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October 24, 2012
SHANGHAI, CHINA
STEVE TODD: Justin, many thanks for joining us. It's been quite a few good months for you, fine run of form coming into this week. I guess you're feeling pretty confident about your chances here this week.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, absolutely. Like you say, it's been a nice rich vein of form that I've been in, and lots to play for the rest of the year. I think that's where I'm trying to stay mentally, keep myself fresh, keep myself focused, keep myself hungry for the rest of the season. Some big events coming up, and an exciting finish with The Race to Dubai.
STEVE TODD: And that's one of your targets; with a victory this week, you could be right up there with Rory.
JUSTIN ROSE: Exactly. I think Rory is playing a lot of golf through the run‑up to Dubai, as am I. Well, I'm playing these two and China and then Dubai. I think Rory is playing one more tournament than I am in the lead‑up, so I'm going to have to play well, absolutely. I figure I'm going to have to win one of these two weeks to give myself a really good chance in Dubai.
STEVE TODD: Yesterday we got a few of The Ryder Cup boys together, I think 11 out of the 12 with Captain Olazábal, as well. That must have been quite a special moment for everyone.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, first time we've all had a chance to be together since that great match at Medinah. It's been good to hear how the boys have reacted to it and what the reaction has been for them all home individually. We knew it was a great achievement at the time, but obviously when you start to hear how people watched it, what they thought of it when they watched it, really the magnitude of what we achieved that day definitely hit home.
Q. How do you come down from a high like that? Because that was just one special moment for everybody; watching it around the world, whether it was in Europe or in Asia. How do you come down from that high?
JUSTIN ROSE: I guess you don't. I went to Turkey and won straightaway afterwards; I'm hoping not to come down from that high just yet.
But obviously it's different, I felt like going to Turkey, I felt excited to get the club back in my hand that week because of the momentum and the excitement. But it was nice to spend a week watching the playback and watching the broadcast and sort of piecing together how that week happened from everybody else's point of view.
So there was a lot of celebrating with friends and stuff back home. But I think I feel it's still very positive about everything. I think for a lot of guys‑‑ it depends in terms of I guess how you're playing. If you come back to real life and real tournaments and you're not in contention, the thrill of that week seems a million miles away from what you might be experiencing on the golf course if you're running 30th, 40th in the field.
For me luckily I was able to get into contention the very next tournament I played and feed off all those positive memories and put myself in positions in Turkey where I was having to make key putts at the right time, and I was able to feed off of what happened at The Ryder Cup.
I haven't really come down from it just yet, and I know like Ian Poulter, for example, he still catches himself at home thinking about the week and thinking about what Ollie must be thinking at home with The Ryder Cup sitting on his mantelpiece. I think all of us, it's still very fresh in our memories. I think it's going to take a few weeks before we're fully over it.
Just to sort of add‑on, I think it's important to sort of compartmentalize it; whenever you play golf, you have to get back into the process, and that's what I was able to do well at The Ryder Cup which made me play well and win my match, and that's what I was able to do in Turkey, stick to my process.
It's very important not to be in the past when you're playing each individual tournament. But saying, that you've got to also cherish those memories, because what happened for me personally at The Ryder Cup on that Sunday are stories for the grand kids.
Q. You talked about the past just then and now you're in the present, what about the future then? Your confidence must just be sky high?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, very much so. The future's no good, to live too much in the future, either. But I'm excited to be playing golf. I'm not ready for the season to end yet.
A lot of times you can get to this point in the season and be really burnt out and really looking forward to your break and stuff like that. But I still feel very motivated to play these tournaments coming up. There's still a lot more to achieve. So that's the key for me.
I've got one more bit to add if you want. In terms of the future, I think the experience and the belief that I have in myself now, having gone through an experience like The Ryder Cup, I think only will be good for me when the moment arrives in a major championship; you know you've been there at the highest level amongst the biggest pressure you could imagine and you've delivered.
Doesn't mean you're always going to deliver and doesn't mean it's always going to be easy but knowing that you've done it before, you know you can stand up the next time you're in a big situation and trust yourself.
Q. You play mostly in the States and some in Europe, but like a couple of weeks ago when you played in Turkey, probably it's your first trip to Turkey, and now you're coming to China, the culture difference, the food, the weather; do you find it pretty tough to adjust?
JUSTIN ROSE: I think the biggest adjustment is often the jet‑lag and just getting your body feeling good.
Right now, I've noticed my first two practice rounds, I haven't quite been, I would say, hitting the ball perfectly. I think there's definitely an adjustment, getting the travel out of your system.
I think the hotel here is so nice, everything is laid on for us perfectly. I feel like there's not a huge adjustment with the food and the weather. You know, the culture is great. I think that's one of the greatest things about The European Tour is you get to travel and see different cultures and that makes it a very, very exciting tour to play.
Q. Just wondering about the field this week, you're a long way from the city centre, seems like guys are staying together, eating together, in the gym together; is it a summer camp feel, or is it business in usual?
JUSTIN ROSE: Case in point, we we're talking about The Ryder Cup, for years and years people say why does the European Team seem to have more camaraderie than the American Team‑‑ I think that has changed. I think the American Team had great camaraderie and that cannot be taken away from them.
But in scenarios like this is why you see guys hang out together; thousands of miles from their family in an environment where maybe it's more difficult to go out and find restaurants and be on your own and so you end up grouping together and I think that's why The European Tour, the guys have a lot of tight‑knit friendships.
So I think if you're looking for a Ryder Cup angle, that's always the way I've explained it because in America, it's very easy to travel with your family. So it comes to dinnertime, of course you're going to go spend time as a family unit; where here you're a bunch of, for want of a better word, guys without families, you're going to group together.
It's good fun. This hotel's great; snooker tables, table tennis, like you said, the gym. But definitely it's a work week in that perspective. This week I'll focus on my fitness. I'll focus on doing a bit more practise as well. So I like those sort of weeks.
Q. I was going to ask you, winning The Race to Dubai and sort of finishing the season as the European No. 1, where would that rate in your career goals? Is it something you want to achieve in your career?
JUSTIN ROSE: Well, yeah, I guess it's called something different now but I achieved that in 2007 winning the Order of Merit. I kind of felt like it happened out of the blue that season.
I now feel like if it happened again this season, it would come from a different place. It would come from‑‑ I think that was a bit of a miraculous year. I seemed to play well in the right tournaments.
For it to happen this year I think would be a lot more meaningful based upon there's been a lot of hard work that's gone on between 2007 and now; I think I'm a lot more aware of why I'm playing well, and a lot more sustainable into the future.
To be No. 1 of any tour around the world, especially obviously The European Tour, that's a huge goal and that would be a huge honour to be honest. It's got my attention obviously these next few events.
STEVE TODD: Justin, thanks for joining us, we wish you good luck this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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