Jon Rahm Press Conference | 2024 PGA Championship Pre-Tournament

Watch Jon Rahm’s pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. 

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Contested each May, the PGA Championship is the second major championship in golf’s annual rotation, and perennially features the strongest field in the men’s game based on the Official World Golf Rankings. Known for dramatic finishes and notable champions, the Wanamaker Trophy—which has been awarded to the winner since 1916—is inscribed with names such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.

The 2024 PGA Championship is set to take place between 13-19 May at Valhalla Golf Club. The reigning champion is Brooks Koepka.

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sorry let me let me let me adjust problem all right welcome back to the 106 PJ championship at Vahala Golf Club where John Rah is joining us John welcome to your eighth PGA Championship what are your impressions of the golf course so far God it’s it’s my eighth already uh uh very good I was playing the front n today when we got cold for for weather so I haven’t fully seen the front nine uh but so far great golf course um you know you get an idea of how a course may look like on TV and it’s uh you know it’s just as good if not better than than what I I saw on TV right obviously I know they’ve added a few te’s changed the grass and the fairways but uh it’s in incredible shape hopefully we don’t get too much water today and tomorrow and it can stay like this uh but uh it obviously presents a challenge um there’s been low scores in the past and I can see it because if you drive it well you can give yourself chances but uh it’s definitely a definitely enjoyable course out there in in a test that’s great thanks John we’ll open it up for questions going at Mike 1413 and 11 hey John uh I’m wondering what has sorry can you hear me here yeah I can hear you new employer uh I’m wondering what has changed uh about coming to the majors now that you have one under your belt the sorry what what has changed about coming to the majors now that you have a major under a new employer under your belt sorry I I’m not sure to understand what what you’re asking uh I’m curious I guess I’m curious to ask you like what is different about covering about coming to a major uh now that you are working for a new employer oh uh well it doesn’t really feel different uh obviously the the schedule has been a little a bit different to what we’ve played in the past but at the end of the day it’s this shouldn’t really be a difference right this is uh a lot of what we play for right is is this tournaments and uh and getting it done so it’s uh besides the the tournaments I’ve played and the different venues uh and the different flow to the schedule there really isn’t any other difference in that sense does it mess with your life schedule a little bit that you’ve just had a very different travel schedule this year than what you’re used to I mean not with my life no uh it changes a little bit yeah I mean I don’t think it was uh it’s it’s been a up until this point maybe a little bit less golf than what I’ve been used to in the past coming to this point in the schedule but from now on it’ll be very similar right so uh a couple longer flights but besides that it’s pretty much the same John as a golf pro who’s a dad what advice would would you give for Scotty shuffler no oh well I think we’re all very different as parents right so I mean so early on the one thing I learned this early on is that parents are very useless when it comes to the survival of the child because they don’t depend on us for for anything besides you know maybe rocking them to sleep and changing a diaper that’s about it because uh for everything else mom is the one that they need uh but I was just just say Obviously on the golf course do what you need to do and at home is at this point support your wife as much as possible Right U you obviously have to pick your your moments right you probably want to get some night sleep when you when you come back home and and recover but she probably needs a lot more rest than you do so I would say uh take a few of those sleepless nights for her and it’s also some of the best memories you’re ever going to have so uh try to enjoy it as much as possible hey John how’s it going um you were a little surprised to see how many PGA championships it has been for you now that you’re a veteran here you’ve been around the block I’m curious how your major championship preparation has evolved and changed over the years it’s it’s more the fact that I still consider myself quite young so to think that I’ve already played eight is uh is crazy uh I I think the preparation changes obviously the quite a bit because early on you don’t know quite what to expect it’s brand new the majors obviously an upscale to it any other event you play so uh I think in my case it was controlling how much I wanted to do right like I wanted to come out here and expend extra hours practicing extra hours doing this and and maybe even sometimes changing things that you didn’t need to change right uh took me a little bit to realize that maybe the week before I need to get the work done at home and then this week just enjoy it and feel like I’m prepared to play the tournament uh this also I believe a a before and after once you’ve won a major going to the next major knowing that you maybe don’t have the chip on your shoulder of not having one right so uh but I think in in my case at least was almost dialing back how much I wanted to do on those weeks eight and seven uh John um so I was I was curious um this is the uh largest uh corporate build when it comes to all the hospitality Suites around the greens as a golfer does that affect you like in terms of like ball placement or just seeing things when you have all these white tints everywhere does that does that you have toj make adjustments on the course when you there’s all these people you know hanging out in in spots that normally maybe wouldn’t uh you wouldn’t have people on a smaller smaller build of of Suites I think in some cases it helps uh if there’s a hole where