RBC HERITAGE

April 14, 2023

Justin Rose

Harbour Town Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Justin, do you kind of find something at the Masters sometimes? Because I know you've had obviously decent success there and you've only had one top ten since Pebble, but now you're in contention again.

JUSTIN ROSE: Actually, I feel like THE PLAYERS Championship was a nice little reset for me. Traveled back out to the UK after Pebble. Then I kind of got caught out, like Bay Hill, L.A. are just tough golf courses and I wasn't quite ready for that switch in gears from the West Coast.

Then PLAYERS Championship was a big week for me, just in terms of how I felt like I played, and I took a lot of confidence out of that and then trended into the Masters somewhat.

Augusta was disappointing in the end actually. It's a golf course that I do know really well. I putted really well for the four days but just couldn't quite find that little gear that would have taken me into contention. I was kind of lurking just outside of it all week. I didn't really have a run of golf that really propelled me to the top ten of the leaderboard.

It's still a tournament that I do believe I can win one day. Coming in here was in some ways lower expectations because the Masters was a long week. Took a couple days off Monday, Tuesday, and I've kind of come in here and rolled with it really. But so far, so good.

Q. Does lurking last week and then two rounds being in contention, does that make you like hungry, like hungry for a win? Sorry, that was really cliche.

JUSTIN ROSE: Listen, of course, you're always hungry for a win. I think for me winning at Pebble was great. The way in which I won I was really happy with, so I proved to myself I can still clearly do it. The more and more chances I can create through the season, hopefully we can get another one and just keep the momentum going.

Obviously winning breeds confidence, and that's what we're all looking for out here.

Q. And how do you like playing the week after the Masters? I think this is the first time you've done it in 15-ish years.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I don't like it (laughter). So much effort goes into Augusta, but this is the perfect golf course and venue and like coastal town to come to, I think.

This golf course keeps you honest. You can't be mentally checked out. I'm learning this golf course a little bit more than a lot of the other guys, but it's underappreciated. I'm loving it, to be honest with you. It's such a great test of golf and suits all different types of players, I think.

Awesome venue. Obviously a big tournament and happy to be here.

Q. So you weren't required to play here based on the PIP program, is that correct?

JUSTIN ROSE: Correct, yeah.

Q. What went into the decision to play here other than the elevated purse, obviously?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think it's a golf course that could suit my game. I think the only reason I haven't played it is because I put so much effort into the preparation for Augusta that sometimes I -- and obviously I'm not a Zurich ambassador anymore. So often I've had to play Zurich next week, so it's kind of something had to give.

The fact I don't have to do that, I'm excited to change up the scheduling side of thing, play here, then I get a couple of weeks off the next two weeks.

So just checks and balances, I suppose, and trying to find a schedule that works.

Q. Can you just talk about getting over the hump at Pebble Beach? You said that you weren't really sure about -- it's nice to win. You're not sure if you're going to win again. There's no guarantees, right? What took you over the hump at Pebble Beach, and what have you taken from there to here?

JUSTIN ROSE: I guess just I want to say -- I don't want to say pedigree. I don't know what the right word is. I've won 20-odd times around the world. I know I can do it.

My game was just a little bit better than it had been, and I felt like once I got into contention there, I got the bit between my teeth. I felt like it was a week where I had to go and kind of finish it off just for myself and my own confidence.

Yeah, for me that was a big stepping stone. In some ways it allowed me to build the rest of the year out from a scheduling point of view. Obviously we all know it's a big year going into '24 in terms of positioning yourself correctly.

So, yeah, it was a timely win for me, and obviously it's enabled me to continue working at my game without worrying about the results as much, which is a process and a journey I'm on. I still feel like I'm making some subtle changes and still learning a few things along the way, coaching change in November.

So there's a lot going on, but without having had a lot of time to really put in the training camp weeks that I feel like you can really affect your game in a positive way. So I've kind of been learning it on the road, which is great. It's been going well. I still feel like there's a lot of improvement potentially to happen.

Q. So a week like this, where you said obviously you're tired coming in, you don't have the same maybe thought or your body's not feeling the same way coming in, and yet you talk about how sometimes you have to learn how to play well when you're not playing well. So is that this week?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, and I think that's what I've been doing for the last four years is kind of learning how to play well without playing well. Scrapping it around. That's valuable sometimes.

I think one thing that I've always been good at is I'm a better golfer on Thursday than I am on Wednesday, and that kind of still tells me that I have it mentally. Once the gun goes off, I love it, and I can kind of get more out of myself than just standing up and striping it on a Tuesday and Wednesday. That part of me, I know hasn't left.

Yeah, I just think everything's getting a little bit tighter, a little bit better. See more good shots coming out. Bad shots aren't as destructive. And that's kind of all you need sometimes to create more looks at the top of the leaderboard.