THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2023

Justin Rose

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. In the midst of a busy stretch, where does this tournament always rate for you, and how do you typically approach it?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, listen, I think it's always been grouped together as the Florida Swing, but it's more than that. It's kind of the one that you kind of want to peak at.

We always enjoy the kind of two-hour progression up the coast here, starting Honda and traditionally up to Bay Hill and then coming up here has always been a fun way to feel like you're building into your game into the Florida Swing. All the golf coursing are demanding in the Florida Swing, so I feel like the previous events kind of get you ready for this one a little bit.

This one you need to be sharp. I feel like it's a golf course that tempts you all the time. It offers you a lot, too. It offers you birdies, offers you opportunities, but if you're not fully committed or fully on your game, it can definitely bite.

That was my main goal today was just to kind of come in -- my approach was to be very disciplined today and not give away cheap shots or kind of through a mental error make a big number.

Q. What does it tempt you, on the approach shots? Do you feel like you can go at them?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think every -- there's a lot of sort of risk-reward holes where you have to hit the fairway at No. 4, and if you hit the fairway at No. 4 it sets up a great birdie opportunity, but if you miss the fairway at 4, it really brings in 5 or more. There's a lot of kind of key golf shots that needs to be executed out there, I feel, so that's kind of what I mean by tempting you.

I feel like you know those situations. It's a bit like Augusta, there's some side boards and if you use them you make birdie and if you miss them you're really struggling to make par. If you're hitting key shots on the key holes at the right time I feel like the spread between your round gets bigger. If you play great you can shoot low and if you're just off the score can kind of rack up.

Q. Obviously you had some confidence in your game going into Pebble. Does that win give you more confidence moving forward?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think so. I think obviously the last couple weeks have been tough, but it's obviously the wind kind of gives you that little bit of ability to shake them off. There's some points in the bag, there's a little less pressure and stress from that point of view, so you can just look at where you are actually with your game and the things that really matter.

Yeah, kind of feel like it's reenergized me in terms of looking at my career in terms of decades. Definitely 30 to 40 was -- from 30 to 38 was kind of my golden era. That's when I did most of my damage and sort of set my resume up, but kind of thinking that's done now. Really looking at what can I do 40 to 50 and look at some other players in the game, inspiring characters would be like Steve Stricker who won seven or so times in his 40s. I feel like he's the type of guy that I could use him as a pretty good role model to say, Okay, all that work is done, what can I achieve now. I don't have to achieve anything. I've done a lot of good stuff, but I want to. Not look in the rear-view mirror but think, right, this is a fresh challenge now.

Yeah, that's I think -- Pebble kind of reenergized that sort of vein of thinking, I suppose.

Q. You've been a professional for almost 25 years so you've seen it all out here. What's your take on the changes that were announced last Wednesday and specifically those smaller fields and no cuts?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think that it's hard to get in them, first and foremost. You're going to have to play your way into them. Top 50 is hard on the PGA TOUR. I don't have a problem with no cuts because you've earned your way in there, and if you do -- the top players have always talked about wanting to play a little less and play together a little bit more, so if you do have a bit of a condensed season and say you want to play 20 times, I feel like the no-cut model is pretty good because you may be playing less tournaments total, and those weekends where you've had sort of a slow first couple days, but if you pile on a couple 65s on the weekend, you still have a good week. Each of those elevated events is going to count for so much that I think not giving guys an opportunity to have a big weekend is a shame, when we're not getting together that much in reality, and I think there's no givens out here.

I feel like your top -- you earn your spot this year, 2023, you're in the top 50, you play next year, you have to do it all over again.

I know there's talk of 750 versus 500, but I think that's a pretty decent balance, and there's opportunity for everybody to play their way in.

Quite honestly, yeah, each and every single year you're going to have to earn your way. I feel like over the course of a decade, if you have your card for 10 years at the moment, you're going to play 90 percent of the same schedule. I feel like now there's going to be pretty much guys having half the years playing a very different schedule to the other half of the years. Five years playing a great schedule, five years playing a schedule they're not happy with. But that's going to be I think what we're all facing out here. So there's nothing given with this new -- it's all geared around the top players. I get that. But the top players aren't guaranteed it.

Q. Top players are just the best players --

JUSTIN ROSE: You've just got to earn it every year, year on year on year.

Q. What's it like meeting your biggest fan out there, Sophie's dad, who came a long way and he's watched you since you were a young lad at Birkdale and everything. What was that experience like?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that was really nice to meet him there. Yeah, obviously it gives you kind of, I guess, a bigger perspective of making a bogey here or a bogey there. It's not the end of the world when he's going through some maybe tough health challenges.

For people who are still kind of making each day count and living in the moment and still getting joy out of the small things in life, whenever you have a meeting like that, it hits home. Certain things that are lessons to us all.

Q. You've known Sophie for several years or a few years?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, 100 percent. She's been a big supporter obviously of our initiatives with the Rose Ladies Series and what have you and just been a big supporter of golf. Obviously she's a TV celeb at home, obviously doing her stuff on SKY, so obviously been following Sophie for a while.