THE 153RD OPEN

July 16, 2025

Justin Rose

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be joined by former U.S. Open champion and last year's runner-up at Royal Troon, Justin Rose. Last year we all saw how much The Open means to you. Could you put that into words for us.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, sure. I guess I've had a pretty long relationship with the Open Championship. Obviously Birkdale '98, but I'd say even before that. I got to final qualifying as a 14-year-old in 1995 for The Open St Andrews and from that moment on, kind of, yeah, I felt like that created a bit of a media stir at the time.

Kind of got the juices flowing about playing in the Open and what it means to play in the Open, and obviously I've been dreaming about winning it way before then even. Obviously as a kid, on the putting green since I've been playing the game since probably age 8, I've been dreaming about winning The Open of course.

But it began to feel real from like 1995, and 1998 obviously was a fairy tale kind of story and ending to my amateur career, and really the next place from there was to go ahead and try to win it, obviously. I've been close a couple times, but it's an incredible tournament, like I said. As a British player, it's been the one that I've dreamed about winning and holed the putt many times in my mind.

Q. Not sure if you heard Scottie Scheffler in here yesterday talking about kind of what fulfills him and whether winning is kind of actually worth it. As someone who never stops grinding and working hard, what is your take on that and what is it that drives you and motivates you?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, it was a cool take to hear what Scottie was saying. Obviously he's got the rest of his life so well in order and his priorities and obviously his family and faith and all those things. He's got those rocks in place in his life that it kind of was cool to see that golf obviously is what he loves to do but doesn't define him. It was great to hear, quite honestly.

Yeah, for sure I've been in that similar situation in terms of getting to World No. 1. It's something you strive and strive and strive and strive for, and you achieve it and you're like, oh, okey, it's not necessarily what you imagine it to be, but the work and the journey to get there is the thrill. That's the exciting part.

I think that's still to this day what keeps me going is really just kind of be better tomorrow as a person and as a golfer than I am today and that's enough. Obviously you want it to manifest into tournament wins and ticking off your goals and your dreams, but really the journey and the process of getting there is where you have to try to find the enjoyment.

Q. I know you like the tennis and I was curious if you saw Novak Djokovic talking about how in the last year and a half age is really starting to hit him, and he's playing against Sinner best of five last two weeks and he just didn't have a full tank. You've had these near misses the last couple of years. I'm wondering what the emotions are like after one of those second place finishes now in your career versus when you might have been 28.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think when you're sort of 28, you kind of have that runway ahead of you where you think, okay, clearly I'm proving to myself that I can be there and you're still going into the learning mindset of okay, get a little bit better at this and that and if I can implement these changes, I'm going to keep giving myself these great opportunities.

Obviously later in your career you're never quite sure how many chances are going to be left, and when you do come close, clearly it's like, ahh. Sometimes it hurts a little bit more possibly because yeah, you know that it's not getting any easier, to put it that way, and that's obviously what Novak is saying as well.

Obviously he's still capable. He's still probably believing that he can find angles and ways to still battle out there and maybe get that 1 percent in a certain part of his game that might make a difference, and that's kind of what I believe in terms of what I'm trying to do.

I would say overall week in and week out, it's going to be hard to get a ton better and transform my game to suddenly add new dimensions to it where I can kind of become incredibly dominant over the top young players, but I think in certain situations and in certain environments, I can still kind of bring my best, and when I do do that, yeah, I feel very, very competitive.

But yeah, to your point, I think you kind of want to make the most of these near misses at this stage of your career.

Q. You were in the royal box at Wimbledon, you were in the royal procession. Where does being in the royal procession at Royal Ascot rate in the sort of experiences that you may have achieved off the course?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, that was just a real honour, obviously, and I'm not exactly entirely sure exactly why it happened or where it came from, but absolutely one of the most fun and surreal days of my life for sure. It's something that I've witnessed, and it's something that obviously when you're there at Royal Ascot and the races, it sort of kicks off the day's racing, and you're just incredibly excited to see the royal procession come back.

It's sort of one of those things that I think Britain does so well in terms of like the ceremony of -- ceremonial kind of -- I guess the pomp and ceremony, I suppose, is what I'm looking for. It's magical in a way, but to be on the inside looking out was surreal.

I think when you come into the parade ring and everyone is dressed to the nines and the sun was shining and the Union Jack flags are flying, it's a pretty cool moment and something I wanted to burn into my retinas forevermore because I'm sure that's a once in a lifetime, yeah.

