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UBS HONG KONG OPEN

October 23, 2015

Justin Rose

Fanling, Hong Kong

Q. How would you reflect on a second day in the heat?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, very happy with that. I felt like I struggled with the recovery overnight. I just felt like body was sore this morning, and today was definitely more of a struggle than yesterday.

Yesterday I played such a clean round, I guess it was always going to be more of a struggle. I made a few more mistakes today but salvaged par very well quite a few times. Finally the bogey that threatened a few times reared its head on No. 9 but I guess I played 34 holes without making a mistake. It's almost -- you know it's inevitable you're going to make one mistake.

It's out of the way. Don't have to think about it now. So continue to try and play good golf over the weekend, make some birdies, and keep moving forward. I again hit a lot of good putts today, and my putts that aren't going in are pretty much threatening the cup, I feel that's good.

Q. You bounced back from the bogey and a lot of other positives, as well, 3 and 18, in particular?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, absolutely. It's always nice to finish with a birdie. Today that's going to make lunch taste nice. Especially after the first bogey of the week to bounce back immediately and make birdie was great.

Obviously in a wonderful position going into the weekend, and obviously this course gave me some trouble last time I played it, so it was nice to figure out more of a decent game plan, which paid off so far.

Q. Your body ache -- is that normal after a long flight?
JUSTIN ROSE: I don't know what it is. My left hip is really sore. A bit of physio and relaxing this afternoon and try and figure that out. Feels more muscular than anything, but yeah, left hip felt tight. Maybe I wasn't quite clearing through the ball as well as yesterday but I'll be fine.

Q. Less painful when you see the name Justin Rose at the top, isn't it?
JUSTIN ROSE: Absolutely. It's a nice place to be and obviously there's half the day left to play. I'm sure someone is going to go out and play well this afternoon but for the most part we are in good shape no matter what happens going into the weekend.

Q. How are you dealing with the heat? Seems to be brutal.
JUSTIN ROSE: You know what, we're used to this. This is pretty much routine for us. We play a lot of golf in the summer; and I live in the Bahamas, and before that lived in Orlando, so that's brutally hot, as well. This is really nothing out of the ordinary.

Q. Prefer this to England?
JUSTIN ROSE: It's definitely humid out there today, but there's a little bit of a breeze and not too hot at all. Obviously it's not but wasn't crazy hot.

Q. Did you have any target today for the championship? JUSTIN ROSE: Of course, but the way to win a golf tournament is to stay in the moment. I can't really look more forward than the first hole tomorrow. I've been in this position many times and won tournaments and I've been in this position many times and not won tournaments.
But you've got to just really focus on tomorrow and the first tee shot tomorrow. I think that, you know, I feel good about my game and I feel like my chances are good, and if I say in my process, things should work out well, but you can't afford to get ahead.

Q. After two days competition, do you think there's still anything difficulties at the Hong Kong Golf Club?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it's tricky. I've done a lot of good things this week. I've put the ball in the fairway a lot. I've been quite conservative off the tee. I've saved par quite a few times.

Today there were probably three or four times I could have made bogey today but saved myself. Obviously ended up making one bogey on the ninth hole, but yeah, the course continues to demand respect. But my iron play has been good and I'm making a few putts, so, so far, so good.

Q. Is there anyone in particular that you think is your biggest rival?
JUSTIN ROSE: Obviously anyone can emerge. There's a lot of good players out here. Anyone who gets hot on the weekend is going to putt in a run. I think this golf course yields good scores in the morning. The greens are a bit smoother in the morning. Obviously the leaders play later tomorrow and the early starters get the better of the conditions, which always means people have a chance to get up a little bit.

Poulter is a past champion is and he's on the leaderboard. He's always good when he's got something to prove, and he's probably a dangerous guy now that he's outside the Top-50 in the world, and I know that he'll be desperate to get back in it. He always plays well when he has motivation, so he's obviously going to be tough to beat, too.

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