Fort Worth Invitational
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Justin Rose
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the 2018 champion of the Fort Worth Invitational, Justin Rose, into the interview room. Justin becomes the fifth multiple winner on the PGA TOUR this season.
You had to fight for it out there, Justin. Brooks kept the heat on you. Just comment on the victory.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah. Really, really proud of this one. This is a special victory for me. I think obviously just winning here at this venue I think is really what means so much. A tournament that I pick up the trophy and the first thing I saw was Ben Hogan's name twice. It sort of says a lot.
And I know there are many, many more there. Jack Nicklaus. You guys know the list. I'm proud to be a part of that.
And like you say, to win in the fashion in which I did today, it was a hard-fought victory. For Brooks to shoot 63 and not win in the final pairing took some doing for me today. It was a really fun day to be a part of.
Glad that my A Game turned up when I needed it, and I'm glad that I got my mindset right at the start of the day. I kind of felt that I had to be as aggressive as the chasing pack were going to be. I know that being four ahead gave them the opportunity to play very free and aggressive golf.
Knew if I came out a little cagey they were going to catch up pretty quick. I tried to stay on the front foot as best I could today.
THE MODERATOR: This really sets you up well now for the rest of the season. You move up to No. 2 in the FedExCup. Talk about your goals going forward.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, obviously when you're in that rarified air in the FedExCup you start to think about positioning yourself in the Top 5 for Eastlake. We all know that's that big, big deal. It's a golf course I have played well at in the past.
To put myself in with a chance there would be huge. We have major season coming up now as well, and they're coming up thick and fast. To be hitting a bit of form hopefully at the right time would be amazing.
THE MODERATOR: Open up to questions.
Q. It's easy to say that you want to get off to a quick start, but when you're really the last guy off, what goes through your head? How were you able to keep your composure and really just kind of put it out of reach early?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I was nervous out there starting my round. I think for me, the biggest putt of the day was the putt I made on No. 1, that ten-footer, left-to-right slider.
Hit a great tee shot, so had sort of done a lot of the hard work on No. 1, and I missed it in a spot you really couldn't miss it to the right of the green there.
I couldn't afford to get too cute with the chip. Played a nice chip, but it went ten feet by. To make that birdie I think was important just to settle me down.
Obviously I chipped it really close at No. 2; made birdie there, too. Sort of the dream start again as I did on Saturday. That settled me down.
As it turned out, that's exactly what I needed to do, because Brooks was matching me shot for shot.
Q. You talk about Brooks matching you shot from shot, but I think it was No. 6 where he blasted out of the bunker, and you responded right away with a birdie putt. Did you get a sense then that he wasn't going away?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, very much so for sure. That for me then -- 5 and 6 were big moments in my round. Definitely to make a couple of key putts to get comfortable with the putter early in my round, I felt that that was really, really important for me.
Yeah, Brooks -- when it's your day things like that happen for you, making a bunker shot. He looked like he was sort of potentially having that type of day. Certainly when he hit that tee shot straight down the middle of 7 and he had a little wedge in his hand, I felt like he was really playing good, aggressive golf.
It was his putting that looked so special for me today. He actually holed a lot of good par putts today. He wasn't always in it for birdie. He made some really good 6-, 8-foot par putts. Looked like when he was on the green he was going to make birdie. I knew I needed to keep playing aggressive.
Felt like I really needed to play hard for that three, four-shot lead.
Q. Kind of building off that, No. 5, can you just talk about the importance of birdieing that hole after the lead had dipped to three to get it back to four?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think obviously committing to that tee shot. It's so easy to pull it left on that hole. Getting in the middle of that fairway was I thought a key, a clutch tee shot just to settle me into the round even further. I was right between clubs. I was in between 6 and 7-iron. I took forever to hit that one because the wind was not quite where it was.
Actually, we'd always used the driving range there. They took all the pins out. That's often what we've used all week to gauge the wind on No.5, and suddenly those flags were gone. Had a hard time picking the wind there.