Q. Rory said if he doesn't win this week, he'd like to see you win. Just going back to the Masters, you obviously had a front-row seat to what happened. Maybe not the front-row seat that you wanted. What was it like to see all that emotion pour out of Rory on the 18th green at Augusta, and if you were going to be beaten by anybody, are you nearly glad it was him?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so obviously I kind of -- when the moment happened, obviously when Rory was there over his three-footer to win and the tap-in, I was definitely, oh, man, I've kind of been here before watching the same story, obviously being in a playoff against Sergio, so there was definitely a little bit of déjà-vu to that moment, I suppose.

But it was definitely, I think, a little bit different this time around. I felt like I played great on Sunday. I felt like I did a lot of good things. I felt like I chased as hard as I could, left it all out there. So there wasn't as much of a -- there was more pride in the performance, I think.

But even in 2017 I hit a lot of good shots, could have gone my way. But there was a taste of I knew what it would feel like to win. I felt like I could almost imagine what it would be like to have won the Masters. I kind of feel like I have been that close.

But when you see all the outpouring from Rory, you understand how big the moment is and you obviously wish that for yourself, obviously, but like I said at the time, I think it wasn't lost on me what a huge achievement that was for the game of golf, obviously someone achieving the Career Grand Slam, so absolutely.

I was able to still be happy for Rory in that moment, and it had been a long time coming for him. For how good he is, to kind of have a few chances slip by, in obviously maybe a decade even of chances slip by. It was always going to be a matter of time. I mean, it's easy for us to say that, but when you're the player, you want to kind of get that done and you want to get over the line, and obviously he had a huge opportunity to get that done.

What can I say? He hit two amazing shots in the playoff. I'd imagine he felt like he'd have given it away until that point. He probably felt like he shouldn't even be in a playoff from his point of view. So for him to steady himself and to put two great swings on it when it mattered most for him, obviously when you lose to that, you can kind of walk out with your head held high and give your competitor a lot of props for that type of situation.

But obviously you've got to look inward and understand how is there anything I could have done better in the moment? But really I hit two great shots into 18 myself, and the outcome was what it was.

Q. Based on what you've learned throughout your career, if you could go back in time, how would you have prepared for major championships differently at the beginning of your career and specifically The Open Championship?

JUSTIN ROSE: Well, I think preparation around the majors is something I've taken seriously probably for the best part of 10 to 15 years now, and I feel like I have done it differently to a lot of guys, and I have invested the time into preparing for major championships.

Quite honestly the last couple days have been very difficult to prepare. It's very busy out there. There's a lot of crowd, a lot of people wanting a little piece of you, autographs and all sorts of stuff, and obviously you're playing in four-balls and there's a ton of people inside the ropes and it is chaotic. I feel like that's not an environment to really learn the golf course at all.

I think I started implementing some different strategies around preparation pretty much actually 2013 before winning at Merion. It kind of worked perfectly for me that particular week.

But yeah, went and spent two or three days the week prior, so the course was pretty much in championship-ready condition but there was no one there, so you could have the run of the place. You could spend eight hours doing whatever you wanted to do on the golf course. You could putt to every pin, you could make detailed notes, and I feel like that's very difficult to do the week of the championship, and also it's incredibly time-consuming and energy sapping to prepare properly.

That is why -- then there's the whole dilemma of do you want to play the week before or not play the week before, so it's a real balance really to get right.

I think the majors come so quickly in the summer. Once the Masters is out of the way, I feel like the next three majors feel like they come quite rapid fire, so it's quite hard to find the time to dedicate towards doing that unique practice and preparation, so it's a challenge for sure.

I feel like I have implemented it early enough in my career where I've seen it make a difference. I think I've performed relatively well in the majors over the last decade or so. A lot of that's down to the preparation and time I've put in, I believe. So I don't really look back and think I could have done anything different.

I think being a major champion I credit to preparing well for the majors.

Q. Back to Rory, could you talk about him as a teammate in the Ryder Cup, as a rival when you're going for a major, and what it might mean, although it's all about your preparation and about you winning it, what it might mean for him to win it here, for this place and for the game?

JUSTIN ROSE: Listen, Rory is obviously a local hero around here, and rightly so, and he has been probably since he shot -- I think he shot 61 here as a kid, didn't he?

The legend around him in these parts has been growing for a long, long time. Obviously he's going to be incredibly well supported this week.

I feel like the pressure is off him almost from that point of view this time around as it was to 2019 maybe even, the fact he's got nothing really more to prove. This would just be like cherries on top of everything. I feel like probably he's in a good mindset, I would imagine.