you know it’s a little bit ambiguous what you see of the te it can give you some clarity that’s an example be St Andrews Al all these builds can help you where to hit it off the te when any other day you just have no idea where you’re going right so it can help you focus in on a couple different spots uh and then so the other way when The Stance are very big and the corporate is very big it can to an extent affect the wind a little bit so you just have to keep that in mind uh I think it was Phil who said uh and I’m going to trust him on this I don’t know if it was just what he was saying about it was about his 18th sh second shot on 18 at mirfield when he said he hit this perfect shot with the win left to right but the ball didn’t move the last few extra yards towards the pin uh because he forgot to account the grand stands that were there on The Fairway if you’ve seen those grand stands are pretty big so the ball doesn’t get affected by it up until it’s passed or at least above those grand stands which can usually be about 50% of the flight so uh it can affect it I mean we’re talking about an extreme case and in in that sense but um it can definitely affect a little bit and sometimes yeah I mean if the pin matches the color of the stance it’s hard because you can’t see it and it happens in a couple holes usually uh Phoenix Open on 10 has happened a few times where with all the crowd behind sitting on the hill the colors of the pin and the colors of the crowd is very difficult to differentiate one other uh but it happens so often not only this week it happens quite a bit gotta and you said this is your first time in in in Louisville um first yeah how what um How would what would you say that bajala is com like what what course does vajala remind you of it’s first time playing it uh I haven’t thought about that yet it’s it’s hard because there’s a difference between the front nine and the back nine so when I was going down 10 11 I did get a similar feel to Medina in some cases right you get the big trees it’s a big property right uh in a little bit also kind of like last year right it’s just more because of the size of the property the trees and and the way the golf course may play uh but it’s not always an exact comparison but but bat m is the one that that came to mind first thank you John just to uh follow up on your prep work did you do anything different coming into this week versus Augusta obviously you had a week off coming into this week versus the Masters back to raining uh well obviously is different since I I wasn’t I wasn’t playing well I think the prep always changes based on where you are physically with your swing and and the time of season how you how you’re feeling with your game and how you’re physically right so prep work can change a little bit I wouldn’t say maybe the drills I do on what I focusing on changes but the overall plan doesn’t really change I don’t know if that makes any sense up to 18 Follow by 17 John in line with that uh you talk about the physical work what when you’re in the middle of a run where you’re not getting the results that you want what kind of mental work do you do uh well it’s tough because it does it is in a sport but it can happen uh I think you need to assess what You’ have been doing right and and what state you’re in on on the work you’re putting in like it could be that you’re playing good golf and simply it’s just one maybe one shot around or one certain moment around where it’s maybe you taking you from having a great result to what you might consider not as greater result in that sense maybe you just need to trust the process right sometimes you just get a bad balance and it is what it is and just you have to keep fighting through it um this you know there also been times in my career where I would say maybe I wasn’t hitting at my best but seem to just things just seem to go your way and uh you carry that confidence on for a few months and and got a lot of great results right so it’s hard to say it’s hard to say and then if you’re not playing good if you’re not swinging and good then that point you maybe need to assess do I need to change anything technically what what’s going on right it could be so many different ways to to feel like you’re on the roadblock that it’s hard to exactly pinpoint one of them hey John uh as the rain comes down here I’m curious how much of an advantage do you think longer players like you will have this week at such a big ballpark like this uh how much of Advantage will be off the tea for you guys when it’s going to be these wet and softer conditions well I I listen hitting further is always an advantage right there a reason why almost generationally the longest of one of the longest players has been the best right Jack was the longest tiger was the longest Greg Norman was the longest uh Rory Dustin they’ve been the longest right so um there’s no surprise there right even seevi at his time was the longest I think the one that I can remember that maybe wasn’t the two that I can remember Ben Hogan and Nick falo that I can remember quickly I don’t mean to insult anybody right right uh maybe David dval wasn’t the longest but I don’t believe he was short either so uh it’s always going to be an advantage it’s just simple as that this it requires maybe a little bit less Precision in certain moments and just the ability to have a shorter Club anywhere anywhere it’s just that’s it I mean it’s it’s always going to make it a little easier I don’t think there’s any sport in which more power is detrimental right so uh it’s just obviously controlling it and using it properly and then to follow up on that I know the weather’s been pretty nice on for Live Events so far this year have you had much practice in inclement weather so far this year and how do you think your game’s going to shape up uh with conditions like this well grew up in Northern Spain where I think I saw more days than this than Sun so feel like I have plenty of experience in that in that area go next to 91 15 and 12 hey John um I think you might have answer this but um you were talking about trying to pinpoint the issues with your game fight through it um have you narrowed down