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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIPJune 21, 2013Justin RoseCROMWELL, CONNECTICUT Q. 14 greens, that's solid ball striking. JUSTIN ROSE: Is that what it was? Okay. Well, it was a little better than I thought it was. I hit a couple of iffy tee shots to the right, but maybe got away with them and managed to knock it on the green, but obviously when you're not in the middle of the fairway, you're having a hard time attacking these pins, and obviously with the guys going low you need to have control of the ball from the fairway. But all in all pretty good. Q. A little more wind. Did the golf course firm up at all? Of course you had an early‑morning tee time. JUSTIN ROSE: Yes. Beginning to firm up. I think the first signs of it firming up were the last couple hours the balls were beginning to bounce 5, 10 yards. So by the time we get to the weekend, I think some of those pins could be pretty sporty. Q. U. S. Open trophy, a nap this afternoon. Congratulations. JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. Life's good. Thank you. Q. Four birdies and two bogeys here on Friday for Justin. How did it go out there for you? JUSTIN ROSE: Pretty good round of golf. I've just been told I hit 14 greens, a little better than yesterday's 12. Still don't feel like I'm 100 percent with my body. I haven't had a chance to do much gym work and stretching, so that's something I want to get done this afternoon, because I just felt like I wasn't really completing my back swing, completing my turn and getting to a spot where I could really swing freely. But pretty happy, hit all the good putts on the back nine, too. There were some burning edges, just not pacing the line didn't quite add up. But yeah, had it to 3‑under through 10. I felt good at that point about maybe keeping it on and making a few birdies coming in getting into the tournament, but I get to rest now for the next 12 hours or so and looking forward to tomorrow. Q. When we talked on Thursday you said it was a little bit of soaking it in, the first tee applause. How difficult is it to realize now halfway through, this is a golf tournament? JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean absolutely. I found like getting up this morning was a tough one. The night was very, very short. But absolutely, we're back in a tournament now. You're back in the rhythm of playing a 72‑hole golf tournament. So tomorrow, again, is an important day, just to try and keep the momentum going, keep the adrenaline going for Sunday and try and make something happen. Q. You said earlier in the week this is part of a three‑week plan for you. After winning the U. S. Open how is this plan going? JUSTIN ROSE: Well, it's a lot of fun, obviously. I'm just trying to honor the plan as best I can, honor the golf, honor what's been working for me so well. You know, but I think the only days I've gotta be really careful of on Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays is really try and conserve my energy so I can give a good account to myself playing the tournament. Q. Justin, appreciate the time as always. JUSTIN ROSE: Thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you. Q. How was it out there today? JUSTIN ROSE: It was good. I mean beautiful day. Obviously once again, put a decent round together. This week is all about being able to find that low round, so just trying to keep myself ‑‑ keep momentum going that should I find a low round on the weekend I can still stay in the tournament. Q. Have you been able to find a comfort level in this second round? I know obviously with the U. S. Open, but be able to focus now on this tournament as much? JUSTIN ROSE: Yes. I felt good out there, especially I was 3‑under through 10 and I felt like I was getting nicely into my zone and unfortunately hit a poor tee shot off 11 or the second hole, my 11th hole which I made bogey there which just sort of halted the momentum and then I parred in from there. I did hit some good putts from that point but just didn't go in. Yeah, I felt like I was definitely in the tournament and feeling good about things. Q. You were talking about wanting to get some rest. That goes out the door with the early wake‑up call this morning; right? JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, yeah. The night definitely went quickly. I wanted to watch a bit of the basketball, too, but I couldn't make it through that. I was dropping off. But yeah, this morning's wake‑up call. I kind of ran a little bit behind this morning. I ended up only having like 30 minutes to warm up. But those things, just sort of try and get my time management back on time for the weekend and get back into some normal routines. Q. Keegan was talking about the conditions. Can you just describe what it's like playing out there? JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. It's perfect golf weather. Just enough breeze to have to think about things and be able to hit some good shots. The greens were very, very good. In fact, the greens were great yesterday afternoon. They were perfect this morning. The course is in great shape. Obviously there's enough rough as well that if you do hit poor shots, you can't blow it anywhere out here, so you gotta keep the ball in play. But like I said, it's in perfect shape, so if you are playing well, you can go ahead and take advantage of it. Q. How do you feel your game is now going into the weekend play where you are at 5‑under? JUSTIN ROSE: You know, I haven't hit the ball quite as solidly as I would have liked to. I just need to I think maybe go and take care of my body a little bit, sort of stretching, some physio, maybe a workout, just work out a few kinks. I feel a little bit stiff and tight in the back and the hips. I guess not having had a chance to work out the last few days and stuff like that. So that's the plan. Q. Of all the well wishes you've got, are there any text messages or voice mails that you've gotten that have stood out? JUSTIN ROSE: I think, you know, the chat that I had with Tony Jacklin I think was a really nice moment, obviously being the last English guy to win the U. S. Open. That's something that I think will be a part of my memories as I grow old, having had the chance to talk to him. You know, a couple other guys that just really stay current, I think Greg Norman and Gary Player, whether it's me or whether it's other guys, I always notice that they're one of the first people to reach out and they reached out to me after winning my first PGA TOUR event and that kind of surprised me, but it's just really good that they stay very involved in the game. Q. When did you talk to Tony? JUSTIN ROSE: I talked to Tony Tuesday. Q. I know you're focused on this weekend, but have you thought much about your plans for the future and your schedule as far as that's concerned? I know it's been a grind the last few days. JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean I think the schedule through the end of the FedExCup is pretty set and from that point on I really am going to have to balance a few things. I've got some commitments in Europe that I need to take care of to get my numbers up over there, so I haven't quite balanced it all just yet. Q. Going into the weekend depending on where the leaders are, how far you are, does your strategy change at all or do you play this thing the same no matter what and let the chips fall where they may as far as the leaderboard goes? JUSTIN ROSE: I think this course is tricky enough that if you do get too aggressive and too greedy out there, there's definitely some trouble you can get into, some tricky pins and there's a lot of fall‑offs around the greens that can catch you. I still think it's about giving yourself putts out here and hopefully you just find a day where the putter gets really hot. There are wedges into the greens, but I feel like you're always aiming two or three yards to the safe side of the pin. And obviously you can get the ball close here, but I think it's about making a lot of 10, 15‑footers and getting hot with the putter. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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