BETFRED BRITISH MASTERS HOSTED BY SIR NICK FALDO

June 29, 2023

Justin Rose

The Belfry Hotel & Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. Did that feel like a very nice morning?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that was. Felt very comfortable with my game from the first shot, really. Hit a beautiful little wedge into the 10th hole. Got off to a good start, nice birdie there, and I actually think that's probably the best, cleanest round of golf I've played in a long, long time, probably even this year, as well as I have been playing.

That one I just that felt a little smoother and really drove the ball well. The fairways are incredibly narrow here and felt confident with the driver and felt like the irons were being struck pretty cleanly and haven't many putts, really, through the front nine to be 4-under par.

Managed to actually make a few coming in, which is great, and obviously all amounted to a very good day's work.

Q. That must be extra satisfying when you come in as clearly the top player in the field as far as the rankings are concerned, which I guess brings a little pressure, or inspiration, I don't know.

JUSTIN ROSE: I haven't really paid any attention to that, even though I played with the Betfred lads and they were telling me about all of the, I guess, the pricing of the field.

Listen, it's obviously somewhat of a compliment but doesn't mean anything, does it. You have to go and play well. Quality players, if they play well, they are going to be hard to beat, but the hard part is playing well. So obviously, you've done the first step, got off to a good start but a long way to go this week.

Coming off a little bit of a missed the cut at the U.S. Open and a week off without too much practise. The beginning part of this week was important for me to get tuned back into my feels and nice to get off to a good, positive start.

Q. And in no way disrespecting this event, you're at the start of a process that is going to lead ultimately to Hoylake, isn't it?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, you always try to look at the season in little blocks and little runs of golf, and I would say this is sort of British swing of golf is exactly what it is.

Obviously you have this week and into The Scottish Open and obviously culminating with the major championship, which deserves to get the full attention.

So yeah, a good month of golf ahead, which you hope to progress through nicely.

Q. Eight birdies, what did you do particularly well today?

JUSTIN ROSE: To be fair, pretty much everything. It was good to get off to a good start. Kind of woke up this morning; I was wondering if it was going to be chilly around 8.00 in the morning. The jumper came off pretty quickly and felt like a nice morning to get out there and get off to a good start. Greens were fresher than I have putted on this week. I have played most of my golf in the afternoons, and the greens probably deteriorated a little bit.

It just felt like a morning to get after a good score, and stiffing a wedge on the 10th hole was a perfect start. But drove the ball really tight off the tee. This golf course is actually really narrow between bunker and bunker sometimes, only 20, 25 yards, and sometimes fairways are only 15 yards wide, so you do have to drive it fairly straight.

The rough is not terrible, so you can play from the edges, but did not really make a putt earlier in my round but made a few coming in which is nice.

Q. Your resurgence in the game is obvious, win at the AT&T, first win in four years, and five top 20s since then. What's the biggest factor in that resurgence in your form?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think just a bit more clarity week-to-week and what I'm working on in my game and not searching for something that's going to work that particular week and then sort of throw that out and then try something the next week, which is obviously sometimes when you have to do because if it's not working, you've got to try and find something that is working.

But I think anybody who is playing in a rich vein of form has fairly simple thoughts and has good, strong feels and you kind of layer those feels week-to-week-to-week which obviously builds trust in your game. I think I have a clear sort of blueprint with what I'm working on and can build momentum behind it.

Q. I know you're wearing a black ribbon today, I know that's in memory of Keith Maplesden. Tell our viewers about Keith Maplesden and the role he played in your golf as a youngster?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think of Keith Maplesden as "Mr. Hampshire," Hampshire golf, he was so supportive of my career when he was playing county golf as a young man and when I turned pro, him and his wife, Sue, who I send my love to, they followed me around many, many different countries and places and golf courses always supporting. He was very much in the formative stages of my career, a huge supporter and opened many doors for us.