Rahm says defense of European tour titles uncertain amid pandemic
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RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT
VIDEO SHOWS: PGA NEWS CONFERENCE WITH COMMENTS FROM BRYSON DECHAMBEAU, COLIN MORIKAWA, JON RAHM, AND JUSTIN THOMAS
SHOWS: NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 18, 2020) (PGA TOUR - SEE RESTRICTIONS ABOVE)
1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JON RAHM, SAYING:
"Right now, I just don't see myself going to Europe. It's rough flying public, having to have a flight, a mask on for 10-plus hours, just doesn't sound very good to me. Doesn't sound healthy at all, so I don't know what I'm going to be doing. Right now my main thought is I don't know if I'm going to be able to go to Spain and see my family at Christmas. That's my bigger thing right now. If it comes between going to Spain and seeing my family and playing a golf tournament, I'm not playing golf, that's all I can say."
2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JUSTIN THOMAS, SAYING:
Q: "Typically in two weeks you would be looking at a finish line here. Obviously that's not the case this year with the U.S. Open coming a couple of week's later. I'm just sort of wondering how you look at it compared to other years?"
Justin Thomas: "The biggest difference is that right after a Tour Championship you just, at least for me. I'm looking for a release. Whether it's a vacation or for me to put the clubs in the garage for whatever. I need to have some fun. Just relax. That's not the case this year. That release will come Monday after the U.S. Open this year but it is different although for the time being the most important thing for me is this week but it's these next three weeks and wanting to play well for that I also need to conserve my energy and make sure I'm staying in shape and doing everything I can because after a week off I have to try and win a major."
3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) COLIN MORIKAWA, SAYING:
"I was able to look back and talk to my coach yesterday about the PGA Championship and what can we take from that? What can we learn? I just did a small little media thing where I looked back at my missed putt at Colonial and every single thing whether it's good or bad I've been able to learn and it always teaches me something so what can I learn from last week that's really going to stick for these next few weeks. What's going to stick for this month and the rest of the year that I can keep using for momentum, consistency, whatever it is."
4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRYSON DECHAMBEAU, SAYING:
"When I truly thought I started to become an athlete was probably around December of this past year. I started moving weights up quite a bit and when I was with Greg in Denver and we just kept upping the weight and I was like, 'man I did not think I could tolerate all these forces going through my body.' And I kept recovering well after that and it was a whole other level I've never experienced before and it was around that time period that I felt like I could do sprints with all this weight. I could do jumps. I could do everything with this new weight and that's when I felt I could do anything with this size I guess you could say."
STORY: Spaniard Jon Rahm enjoyed plenty of success on the European Tour last year but the world number one said on Tuesday (August 18) he may not defend any of his titles because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Rahm, competing this week in the PGA Tour's FedExCup playoff opener in Norton, Massachusetts, said he will wait until after the Sept. 17-20 U.S. Open to make a final decision on whether to travel overseas amid the pandemic.
"Right now, I just don't see myself going to Europe," Rahm said at TPC Boston. "It's rough flying public, having to have a flight, a mask on for 10-plus hours, just doesn't sound very good to me. Doesn't sound healthy at all, so I don't know what I'm going to be doing."
Rahm, who replaced Rory McIlroy as world number one after his July victory at the Memorial Tournament, won three European Tour events last year, including the Spanish Open which has already been cancelled for this year.
He is also the reigning champion of the Irish Open, which has been rescheduled for Sept. 24-27, and the DP World Tour Championship, which is slated for Dec. 10-13 in Dubai.
Rahm said he will monitor the COVID-19 guidelines around the world and also learn more about how events are being run before settling on a decision.
"Right now my main thought is I don't know if I'm going to be able to go to Spain and see my family at Christmas. That's my bigger thing right now," said Rahm.
"If it comes between going to Spain and seeing my family and playing a golf tournament, I'm not playing golf, that's all I can say."
The top 70 golfers on the FedExCup points list after the 125-player Northern Trust move onto next week's BMW Championship outside Chicago before the top 30 head to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the Sept. 4-7 Tour Championship.
This week usually signals the beginning of the end of the golf season in the run up to the FEDEX Cup. For Justin Thomas and others , the usual well-deserved break will have to wait with the U.S.Open shifting to early fall due to the Covid-19 disruption.
Other favourites who will tee it up on Thursday include freshly-minted PGA Championship winner Colin Morikawa who will try and keep the magic alive this week as well as Bryson DeChambeau who spoke about his recent physical transformation and the way he surprised himself with the physical strength was able to develop with the help of trainer Greg Roskopf.
(Production: Peter Bullock)
