it got quite a bit firmer. Shots that maybe in the morning are a little easier to stop on greens, in the afternoon, especially towards the end, it becomes a little trickier.

That combined with the greens getting a little bit slicker, it just becomes a little bit more difficult. Even though towards the end the wind did -- not die down, but it wasn't as much as it's been the last few days.

I would say, again, the topic of all week has been the course setup, where the pin positions are placed, where they just managed to tuck them just enough to where, even if you hit a good shot, still makes you think. With the firmness and dryness, the moisture going away, fairways are harder to hit. Then it's even harder to hit it close to the pin.

Even more credit to Aaron. With three bogeys to shoot 5-under today is quite remarkable.

Q. I'm always curious for anyone in your position kind of what you -- what it feels like, I guess. Like you said, the putts aren't falling and you start to see Aaron got to 7, Aaron got to 8, and you realize it's not going to quite break your way?

JON RAHM: Still very hopeful until 16, and I'm still hoping that, if I made the bunker shot at 7, I had a chance. That was the plan. Again, it's one of those plans where I can't be too brave because, if I hit it past the pin, then I'm off the green, and there goes the chance of birdie, right?

Never lost hope. Even at the end, listen, once he got there, you're still trying to finish as strong as possible. 17 is not the easiest hole to make a score on. Yeah, I had a lot of hope up until that happened on 16. Obviously I wished I'd have made birdie on 13 and 15 because I had really good chances.

Again, it's just one of those things that he just went and did it, which is not easy to do.

Q. What do you feel you need to tidy up to get across the line this season?

JON RAHM: Across the line, I'm assuming you mean in majors? Okay. The margin, even though it's three shots, it can be so small honestly. I feel like I'm playing really good golf and definitely played good enough this week to give myself a chance to win. So keep doing what I've been doing well.

I still need to give myself some time to think about what I could have done better this week. Right now I'm really still fresh on just today, but I did miss two putts from about four feet yesterday. So that's two shots right there. It's easy to focus on today because I'm sure I can find three shots that in the length of the week could have been better.

I still need to assess the entire week to be able to pick and choose what I need to change or what I need to improve on.