RBC CANADIAN OPEN

June 8, 2023

Justin Rose

Oakdale Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you assess your opening round?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, good score. 69 I think is a good knock out there. It's a tricky little golf course. I think we're all trying to get our head around it in terms of knowing it. I don't think many people kind of have that local knowledge. It is quite a quirky golf course. A lot of angles. You can maybe be aggressive off the tee if you leave yourself in the correct side, even if you are in the rough, because the second shots, the way the greens tilt. So there's a lot going on out there. I think without knowing the course too well pretty happy with that. I chipped in a couple times today, so I feel like I made the most out of the way I played.

Q. You, of one a number of players, were one who stayed loyal to the PGA TOUR while a number of your friends didn't. I was just kind of curious how the news sat with you on Tuesday and what that reception was like.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, the news was definitely left field. It was like one of those wondering if it was a prank for the first five minutes or so, you know. I'm very happy with what I'm doing. I feel like my game is trending where I want it to be. I feel like it's been important for me to challenge myself against the best players in order to try to rekindle the form that I know I'm capable of. Obviously playing major championship golf was always the thing I could never give up. So I was kind of always very content.

Yeah, the news, the headline seems like it's just going to be this very smooth transition and come on back, boys, it's all done now. I don't think that's the case. I still think I'm happy where I am. I'd probably be more concerned if I was on LIV right now than on the PGA TOUR.

Q. Do you think players who did stay, do you have any opinion on kind of how the re-integration should work out? I know that there are a lot of details that you don't know, that lot of players don't know, but your opinion on what should take place?

JUSTIN ROSE: Obviously, we're looking for a harmonious world of golf. This is what I think this is designed to achieve. That's not going to be overnight. Obviously there's a lot of players that you guys want to watch play golf, who we know all know who they are on LIV. They got a lot to offer the game of golf. I think just because they made a certain decision doesn't mean they're outcasts forever. I think that, yeah, I don't know what the protocols will be, to be honest with you. I think there would be if it's just a straight, hey, boys, come on back, that's not going to sit well with anybody out here necessarily. So I'm sure it's going to need some massaging to get it right. There's a lot of guys that have gone to LIV that, I don't even know what's going to happen, obviously, but they have sacrificed a lot as well in terms of ranking and all these times of things. So there might not be such an easy step for a few of them if that's the case, if it comes down to, you know, exemptions and what your categories are on the PGA TOUR. It's going to be very different for different guys.

Q. When you did stay and win, did that make it extra special the fact that you bet on yourself in a way?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it did definitely, for sure. Obviously I was kind of in that age category where you could see that I was maybe a good candidate to sort of think about going. But I didn't, I wasn't ready for anything like that. I still believe in myself and like I said I still feel like I've got that Indian summer of my career to look forward to. So I still feel hungry. I still love the game. I still think I can get better. Which is kind of -- but I also know how hard it is out here, for sure. So to be able to get a win, obviously to sort of play my way into the right end of the FedExCup season. Last couple seasons I've been scratching around and not really playing my way towards Atlanta. I had a great run getting to East Lake many, many, many years in a row. That's the business end of things. That's obviously what where I want to be. That's kind of what I'm challenging myself to do year-in, year-out now.