Like I said, it was in between 6 and 7. O went with 6-iron, got it pin high, and making that 20-footer there was a big bonus. That kick started the momentum on the front nine.
Q. The week as a whole, where would you rank this as far as ball striking performances in your career?
JUSTIN ROSE: Probably at the top. I think in 2012/2013 I put together some pretty special ball striking. I think I led greens in regulation one of those years.
You know, but this is sort of back to my best for sure from an iron play point of view.
Q. Winning here at a place so devoted to Ben Hogan in this fashion, is there some extra satisfaction?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think so. The way I won I think is very fitting for a place that's called Hogan's Alley. I couldn't have dreamt a better way really. I haven't seen the stats, but I'm sure I've been pretty strong approach to the green and what have you.
Putted well enough this weekend. I definitely made up some ground on the putting this weekend. I think I after two rounds I was dead flat with the field. I was putting probably right on average. It was my long game that got me to the top of the leaderboard.
I think the weekend was a combination of as good ball-striking and as good putting -- or better putting. Excuse me.
Q. You haven't played here since I believe 2010. I mentioned Wentworth today was about 20 degrees cooler than it was here.
JUSTIN ROSE: Don't tell me to go back.
Q. No, I'm not. What I want know, the decision to come here as opposed to playing in your home country this week.
JUSTIN ROSE: It was is difficult decision obviously and one I haven't really been able to make in the past.
Each tour has their regulations, and the PGA TOUR stipulates that you've got to play a new event that you haven't played in the past four years. Every year you've got to add an event that you haven't played in the past four.
So if I didn't add this one I was running out of time, because I wasn't going to add anything before the U.S. Open. After the U.S. Open I go back to Europe. Then we're into the FedExCup.
If I didn't play this week, I probably wasn't going to fulfill my obligation with that. Then on the European Tour they have a regulation that you have to play your home event. But I'm hosting the British Masters in October, which kind of gave me that bit of wiggle room on Wentworth this year.
With Wentworth changing dates next year to September that's huge now because obviously I can come back and defend here without any clash, I suppose. So it's all turned out to be good timing.
Q. You mentioned obviously Hogan's Alley. You've won at some traditional courses. Just talk about where this ranks and just the feel for winning at those courses that you have?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, I think winning is winning no matter where you win. If you are able to win at a course that has great history, has had great champions -- and if I begin to look at the courses I've won at, this definitely strengthens that group even more.
I'm very proud of the places I've been able to win. I don't know why that is. I'm not saying they suit my game, but happy my game has turned up and I've been inspired by some of these great venues.
Q. Did you know they have a red wicker basket upstairs in the clubhouse in the Hogan Room?
JUSTIN ROSE: No, I didn't know that.
Q. Can you talk about maybe an influence that Hogan has had on you or Sean or anything you do in your swing, anything like that?
JUSTIN ROSE: You know, everyone has been influenced by Hogan to some point. All coaches anyway. You know, he's done some very amazing things. He's double jointed in his wrists. There are certain things he does that I just can't do.
So I've never really modeled his swing, per se. Actually, funnily enough I model more Sam Snead than Ben Hogan. If we're going old school, that's what I try to I emulate a little bit more based on my physiology.
Q. Back 20 years ago when you were a brash teenager and now 20 years later, how has maturity factored into your game through these years?
JUSTIN ROSE: Well, I've had four-shot leads --actually back in 2010 I think I led the Memorial and the AT&T. No, not the Memorial, but a couple events in 2010. I had a hard time closing them out. I think I might have done it just by kind of getting in the clubhouse and winning by one.
I think the maturity of being able to take these leads, enjoy them, and move forward I think has been a new dimension for my game that maybe has come from a bit of maturity and experience.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations once again, Justin Rose.
JUSTIN ROSE: Thank you, guys. Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #179 at 2018-05-27 22:53:00 GMT