the possibilities of of what’s going on with your game like do you feel like you’re closer right now I mean I don’t think my game is in any sort of issues I didn’t play good at austa but so far I haven’t missed the top 10 so I know it’s smaller Fields but I’ve been playing good golf it’s just the one major that I’ve played clearly wasn’t great uh have I played my best golf no but I do feel the last few weeks especially coming off Singapore um I felt you know made a couple tweaks that you wouldn’t be able to tell is just very minor things like it could be ball position small things that have been uh made my game be consistently much better even when I’m home and in general just feel more like the norm right a little normal so uh I I never never felt like I was far off and when I say I’m not playing my best just hadn’t had my aame for a week yet uh but I still I’ve been close to my aame and B+ multiple times so uh yeah I’m I’m comfortable how how we played this year thanks one John hi a ride a cup question if you don’t mind the DP Welter recently clarified that any suspensions you serve you get you can serve while playing still playing on the L golf so it sort of clears the way to to play as long as you pay any fines and playay and play for events just want to clarify with you are you always aware of this and have you plotted way the tournaments you can play the four tournaments so you can be eligible so yeah I just need to look into it obviously I’ve wanted to play in Spain I’ll need to talk to them about you know how we can figure it out so I can play some events uh obviously Kelly’s due date would affect what tournaments I can and cannot play so I think I’m kind of waiting on that a little bit to then be able to form a schedule it does come to a point where I might need to play Four events lateer in the year but uh you know that’s can’t really get in the way way of life in that sense right literally I mean it’s it’s our third child so I wouldn’t missed that for the world and if I have to play a little bit more in the fall I will but uh I based on that I can’t really tell you yet what I’ll be playing I don’t know the tournaments I would like to play but we’ll see if I can or not just confirm you’ll do everything you can to to to get into that ride of Cup team you pay the findes yeah I said I will do whatever I can to to be on the right of that team and I made that commitment to Luke and I want to be able to to be a part of it so um again the schedule is going to be the hardest thing in that in that regard John uh just uh a little bit about your character and your personality uh I remember at the DP World Tour Championship you waited for Nikolai to have like figure out whether he won or not to congratulate him why was that important for you to wait in the scores tent to congratulate him well I was going to wait till later on it was actually uh I believe it it was Thomas Bjorn I think who told me to that I could go out there to him uh cuz he was there with his brother and I didn’t want to get on the way of that but uh I have huge respect for Nikolai hadn’t spent a lot of time with him till the weeks going up to Ric up and we have certain things in common and when you share the stage with somebody you create a bond that is going to last a lifetime right and you know he’s he’s an incredible young man with such dis IPL and talent and uh he uh he definitely made an impression on me it was a very enjoyable run of golf and on that 18th hole before I luckily made that putt to tie the match he uh you know he just gave me a little nugget little sentence that that’s almost giving me chills thinking about it right I mean I’m walking up we’re walking up and he has a birdie Putt and we know we’re going to probably need an eagle and he looks at me it’s like you know do what seie would do right and I don’t know if it’s what seie would have done or not but put goes in and afterwards when we’re celebrating tells me I told you I told you when you know we just we had such a moment and we spent quite a bit of time in the rider club that uh you know felt like there’s certain connection with him in that sense so uh when he did what he did play in the back nine he did I was like man since I haven’t left I want to stay and and be able to go uh I’ve certainly appreciated when there’s people that went out of their way to to wait for me to maybe win and congratulate me like it’s happened in many tournaments and um you know I want to be able to be there for him in that regard Jeff John uh did you do any YouTube deep Dives on uh past tournaments here you know I did but the thing is even before this tournament was was announced I’ve seen a lot of obviously that the back nine I watched live what was going on in this in this tournament uh they’ve changed a little bit right I mean the fairways are different uh I think the greens for the most part are the same but they’ve changed a few T’s uh obviously 18 quite different 14 very different 12 being a little longer FR nine a couple changes as well so one being quite different so uh you can’t always drive from it I know they had rain on the practice rounds that year and it was softed uh but is not quite the same Golf Course right it’s not really the same what did you think of the finish in 2014 what in the Rory kind of playing up the last toll with Phil and Ricky and that did you watch see that one no I was watching live uh well it’s funny I think watching it uh we were a little bit like yeah we want to get it done you nobody wants to wait till the next day to maybe one hole and and I don’t blame Rory for wanting to do it right and uh I also don’t blame Phil and I don’t know if Ricky wanted to or not for saying no right but at the end of the day if the PG of America is making a decision you kind of have to go with it uh I can say if that was me in that scenario I would have tried to to have Rory not t off because if somehow I can get a birdie in there he needs to sleep knowing that he needs to par a relatively short part five but he still need to put that t- shot in play right I still think it was Brave of Rory because you know he puts it in that bunker hits it on a not the easiest tput and hitting