Obviously I've had a bit of a come down off the back of the Masters. I feel like I'm coming back around to having more energy and focus again. I can see maybe the same for him too. Yeah, it's probably coming at a good time.

Then clearly we've got FedExCup Playoffs to look forward to, and then the Ryder Cup is the next big thing on our minds. He pours a lot of his energy and emotion into that as well, leaves it all on the golf course and he's a great teammate.

His standing in the game doesn't necessarily dominate the team room. Although he is a vocal figure in the team room, he doesn't necessarily make that presence felt to the detriment of the team in any way, shape or form. Give him a lot of credit for being a good teammate.

Q. You had in your bag for a while the Axis1 putter. I believe you were a part of the design. You don't have it anymore. What has changed and what are you looking for in the greens now?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so still love the Axis1, still speak closely with the guys there, the owners, the developers of the product, still help them with next generation of products. Yeah, I just felt like I needed a change of look for me, and that was about a year ago actually, around this time.

I think the slower links greens as well, I just was looking for a little different feel or a -- actually a lot of it was around alignment. Just fell back into a putter that I quite enjoyed.

But I still, like I said, it's still for me -- the Axis1 kind of pattern and design on it is first class and it offers so much. But yeah, it's definitely still for me a great option going forward.

Q. Picking up on what you mentioned about the Masters, how long it actually took you to get over it, if you have, and the positive reaction, the way you and Kate behaved in the aftermath, does that sort of help, the positive feedback you've gotten?

JUSTIN ROSE: It's been a weird one because I don't really feel like I had to get over it because I didn't necessarily feel completely devastated by it either. Do you know what I mean? I felt like I played well. I felt like I could walk away with my head held high. So from that point of view I didn't really feel like there was much baggage or much to get over.

I think what was difficult is having just at the micro moments with everybody you meet for the next couple of months even, like well played, well played, unlucky, unlucky yeah, thank you. Everyone wants to talk to you about it. So in that way it's hard to get past it. That's the only thing I would say that I felt maybe.

It's a subconscious, it's not even a conscious thing. I think I'm over it. I don't know. Who knows?

Q. Has anybody said anything particularly nice or touching or striking to you since?

JUSTIN ROSE: Listen, most people have been so kind afterwards, and I think to answer your question, I think that has been a big help, and obviously I think that I've -- yeah, I probably picked up a lot more followers and fans because of the Masters and because of maybe what -- I just felt like I reacted normally afterwards, but for whatever way, shape or form that's perceived, I think people thought that that was sort of -- it became a fun tournament for people to watch, I think.

I think the back nine became exciting. It wasn't a runaway win, someone made a run, someone was playing well, there was a bit of drama, a few bad shots, some great shots, and suddenly it culminated into this amazing story, and I think I was just part of that. It was great to be a part of it. I think it was one of the most exciting majors we've had for a long, long time.

I think being a part of that story has made people very excited about the tournament, and the feedback of that has been positive, I think, is all I'm saying, I suppose.

I'm ready to move on for sure because second is second place, isn't it? It's a tough loss. But at the same time, it's still more evidence that when I get things right, I'm still competitive and can still bring it. That's where I'm encouraged about, and obviously I've got to make sure those moments like this week and going forward I can try to be as focused as I can on the moment now.

Q. When you come to a week like this where you are getting that extra level of attention, mentally do you try to dull it down and play it like any other golf tournament, or do you say I want to really embrace that attention and pay extra attention to it in your mind?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it's a good question. I think that the last couple of days I've really just tried to sort of shrug it all off, and I don't feel like I've been -- I feel like a lot of my preparation -- I was up here a couple of weeks ago, and I'm leaning on that because I felt like I took in a lot of information, and I feel like the last couple of days I've just let it wash over me a little bit. I haven't been too intense. I feel like I haven't had the energy to be too intense. There's been a lot of other stuff going on.

I think that's been my way of handling it these last couple of days. I know tomorrow that's all going to change. I'm not even worried how I've played these two -- often in practice, if I don't play well in practice, there's really no sign at all of how the week is going to go whatsoever because tomorrow it's for real. The focus completely changes.

I think that's what I do find difficult about the preparation is everything is so busy, so chaotic, there's lots of stimulation out there but zero focus to deal with it. Versus in a tournament and a lot of things to deal with, but there's that focus kicks in that helps you navigate kind of the situation and the atmosphere out there. So I'm kind of almost looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. I don't know if you saw Scottie Scheffler's comments yesterday about fulfillment and winning and what meaning that brings to you, but can you relate to what he was saying at all? I know you've spoken about wanting to get that one last major win.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I answered a question on that just earlier on in the press conference, and very relatable for sure. I think there's been moments in my career where you do, you summit to the top of the rankings and you kind of maybe perceive it to be more than it actually is at the time.

