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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2010

Justin Rose

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

DOUG MILNE: All right. Justin, you continue to get it done here after Round 2 after the Travelers Championship, a flawless 8-under 62 today. Just how about a few comments on -- you've obviously gotta feel incredibly good about your position heading into the weekend.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, for sure. I mean yesterday's finish was amazing, ran five birdies in the last six and then again today managed to get five in a row again, so birdied 10 of 12 holes, so from just cruising, suddenly I went to the top of the leaderboard just like that, and began to get a nice little lead there.
But obviously I knew that just keep hitting shot for shot, stay in the moment, be patient, because you know, you have your runs, and there are going to be times this week where I'm going to be tested and things are going to go against me a little bit, but that's going to be the key.
First two days this week everything's gone my way, you know what I mean, so it's going to be more how I deal with when things might not go perfectly, which you gotta expect in a 72-hole tournament, but right now just staying out of my way, you know, staying true to form and hopefully it'll continue.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. With that we'll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. Is the course kind of susceptible to a run like that?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, for sure. That's doable around here. I did a similar thing the first two days, shot 65, 63. It was a nice little lead and played steady on the weekend, shot 69 I think. Scott shot 61; Tjaart shot 64 on Sunday and played just some awesome golf.
So I just know that it's not about where you are on Friday, you know. It's about knowing that you gotta keep moving forward.

Q. Have you ever had any (indiscernible), something like that, on the ball?
JUSTIN ROSE: Actually, the Disney tournament I shot 60 there. Like on the Palms, I birdied 10 of the first 12 in my round. Yeah.

Q. (No microphone).
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. And (indiscernible), you know.

Q. I'm guessing if you maybe had shot 59 at Disney, birdied 10 out of 12. How about today? Did that cross your mind?
JUSTIN ROSE: It actually didn't. I think sometimes you forget you're playing a par 70. So used to being 72, and 59 is so ridiculously low.
But today obviously I knew I was going low, but it didn't really translate for me that it might be a 59.

Q. You've had a lot of expectations in your whole career. Are they a burden or is it something that motivates you?
JUSTIN ROSE: I would say for me it's been a burden. I think but that's my own fault, you know what I mean. Only recently am I beginning to lighten the load upon myself.
Yeah, I think you know what, it goes back to when I was 17 years old and finished fourth in the Open. That's where the expectations came from. I probably got a little bit wrapped up in a little of that, too, but that came through, and when I was 21, I won four times in six months.
And yeah, in my career, really, to be honest with you, and some ups and downs, but that's for different reasons, but the point is you begin to get aware. You begin to know you're mature. You begin to see things more clearly.

Q. At 17 you're not ready for all of the --
JUSTIN ROSE: No, I don't think you're ready. That's what really impresses me about guys like Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy. And I suppose they are 21. I didn't realize actually how good I was at 21. When I won four times in six months, I don't think I understood how good that was. I didn't realize how good I was.

Q. Would you like to turn the clock back?
JUSTIN ROSE: No, not always. I would probably do things differently again if I had the opportunity. But hey, I'm a happy person here, I've got a beautiful family and I've been very lucky with the game. I mean, so you know, I'd be crazy to say I wanted to turn the clock back.

Q. Do you feel you get to some where you may have struggled with a little bit, do you feel that you can now be that player at 17 and 21 and have a run out here now?
JUSTIN ROSE: There's no reason why not, but I mean again, it's -- it's really how good can I be. That's a question I gotta ask myself every day, and that's what's gotta drive me.
Whether that translates to five tournaments out here or 25, I don't know. But that's what's going to drive me every day is how can I get better and where is it going to take me.

Q. Do you have some idea how good you can be?
JUSTIN ROSE: I think if you think so, sometimes you can put a ceiling on it, and not really every day improving and every day you work smart, who knows what can happen.

Q. Would you say this is the best you've been playing since you were 20 years old or have you had stretches where the results weren't as good as they are now?
JUSTIN ROSE: I've been playing this good all year tee to green, but the difference is I'm probably just thinking a little bit more clearly recently and I'm making a few more putts, obviously.
You don't shoot these kind of scores I've been shooting recently without taking your chances, but nothing's really changed in my long game. What's changed is the fact that I'm probably a little bit more patient with it. For a while I was chasing results because I knew I was playing well instead of just letting it happen.
So it's a very fine line out here. It's very subtle, and I haven't really changed much. Suddenly my name's up there, and you think, well, what's different. But really nothing is different. It's just suddenly happening.

Q. Justin, is what's happening these past two days to your results a more relaxed because you won a couple weeks ago at Memorial or is it just because you're on a streak right now, you're just playing well in all facets?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think I'm just on a nice streak. I'm not getting in my way. I'm letting it happen.
It's nice to not field the question, "can this be your first win," I must say. That helps. Having done that, that's one question that it's just something less that I have to think about.
Winning a tournament in its own right is difficult. So when you have the added expectation of it trying to be your first, that can be harder sometimes.

Q. (Indiscernible).
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. (Laughs). Down to my house.

Q. Did you get a sense you were playing well when you came in here, going back to Tuesday when you put that little pitch shot to four inches out? Did you get a sense right there, this could be my week?
JUSTIN ROSE: No, really I felt under prepared coming in here, I gotta tell you. Didn't do a lot of practice. Don't really feel like, I dare say, flushing it right now either. I'm doing a lot of things well. My feel's really good.
When I have the opportunity with a wedge or short iron, I'm kind of getting it in there, getting it close and reading the putts well and taking my chances, but there's certain aspects of my game I feel like that I could still improve a little bit.
And you know, whether this week, next week or down the road. That's what I'm talking about, I'm just trying to get better each day, but I'm certainly enjoying the things that I am doing well now, too.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. Well, Justin, thanks for your time.

Q. Can you go over your birdie card?
DOUG MILNE: Oh, yeah. If you don't mind just running through your birdies and giving us some clubs and lengths.
JUSTIN ROSE: 11th hole, I started on 10. The 11th I hit a 9-iron to about 5 feet, made birdie, drove a sand wedge to about 8 feet on 12; drove a 4-wood just left of the green, and I putted up to about six inches.
14, I hit driver, sand wedge again to about 10 feet. 15, I hit it into the right-hand bunker, had about a 30-yard bunker shot. That's probably my shot of the day actually, hit the bunker shot to about six inches. Pin was on a little lob, it was a do-or-die kind of shot.
2, again, 4-wood, sand wedge to about 5 feet. 3, driver, sand wedge to about eight feet. So you kind of get the picture. I'm just taking advantage of the sand wedge. And then 9th hole I hit 3-wood, wedge to about 8 feet.
DOUG MILNE: All right. Well, keep it up.
JUSTIN ROSE: Thanks.

End of FastScripts

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