DP WORLD INDIA CHAMPIONSHIP

October 13, 2026

Justin Rose

Delhi GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Okay, thank you everyone for coming along. We are welcoming in Justin Rose to the DP World India Championship for the first time. Justin, your first time laying in India.

JUSTIN ROSE: First time for a long time. I actually did come here 22 years ago I think it was for a skins game, back in the day at DLF before DLF looks like DLF looks now. So that was a very brief trip two, three day trip. Very much in and out for the event.

So, yeah, very much does feel like a first time back, and I can't believe it's been too long. It's been too long. It's a country that I've wanted to visit for a long, long time. Actually we had plans to come for my 40th birthday but unfortunately it was one of those things that COVID got in the way of, so we'll have to maybe make that my 50th birthday trip.

But, yeah, it's a country I'm desperate to explore and great to be here for this tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Like you say, it will be your first professional event here and it's an incredible field of international players and local stars. How important do you think it is for an event like this to come to India where there is so much interest in golf?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think it's fantastic to sort of be playing golf in obviously this region. It's a country that's sort of exploding in many, many ways, and I think that, yeah, there a commitment to golf here for sure. The tour travels here a couple times. Got great sponsors, great backers.

Yeah, just it's a really important time for golf to be growing I guess all around the world. Yeah, like I said, for me here, what a field they've assembled. I think hopefully that creates the interest that will help golf grow in this area. Yeah, I'm excited to be here for sure and should be a great week.

THE MODERATOR: Good stuff. Questions.

Q. Just understand your views on course and conditions and how is this course any different from the ones you generally play?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so obviously I'm coming in here -- I can't tell you too much because I haven't been on the golf course yet. I am going to see some holes this afternoon. So I am coming in -- my preparation will be fast and furious.

But, yeah, I've spoken to my friends, Tommy, guys that were here last year. It's a very unique golf course. Very, very tight, very, very traditional, very, very old school from that point of view.

No real need for distance off the tee. The driver stays in the back. Very much like 250 off the tee and very much a second-shot golf course.

So long irons, mid irons will be the most important part this week. Just walking around the grounds, obviously you got to deal with grain. Bermudagrass, grainy greens, tricky chipping conditions.

So yeah, from that point of view fairways and greens will be a huge premium this week. Yeah, that's obviously -- you know, you need to play good, disciplined golf to play that way, so it's a good test.

Q. Justin, you said about planning your 40th birthday over here. It did not work out. What has been your kind of India connections? What did you want to see? Are you a big fan of Indian food, curries? Can you give us some India connections that you have?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, sure. So I have accumulated some Indian friends through the years. Some friends in Orlando; got to know them very well. They took great care of us. A chap that I play with in Singapore was an Indian guy and stayed in touch through the years.

Like I said, I have a lot of Indian friends that have grown up here and now live outside of India but they're all really, really keen to help. That's what I've noticed, is that everyone is very proud of their country and anybody that has any sort of influence or contact or friend here, they really want to share it and they want to show you a good time. They want to show you the magic of India.

From that point of view it's always intrigued me. Yes, I live in England, so of course I love Indian food. I'm not sure how authentic we make it in the UK. The national dish is chicken tikka masala. It's the most ordered dish in England. Yeah, big fan of Indian food generally.

I would say if people asked me what is my favorite food I always reference Indian food. I'll put it to the test this week.

Q. Some players have said over the years that even though this is not a links course it's got to be played like a links course. From whatever little you have seen or on television last year, do you subscribe to that view?

JUSTIN ROSE: That makes a lot sense, yeah. Links golf courses you're trying to avoid the bunkers at all cost and you find yourself playing short of them, so you're hitting a lot of sort of 4-, 5-irons, 2-irons to 4-irons off the tee.

I believe that's very much the type of shot you're hitting off the tee this week. Like you say, although it does look or feel like a links course, the strategy makes sense to me, yeah.

Q. Welcome to India. So I wanted to ask you, you've been competing at the highest level for so long and you won almost everything there is to win in golf. What keeps the fire burning in you after so many years competing at that level?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it's a great question, obviously, and I think that's where I'm at in my career. Yes, I have been able to build a nice resume, but I've only achieved those high levels once. I would love to sort of push myself to try to win another major championship.