But I think it's just a great reminder for what he said that yeah, there are clearly other things in life and it's about having all your big rocks in place, and clearly he has family and faith, as my family is in place. Those are the things that give me the greatest joy.

Obviously listen, we spend a lot of time playing golf. We spend a lot of time focusing. I've been dreaming about being a pro golfer since I was probably 5 years old. So it's a huge part of me and I want to honour that always.

I'm only 45 years old, let's say, halfway through my life, I hope. I also hope to be a lot more than a golfer. It's good perspective to not make it be everything, yeah.

Q. From your visit here a few weeks ago, the golf course, what's the plan of attack? What do you see as the big challenges? It looks quite difficult off the tee, seems to be a key to scoring well around here. I wonder what your opinion is on the challenge.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think it's got everything, to be honest with you. I think it's tough enough off the tee where you've got to really respect it. The bunkers aren't as penal as a lot of other links golf courses necessarily. Still probably can't get on the green, but you can maybe advance the ball a little bit further than some other bunkers.

But still avoiding the bunkers at all costs really around a links golf course is number one. The rough is thick, but there's going to be opportunity out of the rough too. You can maybe draw the odd good lie, so it's kind of got that variability. It's got that sort of -- gives you the opportunity to hit recovery shots as well, I think.

We're going to have different wind directions this week, out of the south definitely for the first day, maybe day and a half, then potentially a little bit of north coming in again. Today was out of the north.

So my practice trip was valuable because it was more of a south wind, so hopefully get a little bit more of a feel of how tomorrow is going to play for us versus today. That's another reason why I was not massively intent today on exactly how the course was playing because I'm not sure we're going to get that feel again. We'll see what happens on the weekend.

But yeah, I think there's a lot of birdie opportunities on this course as well. It does give up some birdies. I think you need to be positive. You need to go out there, as tough as it is in places, you do have to get on the front foot and maybe there's certain holes you need to take advantage on. So yeah, it's a great mix.

Q. What are your reflections on your experience at Troon 12 months ago, and what impact did that have on you and your hunger at this stage of your career?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, if I look back at Troon, I think I played as good a golf as anybody for the whole entire week. I think I probably played through some of the tougher conditions in terms of Saturday afternoon was brutal. I got the worst of it there. I really felt I hung in, so it was good resilience I felt like I showed that week.

I felt like I went out and I shot the second lowest score of the day on Sunday, which again, if you're in one of the last groups -- obviously I got beaten by Xander who played an amazing round of golf, and we were kind of toe-to-toe right through the round until he had a golden half an hour where he stretched away, and that was it.

Yeah, felt like, again, when you step up as a competitor, you're like, yeah, I had everything available to me to win the tournament. That does kind of keep you believing, you know what I mean, and obviously that gives me a lot of hope coming back into this week and future Opens, as well.

Q. In your articulate way, can you please explain to us how important it is to you to be in the Ryder Cup team, what it would mean to you to be in the Ryder Cup team. Secondly, are you able or do you have any head space for not getting into the team, or is it just dismissed?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think first and foremost, I think the only way to make the team is by having no head space about what happens if you don't make the team. It has to be all consuming. It is a huge goal.

I feel like I definitely want to be in that team in New York. New York has been a well-talked-about Ryder Cup for it feels like almost a decade. I don't remember when it was announced. It feels like a long time ago we knew we were coming to New York, and it's well-anticipated, and I think it's going to be one to experience.

No one knows quite what to expect, what it's going to feel like other than it's going to be different. It's going to be an awesome experience, one I want to be a part of, in the mix of it, which is inside the ropes with my golf clubs, and to be able to be a good teammate in the best way I can. So yeah, absolutely, it's a huge ambition of mine to be playing in New York.

It's going to test every ounce of you, and I think those are the moments that I'm looking for. That's kind of where I'm finding the joy, and that's what I'm chasing at this point in my career are the big moments in the sport, whether that's Ryder Cups, major championships. Those are the memories I'm trying to make. I feel like I've been lucky enough to achieve a lot in the game, and I'd like to have achieved more of the same things, more majors, more wins, more everything, but I've pretty much achieved everything I could have dreamed of achieving in the game of golf, so I'm just trying to really add to those highlights now, and obviously Ryder Cup offers a huge opportunity to do that.