WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 26, 2003

Justin Rose

SCOTT CROCKETT: Well done, Justin. Thanks for coming in. A very good victory. It's a classic match play, coming through in the end. You must be delighted with that victory.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, definitely. It was up-and-down. I was down early, fought hard, got myself up. And David really -- he showed his class coming in really with a great birdie on 16 -- great birdies on 16 and 17. And I felt like I hit the ball pretty solid the last couple of holes. And it all comes down to the greens the end of the day. He made the putts coming in, I didn't. It all ended up perfectly for me.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Interesting extra two holes. It looked like you were on your way out the first extra hole. But then you came back and won it.

JUSTIN ROSE: Exactly. I remember on the first extra hole, I was thinking, I wonder -- I was trying to look into the future, I wonder whether I'll be unemployed tomorrow or whether I'll be back out there fighting again. And after I missed my putt, I put big money on me being unemployed tomorrow. But as it worked out, which is the key -- well, the beauty of match play, here I am, and going out to play Kevin Sutherland tomorrow.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Have you had time to think about that or is it just reflecting on today first?

JUSTIN ROSE: You take each match as it comes. I think the way I'm going to look at this week, and his reputation means very little, so just try to play your own game as much as possible. You keep your eye on the opponents. But I try to focus on my own game, try to make good swings all the way around, and just go out there and try to do the right things.

Q. How long was the putt that you thought David would hole that would make you unemployed tomorrow?

JUSTIN ROSE: Five and a half feet.

Q. And what club did you hit on the second extra hole?

JUSTIN ROSE: 6-iron.

Q. How close was that?

JUSTIN ROSE: That was probably four, four and a half feet, I would have said. It was quite a nasty little one, a little bit of butterflies in the stomach.

Q. Was he more than 1-up on you?

JUSTIN ROSE: He was 2-up through 6, I believe.

Q. He won the first?

JUSTIN ROSE: He made a great birdie the first, and then I threw a couple of bogeys at him and I think I was -- and he threw a bogey or two at me, and it ended up I was 2-down through 6. I finally woke up and hit the ball really solidly from there. Especially on my driver. I think I only missed one fairway in the 18 holes. And once a got up, I kept putting the pressure on him being in the fairway all the time and forced him to make the birdies. I was quite pleased from that respect.

Q. How many hours have you already spent with David this week?

JUSTIN ROSE: Not that much in total, a couple of hours in total. But it's amazing, it only takes five minutes. He sees something and he's got the ability to kind of give you the right feel, almost instantly. And we all work on feel. It's well being told what to do, but when a teacher can translate it into what you've got to feel to get the right result, that's the important thing, and that's where he's so brilliant.

Q. What happened on 7? He conceded the first one?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that was a bit of a comedy of errors, really. I hit a good driver in the fairway, David hit it left in the rough, had a terrible lie, could only move it 40 yards up the fairway. He hit it fat, short of the green. I hit a terrible iron shot right of the green, so now it's like nobody wants to win this hole at all. And he chipped up to 10 feet. And I was in the right rough, and I hit a flop shot over the tree, over the bunker, to about one foot, and he conceded and we walked on.

Q. What was his -- (inaudible.)

JUSTIN ROSE: He hit solid tee shots, hitting it quite long, too. He missed a few fairways, but they were just by a meter or so. But when you miss a fairway by a meter you get punished, and you're taking your sand wedge out, really. You generally -- he hit some really nice tee shots.

Q. I heard you earlier in there alluding to the last couple of years, making you tougher.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, somebody was asking me about the bad period I went through after I turned pro. And I said I wouldn't really change the way my career was going, because I feel that bad period has made me tougher, and it's in match play situations, and in situations coming down the stretch, where you require strength. I feel that's where that period has helped me. That's how I look at it, bring a positive out of it.

Q. Was last year a breakthrough year? Do you feel like this year --

JUSTIN ROSE: The last two years have been breakthrough years. The year before I began to contend to win tournaments and began to be a consistently good player on the European Tour, if you like. The following year was a breakthrough year in that I learned how to win. And now that I believe I can win. And this year, hopefully will be a breakthrough year in terms of I'm playing much more in the world stage, the Majors and the World Championships, and my schedule is pretty exciting this year. It's going to be a slightly different learning curve.

Q. Is that more over here, that schedule?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think when you get in the top 50 in the world, you automatically play more in the states, in the Majors and the Championships. All the World Championships are in the States this year. A couple of warm-up tournaments before The Masters gives me nine already, without really trying to play over here. That's fun for me. I think while you're young and while you enjoy traveling, it's cool to play that schedule.

Q. When you were playing Duval, did you think former Open champion, or did you think someone who's not had the best couple of years?

JUSTIN ROSE: Difficult question, really. If you look at current results, he's not playing fantastically well, but with match play that doesn't really mean anything. You could see that basically the last two -- basically the last few holes spelled it out to me. I looked like winning a match 3 and 2 probably at one stage. And then all of a sudden I was -- I virtually lost. So I think when you draw a name like that, you know that the class golf is just around the corner, and you can't let up.

Q. Which was the fairway that you missed?

JUSTIN ROSE: It was the 5th -- no, the 4th -- still don't know the course. After the par-5, the 4th.

Q. Now the defending champion?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. Don't know much about him, to be honest, other than he won this last year, and he's obviously a great match play player. Very gutsy coming back from Sergio, so another lesson to be learned there: Never take your finger off the pulse. But, yeah, just much the same as today, try to play well, try to make the right swings, and take it from there.

Q. Did you pass him in the hallway there and introduce yourself?

JUSTIN ROSE: He introduced himself to me straight away. Seems like a nice, friendly guy. That's always nice to play. We'll try our hardest out there, and are very competitive. But it's cool to play with somebody who will acknowledge you and be friendly out there.

Q. Are you very comfortable in the American environment?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yes, I'll tell you, after seven weeks. But right now I feel very comfortable over here. I really enjoyed the two tournaments last year, I felt I played well both times. I felt like the courses suited me. But after seven weeks I'll have a pretty good idea.

Q. Like fast food and things like that?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, all young lads like fast food.

Q. Are you staying straight through The Masters?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yes, going to play this week, and a week off, and Honda, Bay Hill, TPC, week off, Masters, exciting.

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