But it's more than that really. I want to play golf now for the memories. I think in order to sort of build the memory bank four when you're looking a back at your career, you have to keep putting yourself in the biggest situations in golf, whether that be down the stretch in majors, the first tee of Ryder Cups, things like that.

So I'm kind of really playing for those big moments. You can't always control the outcome. I also learned that. You can play well enough to win a major and I feel like I've done that in the last sort of two, three years but haven't lifted the trophy. So you play to win of course because that feeling is so amazing, but you can't sort of hold yourself to only that.

So I feel like right now playing for those memories is important to me. That's going to take a lot of me. Kids out on tour these days are so good. The strength and depth is so strong out here, so I feel it's taking more discipline for me it kind of stay relevant or continue to push myself to be a better player.

And that's really the goal. Can I be better next year than I am this year? I'm 47 next year. That shouldn't be possible but I think it is possible, and that's the beauty of it.

And that's what I'm striving for, to make next year better than this year and find a way to keep growing. So it's like a personal battle really I suppose at the moment.

Q. You went on a Ryder Cup scouting trip. Talk to us about the process and initial reaction and whose idea it was.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so the scouting trip to Adare Manor was I think a pretty relaxed one. It was first opportunity to Luke to get the wider group together. I think it was probably an important trip for potential players or players that haven't played Ryder Cups before. For some rookies to be around the team to start to feel the energy of what it feels like to be ina Ruder Cup.

And Luke just talked a little bit about how he envisions the strategy and the plan for the next year or so. So it was more of a boys trip. Casual golf, nice dinner, and a little bit of a discussion. It wasn't very intense. It wasn't a pressure packed thing. I think it was just a nice experience for the rookies and for players that haven't been to Adar Manor before, it was a nice moment to go, wow, this is going to be a special Ryder Cup. So it was a valuable trip.

Q. Follow up to that. How do you think the current LIV situation might affect the selection process for the next year?

JUSTIN ROSE: I don't know what the current LIV situation is apart from it seems like a lot of players are beginning to free themselves up to focus on the DP World Tour and put themselves in positions where they might be able to accrue some points.

I think there will be more players available for Luke to select from. The way the Ryder Cup team is selected now six guys qualify and six get picked, so anybody who is showing really good form that maybe hasn't had the opportunity to earn the points but is eligible to play, they're going to put themselves in with -- to be considered for team.

So I think the team may look a little bit different next year than it did this year. Or next time because of how things seem to be playing out at the moment. But I haven't really followed the ins and outs. I know there is a lot of movement.

Q. Welcome to India. You have competed at the highest levels across several generations of golf and still winning against some of the very best. Now as the modern game evolves and becomes increasingly driven by power and athleticism, how do you as a player evolve without losing the qualities that made you successful in this modern day?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that's a really great question. I guess that's my job, especially this offseason, to try to figure out if there are some gains to be had. If I can push myself physically. If there are some power and distance gains to be made.

I think I also have to be realistic at 46, 47, that pushing too hard in certain areas that aren't necessarily my bread and butter do come with risks. What has made me a great player through the years is being able to work my way around tough golf courses, to game plan strategy, obviously the mental side when you need it.

So those are the things that I need to continue to do to stay strong. If I can find -- what I do know is I am capable of driving the ball well enough to be incredibly competitive. I am capable for my iron play to be good enough to be incredibly competitive. My short game needs a little bit of work, but I know I have it in me to be incredibly competitive. My putting has shown really an up-trend really in the last sort of five, six years.

So if I can just piece it all together I know my skillset is -- in all those areas I don't need to do much differently. I just need to a do better job of being able to bring it all at the same time. Yeah, the game has shifted, no doubt.

I think you see very few college players coming out on tour now with let's call it without 180 mile an hour ball speed. When I first arrived on tour John Daly would be 180 ball speed. He was the outlier. Now it's the average.

I think I fit somewhere below that average but not by much. I think I need to compete by consistency of everything.

Q. And a very quick contextual follow-up on that. You took the golf world by storm. When you're equipment was working really, really well, you were winning, to moved to start out with McLaren Golf. How much of that was about finding marginal games versus in today's world how golf equipment works?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think there is a huge opportunity with golf equipment. There are three or four big players and I think there is a way to think outside the box. I definitely did that back in the day. I think there was some execution issues on my end that I could have done a better job with.