that t put in the dark uh I know he was feeling good but that’s that’s a quite a risky decision you know because camera always makes it look brighter than it really is right I can imagine it was quite dark we’ll go next to 6 2 19 and 12 John it’s going to be almost a year now since the PJ tour and Liv came together or piff came together with a framework agreement that is still sitting there on the sidelines um obviously when you went over you had certain certain thoughts about why you went you see now what seems to be somewhat disarray going on in the PJ tour Rory wanting to get back on the board not getting back on the board Jimmy done leaving yesterday off the board saying that his his voice is no longer valuable to the to the board when you’re looking from the other side which is where you are now what are your thoughts so you guys keep saying the other side but I’m still a PGA Tour member whether suspended or not I still want to support the PGA Tour uh and I think that’s an important distinction to make I don’t feel like I’m on the other side I’m just not playing there that’s at least personally um I wouldn’t know what to say cuz I it it would just be uh not here say but hypothetical because I don’t know what’s going on right um I haven’t really spoken enough to to know about what’s going on on the board and you know obviously people are not going to be willing to be sharing that information with me since I’m no longer a part of those discussion so uh I couldn’t really tell you I I I’m going to say what I’ve said all along I hope we reached a resolution um and in a resolution that’s that’s beneficial for everyone but uh I couldn’t really tell you much about what’s happening was in here there was questions asked of him what what a good resolution would be what would you really want to see what would you want to see well I think at this point you know PF PJ tour DP World Tour and maybe even some of the other governing bodies need to get together and see what that looks like because everybody was going to have a different idea and I think everybody’s going to have to give something back or have some compromise to to make that work right uh we’ve heard Rory mentioned that World Tour are the best players in the world playing together and yeah I mean I agree I would love to be able to see that uh like I’ve said many times we have the opportunity to put golf in a different level of the map and make it more Global than ever and I fully support that idea yeah just following on from Alex’s question there how impatient are you to see some kind of resolution do you feel like damage is being done John damage to what to to golf overall in terms of you know the viewing public and the the standing of the sport compared with I think I think this is uh this would be some decisions and and negotiations that can’t be taken lightly so it should take quite a bit of time to get it done properly I wouldn’t want to see something rushed just to get a resolution and not be comfortable for everybody and having just just pushing the issues down the road right so uh since I don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors I I really can’t tell you but I think they they should take their time to make this work properly and I don’t know if that takes one two three five six years I don’t know what that might be like but I I don’t I don’t feel like I’m still on any rush to to make something happen today right I think we have a position to set up golf in a very positive way for decades to come and you need the people that do this for a living that are far far smarter than I am to get together to come together to be able to to make it work we’re finishing up with 1912 and then down here with Juan what were your initial reactions when Jimmy Dunn uh resigned and then why is it so important to you to distinguish that you’re still a PGA Tour member but suspended uh well I did not know until I was having breakfast this morning I saw it on on TV I had no idea uh and and Jimmy’s been great to me and my family so I just wish him nothing but the best I haven’t really spoken to him so I don’t know what’s going on uh and I think it’s important because I’m a PJ tour member and again like I still I’ve said however I can I would like to support it right so even though I’m playing full-time on live golf like I’ve said many times had I been allowed I would have played some events earlier on the year and if I allowed in the future and not conflicting with my schedule I would play in the future that’s why I think it’s important the PJ tour has given me so much and has given me this platform and the opportunity that I’m not going to really turn to the side and throw it away and go against them because I’m not going against it hey John you were asked earlier just about what are your memories of like previous events here and and one thing you maybe didn’t mention was was the Ridder cup and I assume you probably watched that live just what where are your memories of that and I’m not trying to stick it to you as you know you being part of Team Europe I’m just curious what what you kind of thought about that well I did you know playing with Anthony came I did I did mention I’m like hey man it’s great to play with you and I know we’re going to Valhalla but I told him cuz that was 16 years ago now wow so I was 13 and that’s a 13-year-old I was very upset when he walked off the green and 14 after beting Sergio I was like man that’s not fair he’s such a you know what and we laugh about it I made him feel pretty old but it was funny to talk about and talk about the rer cup in that sense and I think that the very next thing that I think about right there is Bo Weekley you know just walking off the tea doing his thing uh maybe not the two best memories but um having a few Spanish guys I know Miguel anel was there you think of uh Hunter Mayhan PO on 17 uh there’s just a few moments right I mean the US team played great that week and they got it done but there’s just a few things where that I can remember that just highlights in that sense right and yeah Anthony Kim walking off the tea is the first thing that comes to mind as a Spaniard obviously all right one okay