	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 29, 2019

Justin Rose

Austin, Texas

Q. Talk about the match a little bit and moving on to the round of 16.
JUSTIN ROSE: Delighted to get through that match. It wasn't really pretty, to be honest with you. I think I classed it as a pillow fight and then turned into a bit of a dogfight to the end.

Gary actually played pure off the tee, especially. I think he let me in a little on the front nine. I felt like he could be 2, 3-up on me early, but fortunately I think I went 1-up through 8. So that was the key moment in the match, really, about 6, 7, 8, just really kind of keeping myself in it or being let back into the match. And then I got a little bit of momentum up, and birdieing 12 and 13 got me 2-up. At that point I was just trying to get it into the clubhouse and get through.

Gary threw a couple of good birdies on me on 16 and 17, which you expect from a great player. 18 is a tricky little hole, you never know what will happen.

Q. You and Kevin Na tomorrow in the round of 16. Talk about the matchup for you?
JUSTIN ROSE: Everyone who won their that group obviously knows how to get it done and get through and play good match play. Kevin is a gritty player. I think this golf course is his type of golf course. Length is not a big deal here. He's got a great short game. He can walk putts in with the best of them. So I'm going to need to find something a little bit better than what I had today.

Q. Is there something you need to tweak tomorrow morning?
JUSTIN ROSE: No, I'm so good on the range. Just have to figure out about the walk between the range and the first tee. If I can get that bit right, hopefully I'll play better tomorrow.

Q. You won the group, congratulations.
JUSTIN ROSE: Thanks. Listen, it was a dogfight today. Actually it was a pillow fight to start with but turned into a bit of dogfight. I played really poorly on the front nine. Gary played beautifully off the tee, especially. He kind of let me stay in the match early. I felt I could have been easily two or three down through six or seven holes, but I was all square with him. He'll look back at that part of the match and rue that.

I slowly got back into it. Kind of made birdies on 12. On 13 hit a nice wedge in there. Just finishing it out is never easy. I knew the scenario I was in - obviously a half point Gary goes through, obviously if I win I go through. It was pretty tight.

Q. There's always something in the game that you can take away that you are most proud of. What is that aspect?
JUSTIN ROSE: I think if I look at the match yesterday with Eddie and today, just making the key putts when I needed to. Even if I look back at the par-3, 11th hole, rushed it 6 foot, 7 foot by. Made the one coming back. Knocked it 6, 7 foot by on 12, made the one coming back. Obviously the putt on 16. Those are the key moments in the match.

Q. (Inaudible).
JUSTIN ROSE: I feel fortunate to get through this one. I really played particularly well today. Gary was awesome off the tee, and maybe just didn't quite capitalize as he feels he probably should have today. He let me in a little bit on the front nine with the putter. And it was a pillow fight to start with and a dogfight in the end.

So he's a good friend of mine, Gary, and obviously I respect him a lot and we had a good friendly match but it was a tough match.

Q. Your game is getting better now, don't you think? Every day you're getting a little bit better?
JUSTIN ROSE: Today was awful. I need to find something overnight. I'm really good on the range, I'm just not so good on the golf course. I'm just trying to bring that range form to the first tee.

Q. Are you excited about tomorrow, though? You've advanced to the Sweet 16, one more day. It's a whole different ball game.
JUSTIN ROSE: Tonight, the weekend, I feel like the locker room is getting a little eerie quiet. It's a really cool thing to play the weekend here at this tournament, and now obviously everyone that tees it up tomorrow morning is thinking they can run through. But I don't know who I'm playing, if you could let me know that would be kind of cool.

Q. Who is Rosie playing tomorrow? Kevin Na?
JUSTIN ROSE: Okay, cool, so another tough match. We know what a fighter he is. He had a tough group with Jordan Spieth, and he obviously got through that group. With Kevin he can walk the putts in with the best of them. He's got a great short game. And this golf course lends itself to that.

You don't have an easy match out here. I need to find a little form and hopefully it will be a little easier for me.

Q. Congratulations. You've won your group.
JUSTIN ROSE: Just. Yeah, by the skin of my teeth. Obviously it's been a tough couple of days, battling back against Eddie. And then today was a really tough match with Gary. We were both trying to lose it more than win it. But obviously there are always key moments in a match that you need to make. And I felt like I tried to three-putt a couple of greens but made really good putts coming back on 11 and 12 from about 6, 7 feet to keep my momentum. Birdieing the 13th was huge to get a 2-up lead. Gary made a nice birdie on 15 and 16. And obviously my putt on 16 I think for me is my favorite moment to try and sort of keep the momentum. I knew a half point doesn't get me through, it gets Gary through.

Q. Both days there were moments when you had to deliver and you did that. So you have to be proud of those moments.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, absolutely. That's what I take from these two matches is finding the shot or the putt when you need it. And that's what match play is all about. It has a feeling of winning the tournament every day. There's a finality of every match. Sometimes you play 72 holes and you make a putt on the last and finish 8th. It's all part of the process. You can chalk it down to that. In match play there's like a finality. You need a putt to win the tournament. That's what's cool about match play and that's what I'm enjoying about this week.

Q. Straight knockout tomorrow with Kevin Na.
JUSTIN ROSE: I've been looking forward to this part of the tournament. I'm a fan of the knockout from day 1, to be honest. Tomorrow we sort of hopefully get to whittle down the field.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297