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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 14, 2014Justin RosePALM HARBOR, FLORIDA Q.  Justin, good playing here. Want to talk about yesterday just real quick because the mess you made at 16. You know, it was a mess. You'll agree with it. But that finish had to give you a great feeling coming out today with a birdie at 17 and 18. JUSTIN ROSE: Absolutely. Even the bogey at, I felt good walking up the 16th green. Yesterday was a long, hard day in which I hit a lot of good quality, golf shots. I wasn't getting anything out of round and looked like throwing it away even moreso to finish the day, I knew sticking around even par is all you needed to do and that just come off even, dinner tasted great. To get off to a good start this morning being 4-under par early on about 13, 14 is exactly how I needed to flow in the tournament. Q. You're a veteran now. It's not how I did it, it's how many I shot. I know that the bogey at 6, no one ever complains about a bogey at 6. You might be upset with the bogey at 8. The bonus at 9 is always nice to finish. JUSTIN ROSE: 8 and 9 even themselves out to be honest with you. I missed a three and a half footer at 8. Hit a good 4-iron, played a little bit of wind from the left and hit the 4-iron too good. Didn't move at all. Chipped it up nicely. I had a hard time on my left to right putts today. Missed every one of them low so I putted well right to left. That obviously means it's something going on with my alignment or strokes. I'll work on that on the putting green but the chip-in on the 9th hole was a bonus. Q. You look like you're really, really comfortable out there right now. JUSTIN ROSE: My shoulder is fine. Everyone keeps talking about it. Other than that, the shoulder is perfect. Q. You've been working hard on the short game. Overall, how pleasing is it to put up a good one here? JUSTIN ROSE: Good to feel like I got some momentum going today. I played to feel like I worked my way into the tournament early to finish strong with my round yesterday, I think helped give me some momentum into today. It was nice to carry it on. Playing my way into contention starting the weekend. Q. What's the hardest part as you battle this shoulder issue, but you want to get sharp and have reps? This isn't a golf course that necessarily will, you know, lend yourself to a good one, you got to go out and get it. JUSTIN ROSE: Absolutely. The Florida swing that's what I love it about it, the Honda Classic, you can't fake it around here. Typically that's always been in my wheelhouse, but these events have suited me and I've played well in them. So now that I'm fit I want to take advantage of these weeks and obviously it can help me. Q. What do you carry into the weekend knowing you got a good round under your belt? JUSTIN ROSE: I missed a few left to right, low today. I want to iron that out. For the most part I feel like I'm putting it well. I got to drive it a little bit more in the fairway. That's the only thing I'm not quite doing right now but the iron playing is beginning to feel sharp and I really feel this is a good iron player's course. Q. Your 18th hole, the chip-in on your final hole. Is that ice off a really great round for you? JUSTIN ROSE: I had it to 4-under par and made a couple bogies, especially a sloppy one on No. 8, missed a three and a half footer. Chip-in on 18 will make lunch taste great. Q. Did you know that you had that kind of round today or did you feel it after the way you played yesterday that you might be able to put together a good score? JUSTIN ROSE: I felt I played better than my score yesterday. I was 2-over par with two holes to play and made two good birdies. I felt good about the way my round ended yesterday. Nice to keep the momentum doing. When I look back at yesterday's round I really counted how many quality iron shots I hit, this is especially in the wind, to hit good iron shots you really got to have complete control of your swing. I took confidence from that yesterday. Q. How much more different does this course become on the weekend than maybe the first couple days? JUSTIN ROSE: Well, I think the weather, southerly breeze, should get a little bit warmer. Might make the ball go a little further from that perspective. Typically you don't get much weather or any weather. The greens will slightly firm up and that most makes it tricky to get the ball close to the hole. I don't anticipate the course playing much tougher than it has the last few days. Q. We're doing a story on Jordan Spieth and his last year kind took off from his tournament. What do you see from him as the young guy and how he's carrying himself on that? JUSTIN ROSE: The thing that impresses me most about Jordan, he's definitely had his fair share of bad rounds, but he always seems to bounce back. He's, many times, started with a 74, 75 and the next day comes out 67. I think that's what impresses me most about him. Q. Justin, saying the other day your short game became really sharp during the layoff because you couldn't really take a full swing. Chip-in back there kind of an example of that? JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah exactly. Even the bogey on 8 I chipped it up to three feet. I haven't missed -- I hit 14 greens yesterday. I think I hit 13 today which is not bad around here. I feel like I've been chipping it up nicely. Short game has been sharp. Put it up and down today out of bunkers on the par-5s, birdie. I took advantage when I could. Yeah, I feel technically I'm very comfortable with where my chipping and short game is at, chipping and pitching. For the most part, the putting, too. Q. I know you say the shoulder is not bothering you but is there a period of time between actually getting healthy and then kind of knocking the rust from the layoff off? JUSTIN ROSE: Definitely. I'm going to rethink my layoffs even if they're chosen. I think 7, 8, 9 weeks off can be too long. Can be too long just to come out and expect to be competitive straight away. I don't know if there's a more smart way of doing it where you have more regular three, four week breaks during the year means maybe missing some tournaments in the summer but potentially you don't have as long an off-season. I don't know. Every year you sort of learn as your body changes and you get older, you have to adapt again. It's never a hard and fast rule that works year-in, year-out. Q. Rust off today? JUSTIN ROSE: I feel like I'm getting competitive. I feel like this is the kind of golf course that tells you a lot about where you're at. You can't really get away with it around here. To be 3-under par is not -- to shoot even on that 3-under with the weather we've had, that means my game is looking pretty good. Q. Is there a certain number of events you'd like to have under your belt before you go to the Masters, certain way that you know you've done all you can and you're ready? JUSTIN ROSE: I don't have a set number. I think guys talk about 6, is that the magic number, that's what Nicklaus always felt. Rory talked about 6. I don't have a number. I think it's nice to play golf, nice to feel like you've gained some confidence through the events that you've played. It's nice to be in contention and learn how you've handled it and make adjustments if you need to or gain the confidence from playing well under pressure. That's what you need going into a Major, just to make sure you're a hundred percent mentally. Q. What are you doing after Bay Hill? JUSTIN ROSE: Two weeks off. Q. This is your second to last -- JUSTIN ROSE: Yes, exactly. It's good to give myself time but at least I've given myself a platform on which I can carry on and have a good week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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