I feel like I've learn a lot. In the last four, five years I've played multiple brands. I've learned with what I like about certain brands. What I like about the look of other things.

For me moving to McLaren Golf was a huge opportunity to have a trusted source and a trusted company that have innovation and performance and technology and speed at the forefront of everything that they do and yet it be a small enough business and small enough company in the short-term for it to be incredibly nimble and to iterate quickly and to come up with ideas, and for me to be able to give ideas and have those ideas actioned upon.

So it's really kind of been a perfect platform for me to take all of the things I've learned in the last four, five years my playing multiple brands and put into one package and try to come up with something that is going to suit me the best. Obviously then hopefully that can help as many golfers as possible.

I've definitely been very engaged by the process. It's been incredibly fun. I'm at a stage in my career where challenging the status quo is kind of what I want to do. Yeah, I feel like I have the knowledge now and experience to sort of the really put that to good use.

Q. You've sort of the taken the mantel of the Masters from Rory; you've come very close. How do you look back and how do you recover and get back on the horse again, start all over again?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so this year I felt like I turned up at Augusta with a sense that the people were like, ah, you've been so close and people were rooting for me to get it done this year.

So I need to keep it very -- and I was aware that that was going to be either good or bad for me. You can sense the sort of frustration of the crowd that you haven't been a able to win, and you can't let that become part of your own story.

For me, like I can't control what happens at Augusta. I can control my own performance and how I break down the golf course and how I play the golf course.

You are never going to skip through your career without a mistake at the wrong time. I've been fortunate to have a lot of things go my way in the biggest moments. So yeah, just keep trusting that you knock on that door. I know how to compete. I know how to close a tournament. I know how to win. You just got to hope that it all lines up the right week.

Majors on come around once every -- four times a year. The Masters only once a year. So it takes a lot of things to happen in your favor for you to be the guy on the 18th green putting your arms in the jacket.

I've been incredibly close. I've had three seconds. This year felt like a second although it was a third. I've been very close. I don't know. I think do nothing different if I'm honest.

Just keep knocking on the door and let the golfing gods play out. Feel like I won the tournament. I feel like I played well enough to win the tournament, so therefor my mindset would be do nothing different.

Q. I wanted to know how exciting was that when McLaren started talking and the fact that you can contribute something to what was this year's biggest equipment news anyway? Also, what kind of F1, the R&D and other things have you guys been able to bring McLaren Golf. Talk about that.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so listen, I'm a McLaren fan first foremost. Been on the McLaren Racing advisory board for a little while now, few years. When the decision came to get into golf I was well-placed to be a part of that to help them.

I think that the technology and the F1 engineering department will become more and more useful as they develop into other areas of golf. Ie, fairway woods, drivers, who knows what is might be next.

Obviously --

Q. Golf balls?

JUSTIN ROSE: Sorry?

Q. Golf balls?

JUSTIN ROSE: No plan on golf balls that I have heard of. So yes, when you're creating these 3D models and that's where all the engineering team would come into their own from the F1 department. The materials, the carbon fiber. F1 is a sport where the tiniest details matter more than in any other sport that I can think of.

So that mentality will help so much in terms of pushing the boundaries and thinking about thing from a different angle, too. Already some of the engineers asked questions that are quite like they're out there. You're like okay, why not? Why don't we think about it like that.

So when you have a fresh group of very smart people thinking about a problem, it can create nothing or can create something very, very interesting.

So I think we're well-placed to sort of be very -- oh, what's the word I'm looking of? Yeah, push the boundaries on what's possible. Very inventive with the process.

Q. I believe you are a cricket fan. You've hung out with (indiscernible.) Give them advice on his batting. Are you going to use this week if you find some time to maybe play, meet a few cricketers?

JUSTIN ROSE: That's not part of the week. I hope the energy of cricket comes through here in India. I know Peterson quite well. We live in the same area back in England. I know he's also a big name and brand over here. I think he'll be around the golf tournament this week.

If we can have some fun along the way, yeah.

Q. Get some batting in?

JUSTIN ROSE: Some batting and maybe bowl my famous (audio cutting out. ) I don't know.