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BELL CANADIAN OPEN

September 12, 2004

Justin Rose

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Justin Rose, thank you for joining us for a couple minutes, great playing today, final round 63, the low round of the week thus far. If we could just start with some opening comments about jumping into the Top 10.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, obviously I was in a position where I wanted to come out today and do my very best to shoot a low score and try and make up some places. It all worked out perfectly for me really. I knocked in a 30-footer on the 3rd hole which just gave me a little momentum and things went from there. I played really well today.

Q. Justin, 75 yesterday, 63 today, a 12-shot swing. As you go along, are you finding that the biggest challenge for you is trying to even out the highs and the lows of your career?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think if you look at that 75 probably cost me winning the golf tournament. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, that's always the key. You know, I think, yeah, it's probably more of a mental thing, just staying patient really. I just got a little bit impatient yesterday and dropped a few shots I felt because of that, so really my goal today was to go out there and try and be as patient as possible.

I'm not worried too much about the score, just to try and keep it on the even keel today. I was a lot more calm, a lot more relaxed, and it just proves that good play comes with a relaxed attitude.

Q. Playing at The Masters earlier this year, would that be a sign of what you were just talking about there?

JUSTIN ROSE: Well, The Masters, on Saturday I felt like my temperament and attitude was brilliant, and I really can't fault myself there in that department. You know, Saturday was actually still a little bit of a mystery to me as to why that happened. I felt relatively comfortable and I felt like I was still swinging the club well. It's that kind of golf course. When you try and chase a score on that golf course after making a few early bogeys, it kills you.

Q. What is it about majors that seem to work well for you? You seemed to do so well at the British and obviously last year's U.S. Open and again at The Masters this year. Anything special?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think you prepare for them a little bit more extensively than obviously you do for a regular tournament. I want to see myself as a player who can win majors and who will win majors. That's how I want to see my career progressing. Right now I'm still in a situation where I'll take whatever win, whatever it might be. Ultimately I want to start winning majors. That's how a career is defined and that's the way I want to go. They're obviously special to me.

Q. You were out there on the back nine at 5-under par with both par 5s still ahead of you. Did any special numbers come into your head at that point, a score?

JUSTIN ROSE: Not really. I mean, after I made birdie on 15 somebody in the crowd shouted, "Go 59." Then I did a quick count of -- (laughter). I needed to go birdie, birdie, eagle. I hit a fantastic drive down 16 and had a wedge into the green. I just came out of it a little bit, just didn't commit to it as I would have liked, and then that sort of just obviously slowed me down just a little. All in all, I'm really happy.

Q. What were your impressions of the golf course now that the week is over?

JUSTIN ROSE: Really good. I've really enjoyed the golf course. I think it's really a good test. I mean, I think -- I said yesterday that the scoring was pretty high in the afternoon. The guys were struggling, and I said, well, it's the kind of golf course that if you're not in the top of your game, you can't really get to the flag. The flags are a little low to the green and if you're in the rough you don't know the shot sometimes. If you play the golf course well, it's well-designed and really fair and gives you the opportunity to go low, and luckily I was the one to do that today.

Q. (Inaudible).

JUSTIN ROSE: No, I'm not saying that. I'm feeling really comfortable here in the States. I'm enjoying the atmosphere at the golf tournaments. Certainly this week has been one of the best ones. The crowds have been fantastic and they've got behind me, which has been nice. Yeah, that helps you to feel comfortable. I've made a few friends, and that all makes a big difference.

In terms of where my future lies, it really lies -- it really depends on being Top 50 in the world. If I'm Top 50 in the world, I'll continue to play both sides because it's relatively easy to do, but out of the Top 50 in the world, it becomes a problem playing both. I might have to lean towards this side if I was going to make a decision.

Q. Kind of a difficult Ryder Cup-type question for you here, but do you think in hindsight that some of the Europeans might have benefitted from playing here this week as opposed to yet another European tournament?

