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WGC CADILLAC MATCH PLAY


April 30, 2015


Justin Rose


SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Q.  Wonderful match.  You birdied the 18th hole and then the 19th hole and then you move on.
JUSTIN ROSE:  Yeah, it was a battle all day.  I think that's the first time I've been up in any of my matches for two days.  It's taken me a long time to get any sort of lead, with 37 holes to get up in any match.  That was a nice one to pull out at the end.

Q.  What a beautiful strike into the 18th hole with your second shot, as well?
JUSTIN ROSE:  Yeah, I was really happy with the iron shot I hit into 17.  And then hit into the 18 fairway was critical.  And like I said, a nice 4‑iron there.  And again hit the fairway on No.1.  I put enough pressure on him in the end, but Anirban is a great putter.  The first hole I looked like I had it won comfortably, he holed a 30‑footer.  And then he holed another 40‑footer.  It was going to be a tough match, I knew, from that moment.

Q.  You understand the mathematics of the situation.  If he birdies that 18th hole, you go down 0 and 2.  No matter what you do on Friday, you couldn't move on to Saturday.  Now who knows what's going to happen?
JUSTIN ROSE:  Yeah, there's a lot to play for.  Actually I don't know what happened‑‑ did Leish beat Palmer?

Q.  Leishman won.  He's 2 and 0.
JUSTIN ROSE:  So he's 2 and 0.  Right.  So obviously it's in his hands a little bit.  And it's in my hands against Ryan.  So that's the great thing about this new format.

Q.  Justin, 1‑down and one to go.  A match you had to win.  Does it feel good to have it done?
JUSTIN ROSE:  It's taken me 37 holes to get any lead in this competition.  That's the first time I've been up in any match at any time.  It was a hard fought battle.
Anirban played solid golf today.  He's dangerous with a putter.  And I sort of found that out early in the round.  He knocks in a 30‑footer for a half.  And then knocks in another 35‑footer elsewhere in the round.  I knew he was never out of any hole.  So it kept me on my toes.
I had a hard time getting the ball up and down, really, from anywhere, to be honest with you.  I found the rough pretty tricky this week.  I found the greens very, very tricky.  They look slow, and I found them really tough to read.  It's been a slow progress for me to try to make birdies and get ahead in matches.

Q.  You played 30 holes I think it was on Sunday to win in New Orleans.  Has fatigue been a factor these first two days?
JUSTIN ROSE:  Yeah, I got sick early in the week.  The Pro Am was a struggle.  And I felt better yesterday.  And today I feel a bit more back to full strength, even though I don't sound good.
Actually I was happy with the way I hit the ball.  I did all the right things coming down the stretch.  A good iron shot into 17.  Two good shots into 18.  I had to hit the fairways on those par 5s, and I did that.  So when I needed it I think I shot enough.  Hopefully I can take it into tomorrow.

Q.  Marc Leishman has won two matches.  You need him not to win tomorrow.  But your job is just to go out with your head down and win yours.
JUSTIN ROSE:  Yeah, just have to play hard and hope for the best.  If you do lose a game, you need a bit of good fortune to get through.  I think the best I can do is a three‑man playoff tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports


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