Justin Rose’s guide to Muirfield

Winning The Open would validate all of the hard work I’ve put in, to realise your childhood dreams.” Justin Rose isn’t joking. “Make no mistake; it’s what I am striving for. Since I was 10 years old I’ve been holing putts to win The Open Championship on my putting green back home at my local club. So it’s what I’ve dreamed about, worked towards, in some ways what I’ve been destined to do. It would complete the journey.”

Rose’s statement of intent ahead of Muirfield speaks volumes. The Open is the Major he has most affinity with, the one he desperately wants. The 17-year-old teenage star-in-the-making who burst onto the world stage at Birkdale to win 1998’s leading amateur silver medal is now ready to add a gold champion golfer medal to his Open horde. And of course, the Claret Jug.

When TG meets up with Rose at TaylorMade HQ in Basingstoke to discuss this year’s event, he casts his mind back 11 years to only his fourth Open and a very memorable one staged there. For in the opening two rounds Rose was paired with Tiger Woods for the first time in his career.

“What do I remember of the 2002 Open and playing with Tiger? Well the summer of 2002 was my first breakthrough; I won four tournaments that year and on the back of that as you know, it was also the time my dad sadly passed away. But before The Open he gave me a pep-talk about playing with Tiger along the lines of: ‘You are facing and will face in the grand scheme

of life, much tougher things than playing with Tiger Woods.’ He really put it in perspective for me that it’s going to be a fun day, not an intimidating one and it worked amazingly well. I shot 68, I was -4 through nine and I think I ended up teeing off in the second last group on the Sunday due to me playing a great 68 on Saturday in the morning before the storm came in. I was tied 22nd in the end.”

And as he looks over our map of the course, other details filter through; he hasn’t played it since 2002, but he is excited to be returning. “It’s a great Open course. I know the first hole goes away. And you head out in an outer loop all around the front nine. Depending on the wind, I think it’s an iron off the first tee and very short iron in.

“The second hole I don’t recall being overly tough down into the corner. I do seem to remember there’s a funny tee shot on five where you’re hitting over brush and bunkers; that’s a pretty tough hole, and six dog-legs hard left. I know nine is a tough hole and plays a dog-leg because of a funny angle, but I do need to remind myself of the course again.

“But 10, 13 and 18 are great holes. I know Ernie’s designed some other holes based on the par-3 13th and 17 is a par 5 I remember with Gary Evans losing his ball there; without that he was about to win the Open. That was pretty sad. And 18 is one of the classic finishing holes – beautiful clubhouse behind the green. You’ve got to drive the ball long and straight, hit a nice long iron to the middle of the green, two putts and win The Open… it sounds good to me! I’d take 18 pars like Nick Faldo in 1987 to win it, too.”

Rose is convinced his game is in great shape for the task ahead. “I think I’ve added a whole new facet to my game with a little bit more distance. That’s been interesting. It’s opened up a few more possibilities on par 5s and a few of the guys like Tiger and Rory dominate par 5s, so I think that if you’re trying to be the best player in the world, you need all aspects of 

your game. I think Luke Donald defied that for a period of time, but that’s an element I’ve been working on. I’ve also been working hard with my fitness trainer Justin Buckthorp; he’s been a huge part of the extra 5% I’m getting and working towards in my game; TaylorMade’s latest and greatest equipment, coupling the Lethal ball with the R1, I’m maximising my clubhead speed and swingspeed, so that’s been good.

“But I think what I need to do now to get that next jump up again is not to do anything different; if you change too much or search too hard for the next level you can mess up the foundation you’ve built. I feel I need to focus a little bit harder to get back into my golf shots more; really tightly focus on my process, the flag, my commitment, and on my acceptance too, accepting the bad shots and moving on. Not letting them have any lasting effect.

“It all sounds very easy to say but in reality it’s harder to do and I know that the answer for me is not a new swing feel or a new putter or new coach; it’s just in me, and that’s a reassuring feeling as well.”

Three experiences in 2013 have reinforced that, as he explains.

“Chasing down Tiger at Bay Hill was a bit of a weird one for me. On the Saturday afternoon I literally ran out of steam. I don’t know what it was; if I hadn’t eaten properly or drunk properly, which is kind of rare for me as I normally stay on top of that. I hit the wall there but bounced back really well for a second place finish.

“And at Augusta, a lot of what happened there, especially in the third round which was very frustrating, was down to preparation. Too much was done on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; Thursday and Friday I played beautifully, Saturday too until a little hiccup on the 12th hole and I just felt like the rest of the weekend was hard work. I just put too much into the early part of the week and to win a Major you need to be fresh on a Sunday.

“I’ve seen Adam Scott coming through; he’s been great in the Majors recently and has a very distinctive practice routine. He practises hard at the Major venue Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and really quietens down into the week to give him that strength for the weekend. So that’s something I’ve learned.

“Another thing I feel good about is missing the cut at TPC. It’s an event I’ve never done well at anyway. I was in such a consistent vein of form: 15th, 2nd, 5th, 12th, 20th, 15th. Results were coming easily, but I wasn’t in a growth stage.

“Because results were coming week after week, I wasn’t forced to look internally and think OK, what’s going on, how can I improve? It was just expecting a result every week. The more consistent I was getting, the more frustrated I was getting, because it is about winning tournaments; that’s why you play the game. Consistency is nice and what you strive for too as a pro; it’s a good benchmark for your game improving, but like I say, Sawgrass was a good point for me to draw a line in the sand.

“It’s decompressed me a little bit, to reset and refocus and look at the rest of the summer now, especially The Open. I want to bed in good habits before then and hopefully they will pay off. Having seen a good friend win the Masters, I do think it’s our time to win Majors. Adam, myself, Luke – it’s our time to get cracking.”