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TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN

November 6, 2019

Justin Rose

Antalya, Turkey

Q. Back in Turkey off the back of those two victories, what comes to mind?
JUSTIN ROSE: Obviously any time you do something for the first time in your career it's a special moment and last year was the added incentive of trying to get back to world No. 1 with the win that happened.

My Mum was here last year and was really nice to share with her, and obviously Turkey has been a happy hunting ground so to speak for me, even going back to the 2012 World Golf Final match-play event that we played here, the first international pro event in Turkey.

The tournament seems to have gone from strength-to-strength, and it's fun to be back. Different venue, though.

Q. Those two victories set up the opportunity for a three-peat. How much are you looking forward to that?
JUSTIN ROSE: Again, talk about doing things for the first time in your career, you don't get the opportunity to do that very often, so three-peat would clearly be a first for me. A great list of players to maybe join on The European Tour, I believe it's Seve, Faldo and Ian Woosnam.

So yeah, really illustrious company.

Q. You mentioned playing here before in 2013 and finishing third. What do you remember about the challenge, and what do you need to do well?
JUSTIN ROSE: Disappointing finishing third. But you've got to play the par 5s well. They are all within reach. You look at the guys that have won here, Victor Dubuisson, Brooks Koepka, guys that hit it pretty far, and so it should play into my wheelhouse.

I'm driving the ball quite well at the moment, probably my highlight of the game at the minute along with my putting. If I can get my mid-irons going and maybe some 5-woods and long irons into the par 5s and try to take advantage of them, obviously set up some low scoring. Always in Turkey, the weather is perfect, which generally leads to low scores.

Q. The last couple years, you finished incredibly strong, top 10s and wins. A sense of good finishes coming again?
JUSTIN ROSE: Definitely struggling a little bit, but I feel like I've been working hard on my game and I'm seeing signs of it turning the corner. You always see the signs on the range before you ever see them on the golf course, but I definitely feel motivated to try and kick on again and try to find the level that I was at this time last year.

Q. Amazing purses for these last three events in The Final Series: 2 million, 2.5 million, 3 million for the winner. How much do the purses entice guys like yourself? You're wealthy people, but it's a lot of money.
JUSTIN ROSE: It is a lot of money for sure, and I think yeah, it provides a bit of motivation and probably a little bit more pressure down the stretch. I think especially in Dubai. When you went to the 3 million number, that's uncharted territory, and that's really cool.

There's big purses -- bigger purses but not bigger-winning cheques. I think The European Tour have done something quite exciting there which obviously entices me, but hopefully will entice other players to commit to The European Tour and enjoy this final run. Not only are they good venues, but there's some pots of gold at the end, as well.

Q. Great to be back in Turkey?
JUSTIN ROSE: Turkey has been a wonderful spot for me. I've been lucky to play well here every time I've been, going back to 2012. Played this venue in 2013, had my worst finish, third, so I need to step that up to keep my current record going.

It's an exciting week for me, obviously trying to go three in a row which is something I've never done in my career. I guess, yeah, that's the focus but also, you can never really approach a tournament that way. I've got to try and take care of business, make sure I'm prepared and get my game in good shape and then commit to the plan.

Q. What did it mean to defend last year, your first title defence?
JUSTIN ROSE: It meant a lot, actually. One, I had my mom here. Always makes it a special week to win in front of family.

Two, I think I got back to world No. 1 by winning here, and something I've never done in my career, successfully depending a title. It was a very, very special week and one I really enjoyed.

Q. Now you're aiming to add to a small list of names. What would it mean to go triple?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think it's Seve, Faldo and Ian Woosnam, so seriously illustrious company there with those sorts of players. To sort of win the same event three years in a row would be incredible.

It would be a huge honour to join that list and something obviously I'm keenly aware of, and going to enjoy the challenge to try and do.

Q. How much has the tournament changed over the years?
JUSTIN ROSE: Just from an organisational point of view, everything is so streamlined now. Obviously the hotels are fantastic. I think all the players really enjoy coming here. People are sort of beginning to bring their families and they realise what a great destination Antalya is for golf and weather, especially this time of year.

I think not only has the tournament improved, but the crowds have improved and also the reaction of players in terms of bringing their family has really, really improved. It's gone from strength-to-strength.

Obviously the final run-in now, China last week, Turkey, South Africa, Dubai, they are all wonderful events and they offer huge opportunities now. With the restructuring of the purse, it's an exciting time to be playing golf.

Q. How are you feeling coming into this week?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, slightly less riding a high for sure. Been struggling -- I've been seeing sort of great signs with my game. Last week in China, I played probably 45 really good holes and some quality golf, and I played with Rory and Xander the first couple days. Felt like I played pretty much as good of golf as them for the most part, but just too many loose shots, a couple of sloppy mistakes here and there.

So I just have to tighten up the mind-set and mental side of the game and just have a little bit more consistency in term of what I'm trying to achieve on the golf course.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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