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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 21, 2018

Justin Rose

Atlanta, Georgia

Q. I thought that was an impressive round today. 11 birdies in 36 holes. You made 100 feet of putts in your second round.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that was good. I think sort of 50 of them came back-to-back today on I think 13 and 14, which was great. I felt like I was waiting for -- I was waiting to make some. I hit some good putts that hadn't gone in, and to make those two suddenly got me up there. At that point, I took a look at the leaderboard and realized guys hadn't done much today. The course was playing a bit trickier. And I knew I was in a good spot going into the weekend. Missed a couple fairways coming in, but birdieing the last made it feel like a good day's work.

Q. You caught a bad lie and didn't hit good drives on 16 or 17, and then you make an adjustment and absolutely pipe the drive on 18. Talk about that.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I hit two 3-woods into trouble, so I figured I'd hit the driver on 18. I think I was getting a little short with my swing, a little short with my turn, and that sometimes gets me ahead of the ball too quickly. So just kind of -- you know, just completing my backswing just to keep it simple, and that seemed to help.

Q. What does playing on the weekend with Tiger stand as a fun scenario for the weekend?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it's a cool story for sure. Yeah, that is cool for sure. I guess going into tomorrow, that doesn't -- I can't really think that way. It's going to be -- obviously playing with him versus playing in front of him today, I think it was just big crowds no matter what. Obviously people are excited about watching Tiger play again. He's obviously right on form and feeling very comfortable out there, looks like he's driving it well, irons have been great all year, looks comfortable with the blade.

So it's exciting for people to get a look at him back at his best and it will be fun to be play with him. I played with him earlier this year in Bay Hill and enjoyed playing with him there. But yeah, there's more on my mind than just playing with Tiger tomorrow for sure.

Q. You're playing so well; is it easy for you to balance the positives of that, putting yourself in the hunt, along with the lows?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think Boston was a great second. That was birdieing four of my last six and stealing a second-place finish there. Bryson was ahead of the field. I was playing, I was sort of seventh or eighth with a few holes to play, and I won the other tournament. So I had the same feelings coming down the stretch knowing what I had to do to win. It doesn't chalk up as a win, but as a player, mentality-wise, that was a really good second place. But I look at the putt that spun out on the 18th and I look at the birdie putt I made on 17 at BMW and I look at the birdie putt I made on 16, I'm a millimeter from winning that golf tournament in style. That's the way I have to look at it. Sure, second-second doesn't add up, but the way I'm competing I feel comfortable with.

Q. 3-under today; how did the course play?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, the course -- I mean, obviously you can see how it's holding up. It's a course that offers opportunities. It's not a long golf course, but it's a course where it's tough to hit the fairways, and I didn't do as good a job of that today as I did yesterday. So it was tricky, I had to scramble and work a bit harder for some pars out there. But if you get going with your putter out there, you can make some birdies, you can make some mid-range putts.

But I would say that there's just enough wind, as well, where it's up and down slightly. It's only 5 miles an hour, but it goes from 0 to 5 miles an hour, which is enough for you to be 10 yards out. And I guess with the heat as well, I just feel like you've got to be really on point with your iron play.

Q. When you play with Tiger, do you do anything differently as far as your pace of play, as far as trying to putt out first, trying to maybe not watch at certain times or anything different like that?
JUSTIN ROSE: No. No, not really. I just go with the flow with it really. I think it's just about being committed. There is going to be more distraction out there maybe, but just being committed to your shots and maybe playing through a little bit of stuff, as well. Yeah, that will be my goal tomorrow, just to be committed.

Q. You are one of the top 5 in the points rankings going into the tournament, in control of your own destiny, as we say. How much does that become a factor going into the weekend, to what extent, if any, does it weigh on you?
JUSTIN ROSE: I think it's a simple equation for me right now. I'm in a position where I want to win this golf tournament and I can keep it as simple as that. I know that if I do that, it's gravy all the way. I think if I was seventh or eighth right now I'd be running the calculations a lot more in my head possibly, but right now I'm trying to keep that simple objective of winning this golf tournament.

Q. How long ago would you have actually thought about the money when you're playing a tournament?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, this is the one tournament you think about it probably. I didn't think about it at the BMW. You're in a playoff, you're not thinking about the check, you're thinking about wanting to win that bit of silverware. This one is a little different. It's more money than makes sense, so you're going to think about it.

Q. Was there ever a time when you were a young player when the money mattered more --
JUSTIN ROSE: For sure, I remember when I first came over to the PGA TOUR and I would kind of miss a putt on 18, whether it be from 5 feet or 50 feet, and I'd be like man, if I'd made that one, I'd have made an extra 50, and I'd be like gosh. So I've tortured myself over that for enough few years, yeah, for sure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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