JUSTIN ROSE: I was really surprised at how many did play the German Masters. If it was me personally, I like to take the week off before a major, and I think guys will admit they probably try to prepare for the Ryder Cup as a major. They want to play well and give it their best. If it was me, I probably would have taken the week off, but everybody has got individual preparation needs.

Yeah, the only thing I could say is if the guys sort of meet up and travel together and there's eight or nine of them at the event, they just build up that same team spirit seven days early, which can end up making a big difference. I watched to see how many did play. Whether playing here would be a better use, I'm not sure to be honest. It just depends if a guy likes to play and if he doesn't. I think it's nice to see a team stick together and play somewhere rather than a couple here and a couple there, something like that.

Q. (Inaudible).

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I suppose, yeah. There was probably a clause in the contract (laughter). You'd better play my event if you want to play the four-ball on Friday.

Q. Your brief interview on TV, did you say you changed your putting grip for today's final round, and if you did, what makes you want to change it on a Sunday?

JUSTIN ROSE: To be honest, I've done something I've never really done before. I wasn't making anything on Saturday, and as I say, I was feeling a bit frustrated. I got on the 17th green and I gripped it left below right, which is something I have done in the past, and I made a ten-footer for birdie, and I thought that felt good. I hit a few putts on the putting green, and I thought, "this feels good," and sometimes a change gives you a holiday mentality. It just gave me that fresh approach to today. I wanted to play clean and have a slightly more positive attitude.

Q. (Inaudible).

JUSTIN ROSE: I'm not sure exactly. Someone said 24. It felt good today. It felt like I could just rock the shoulders and nothing was really going to go wrong.

Q. There's been a lot of emphasis on the over-40 crowd on the PGA TOUR the last year or so, and if you look at the younger guys coming up, I'm thinking of yourself, Adam Scott, Sergio, the early 20s guys, they all seem to be international type of players. I wonder if you could talk about that, what you think of the caliber of players coming from outside the U.S. on the PGA TOUR.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think you've got some great guys coming through now. Charles Howell is obviously a proven player. He's a really good player. For some reason, the international guys seem to have taken to the PGA TOUR really well, Sergio, Adam, both guys coming in in the Top 10 in the world, but in terms of -- I'm not sure if I understand you, but why the U.S. guys aren't doing it, I'm not sure, but I think maybe they come out of college late, where in Europe or kind of internationally we finish school earlier. I'm not sure if that helps us mature quicker or sooner, I'm not sure, I don't know, but basically I think you're about to get a real good crop of guys coming through. Hunter Mahan is beginning to play well and Bill Haas obviously, so I think it's exciting times ahead. Good rivalries.

Q. You had nine birdies on the day and a bogey. Did you have a sense of when it was clicking out there, and was there any sort of highlights on the round or parts that sort of stood out for you where you knew you had it going despite the change in the putting?

JUSTIN ROSE: I mean, I just hit the driver so well today. I was hitting every driver down the fairway and giving myself a chance at birdie on virtually every hole. I probably knew I was in for a good score on the 6th hole. I birdied the par 5, the 5th, and it should have been a slight momentum -- then to birdie 6 straight away to get to 3-under, it kept my momentum going, and that's when I knew I was onto a good score.

Q. Where are you going next?

JUSTIN ROSE: I'm going to Texas next week.

Q. (Inaudible).

JUSTIN ROSE: Ryder Cup-wise, yeah. It's one event that I probably do like to sit down and watch, but I'm at a stage in my career or my season really where I'm just trying to get something going, doing my best to get into the Tour Championship, and to do that I need to play as many as I can and play very well when I do play. That's the intention right now.

Q. (Inaudible).

JUSTIN ROSE: I would say this year if I'm to be perfectly honest with you. It's pretty much the sole reason why I haven't been winning or I haven't been getting myself right up there and giving myself really consistent chances to win. It's not far away. I mean, the good thing is I know I'm a good putter deep down, I just need to find a way to bring it to the surface much more regularly. I'm a bit streaky, which I know can happen doing it week in and week out.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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