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BUICK CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 2005

Justin Rose

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Justin Rose for stopping in today. Justin, I know a disappointing day for you. Just talk about how the round went for you today.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, obviously when you're starting the day with the lead, you've got high hopes of winning, and that's your intended target out there today. I got off to what was a pretty steady start to be honest with you; parred the first six holes and birdied 7 to get at the time I thought, this is what I need, get going.

I was quickly halted by bogeys on 8 and 9. The bogey on 8 I could handle, fairly tough par 3. But then the 9th hole, misjudged the wind, turned a birdie hole into a bogey hole. I felt a shift in my momentum. For the next few holes it was a real sort of battle with myself really; just to get my momentum back was tough.

Then I bogeyed 12 to sort of sit out of it if you like and just really had to get on myself the last few holes.

I said to myself, I knew I needed to get to 14. I kind of figured that was the number, and I knew it was possible to birdie four of the last six, but I only managed three.

TODD BUDNICK: You had birdies on 13, 15 and 16 but had a tough time getting to that number.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, exactly, made two really good swings at 13 and two putted there for birdie.

Then the 15th hole I made just a great up and down out of the right hand bunker, long bunker shot, a 40 yard bunker shot, which we all know that's a tough distance. But to make that up and down I knew was big.

Then hit a nice 7 iron into the next and really just talked myself into holing that putt. I knew I had to make that putt and it was the best putt I've hit all week. There were a lot of positives. My attitude was good. I never quit out there and didn't let go, always believed I could still pull it off.

Q. You never obviously really had a chance today. Did you feel any differently or did you approach it any differently, just general thoughts or feelings?

JUSTIN ROSE: Obviously whenever you compete in a tournament you're always aware of what's going on and you see guys who win week in obviously somebody wins every single week. A lot of times a guy will go into the final round with a one shot lead and be overtaken. One shot is nothing really. That was my approach today. I knew I had to go out there and play a good round, make it mine. That's what I needed to do because guys are shooting 61 and 64 from behind you, so I needed to keep moving forward. I was aware of that at the time. I wasn't certainly by any means playing it casually out there. I was doing my best to go out and keep moving forward.

Q. You obviously knew everything that was going on?

JUSTIN ROSE: Not for the first sort of eight holes or so. When I got round the turn there I had to reassess the situation because I had slipped up a little and I had to regroup and obviously some guys were putting up some good numbers.

Q. Were you surprised to see so many guys that close?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, because for two days it felt like myself at Ben at like 12 and 11 and everybody else at 7 and 8, and all of a sudden there was a bunch of guys at 10, 11, 12. It was almost a case of could I finish in the Top 10. I had to dig deep there and make some birdies coming in.

Basically I feel like in the 17th fairway there I really believed I really felt great and I really felt like I was going to pull off at least a birdie coming in. I'm disappointed, but the 18th hole I gave the putt a chance, just sort of missed on the high side. One of the few putts I got to the hole all day. I would never forgive myself if I left it short. I'm babbling on a little bit now.

Q. The last couple holes when you had a chance, you hit it in the fairway and then

JUSTIN ROSE: And obviously that's key on 17. You need to hit it in the fairway there. I managed to do that. It wasn't a good yardage for me, to be perfectly honest with you. 165 yards, right in between 7 and 8 iron, and I figured I'd hit the hard 8 iron because just underneath that hole is no real problem. I got a little bit over the top of it and just really crushed it and actually it went long. So that was surprising, really.

But I managed to make a good up and down. My ball was on a little bit of a downslope and then chipping up onto the green, so I had to connect well with a chip, which I managed to do.

18 I needed to put in the fairway off the tee, but for some reason I've missed that fairway left all week. I hit a good shot my ball was really lying down on the 18th there, had a terrible lie, and I managed to hack it out. Where it landed I thought it was going to scoot up onto the green nicely, but it stayed on the fringe and I had to do my best to make it from 30 feet.

Q. What did you hit out of the rough there?

JUSTIN ROSE: A pitching wedge.

Q. It looked like it was relatively straight. Did it break a little right?

JUSTIN ROSE: It was about a foot left to right. I hit it on a really good line and obviously I rolled it two and a half feet by, so pace killed it, if anything. At that point you've got to get it to the hole.

Q. The similarities between yourself and Ben Curtis making names for yourself at the British Open when you were young players, did you talk about that, joke around about that at all the last couple of days?

JUSTIN ROSE: No, not really, to be honest with you. For me, it seems a long way in my past. For Ben it's not so much, but definitely some similarity there.

But we've got a lot more in common, as well. We tend to go out for dinner with each other out on Tour, and our girlfriends are good friends, stuff like that, so yeah, we're pretty comfortable in each other's company.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll just go through the birdies and bogeys. No. 7?

JUSTIN ROSE: 7 was a driver, pitching wedge to 20 feet, made that.

8th I missed the green left with a 5 iron, pitched to 20 feet, missed that.

9, 5 wood, pitching wedge short of the green, 3 wood short, didn't work as successfully as the day before. Then had a 12 footer there, which I missed.

12, I missed it right off the tee off that bank, had a terrible lie. Hit it in the front trap and then hit the bunker shot over the back of the green and made a really good up and down for bogey.

13, driver, 5 wood to the middle of the green, two putts.

15, 3 wood in the right bunker, good up and down there, putt from about six feet.

And then on 16, made a 12 footer there after hitting 7 iron in.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Justin.

End of FastScripts.

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