Q. Jon, how would you assess that round?
JON RAHM: I mean, it was a bit odd. I was able to score really well on the last few holes. Gave myself a ton of birdie chances. Hit a lot of good putts. And too bad I couldn't make more of them. Especially my whole back nine.
I'm not fully comfortable with my swing off the tee. Not comfortable at all, and you're going to pay the consequences out here. I think the last two days, with how bad it is off the tee, I've done a good job minimizing mistakes. I mean I've had two balls in the hazard on a shank, which is shank for people at (indiscernible). That's three shots right there. And I'm 2-under par. Hopefully I can tidy up a little bit off the tee on the weekend and give myself more scoring chances.
Q. Was the shank kind of a product of not feeling comfortable with your swing?
JON RAHM: Absolutely. Absolutely. Ball below my feet, uncomfortable shot, wind. And tried to drive it in low and didn't clear at all. Full of indecision. It was a recipe for disaster. Could have been either green-side bunker or short, and ended up being worse.
I did get lucky with what happened. I was able to save a bogey, which was minimizing the mistake. I thought it was going out of bounds, and I was staring at a 7.
Q. This is not something we've heard you say a lot of, that you're uncomfortable with your swing. Is this the first in a little while?
JON RAHM: Sometimes I do hit a few shots where I'm not fully comfortable, but today, legit, every tee shot, besides the tee shot on 1, which was my 10th, and the one on 9, everything else was really far of the center of the face and not the way I envisioned it at all.
A couple times put it in play, was able to make birdies. But I think for the majority of the day it just wasn't great. But again, I was able to minimize most of it. I think it was the bogey today, which that tells you a little bit of how it went.
Q. Are you able to tell how much the course has seasoned in one year, or not really, after all new --
JON RAHM: Well, the greens are a lot better. When you have brand-new greens, it's a little different. You can get firm bounces, little breaks there that wouldn't be there once the greens are settled. They look like they've been like this forever. They look great. They're responding great.
I'm assuming Jack is going to be forcing the superintendent to not water the course and get it as dry as possible, which is what we expect, and even be getting better.
It's in great shape. There's not much you can say. It's a tough test out there. It shows. Barely any wind, and 7-under is leading. That's the thing we like to see.
Q. Do you feel like you're still right there, though?
JON RAHM: Oh yeah.
Q. Only five back as of now.
JON RAHM: I'm in it. I could have easily shot myself out of it, tried to fight to make the cut. And I was able to save a few holes out there and put myself in an okay spot.
Obviously coming into the weekend I'm going to need a low score. Hopefully the conditions get difficult and I can manage it. Otherwise tomorrow or Sunday I'm going to need a low one to give myself a chance.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports