Justin Rose: The Interview

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Justin Rose is enjoying the spoils of victory. He begins to open a bottle of champagne, the gigantic US Open trophy gleaming behind him. With a bang, the cork flies off and champagne spurts everywhere, covering the 33-year-old 14-time winner in bubbly.

Amazingly, it’s his first drop since winning at Merion last June. Unlike Graeme McDowell, whose 2010 victory answered the age-old question of how many pints of Guinness you can fit into the US Open trophy (it’s eight, plus room for a few dirty bombs), Rose is not much of a drinker. “I’ve had champagne in it, but only as an ice-bucket – I’ve not actually drunk out of it. My son Leo’s eaten ice cream out of it and my new-born baby nephew Billy has sat in it,” Rose laughs. “More than anything, I’ve just enjoyed sharing time with family and close friends back at home in England and seeing how much it means to them. It’s really touching and humbling.”

As the first English Major winner for 18 years prepares to defend his crown at Pinehurst, TG sat down with him to find out what it feels like to win a Major, how to keep your cool under immense pressure, and why David Cameron is using him to wind up Barrack Obama…

What’s it been like since that day at Merion?
It’s been an amazing time, but I really think it’s something for me to reflect on and enjoy 20 years down the line when I’m done playing. I really think it’s a dangerous mind-set to start thinking ‘I’ve done it’. I’ve often thought about my career and wondered, ‘What if I don’t win a Major? Am I going to look back in regret? Am I going to think what could have been or what I should have done differently?’, so I’m very grateful to have the Major now that answers those questions. Now I’ve got one under my belt, as an old man I’ll be able to look back on my life and say, ‘That was pretty cool. I managed to win a Major. That’s great’. Many great players have not won one. It’s amazing how the goalposts change, because now the question is, ‘What can I do to win more than one?’ I’d really love to be a multiple-Major champion. Waking up every morning and look at the trophy is surreal and I still pinch myself, but it’s time to retire the trophy to the mantelpiece. You can’t go to other Majors dragging that around with you. The golf course doesn’t owe you anything just because you’ve won a Major. The golf course does not give you any more respect the next week. It’s in the past now and it’s time to flick that switch. I’ll enjoy it again in the future when I’m done playing.

The next five to 10 years are head down, crack on, enjoy the journey, work hard and let those things come to me. I don’t have to chase them. I don’t think that chasing them makes it any easier to win them. I’m just going to commit myself to being the best player I can.

What went right to help you win?
It just felt right. We didn’t have the kids with us; of course I love having them with me, but it was just me and Kate and it was a factor – we could sleep and rest up without two little people bundling in!

I used to fly in to tournament venues on Sunday or Monday night, to give myself plenty of time to play the course and get to know it. But it can be painful to think about how much time you have before you’ll actually be teeing it up. At the US Open 2012, I didn’t land until the Tuesday night, because it was way out west. On the Wednesday night there, I felt relaxed and amazed that I was going to play the following day. I dropped too many shots there because I didn’t know the course well enough, but I felt like I’d stumbled across something – that’s where the new idea was born. At Merion, I got to know the course in advance, and then didn’t have days there waiting to get started. It worked out pretty well.

You looked very composed down the stretch, but how hard was it to close out?
The thing is, I wasn’t trying to close it out. In the past I’ve always wanted the tournament to be over, to have the trophy and get out of there. But that day I could have played another 18 and kept going. I was so into one shot, then another shot, with laser-like focus, one foot in front of the other; I just felt like I could keep going. I would have happily walked to the first tee and pumped it down the fairway. I think that was the difference; it allowed me to enjoy competing and playing so much. It had to come to an end and when it did I was on top of the leaderboard, but my mind-set was ready to go on and on 
and on.

Didn’t you feel the pressure of having such a good chance to bag your first Major?
I three-putted 16 and said to myself, ‘That wasn’t ideal,’ but I just let it go. I didn’t try any harder to make up for it. I knew I couldn’t change it; I just had to keep swinging. In the past, I would’ve tried to give myself a pep-talk, or tried to do something different, or tried to fire myself up. By letting it go, I got to the 17th tee and just hit a great shot in there. I missed the green but it was a great shot; it left me 12 feet to the pin and an easy par.

On the 18th tee, Luke [Donald] hit one out to the right and I thought, ‘This is my time’. I felt nervous, obviously, but also calm and ready for the shot. That’s where you go into auto-pilot. You trust your training and your swing, make a smooth takeaway and hope for the best. If you get caught up in the moment and try to force the shot, or try to steer it, it doesn’t work very well. You’ve just got to let it go – that’s the way you hit good shots. It was the same with the 4-iron into 18. I had to wait for three to four minutes on the fairway, and my mind did flick between ‘3-iron… 4-iron… 3-iron… 4-iron…’ In the end I just said, ‘No, it’s a solid 4-iron. Get up there, make a smooth takeaway and let it go’. That’s the whole notion: you can’t try to control everything, just play. It makes it so much easier. The hard thing is to stay very focused for four days and not let anything around you bother you. If you manage to do that, it’s amazing how easy the game begins to feel. It’s a double-edged sword: get the mental side right and the game feels easier; get the mental side wrong and the game feels incredibly hard.

What did it feel like to win and be able to pay tribute to your late father, Ken?
That is one of my most treasured moments from the day. I was blown away; I never imagined it possible to feel so connected to him again. I watched G-Mac and Rory win US Opens and thought, ‘Wow, what a moment to win and have your dad there to hug on Father’s Day’.

Though my dad wasn’t there, I was surprised by how much he was there with me; the way it worked out, the way I felt, the way I kind of felt connected for the first time in a long time. It was a very special moment and that’s almost the sweetest thing – to have that experience again. It’s come full circle. I saw a media clip of my dad being interviewed, the other day, saying ‘I hope Jus’ can go on and win a Major.’ That was his hope for me, and I’ve done it.

What happens after you win a Major and how much has your life changed since?

The immediate 24 hours afterwards was a blur. The whole New York vibe was crazy. Going into the city from Merion, that’s when it felt like you’d done something pretty special. David Cameron tweeted me, but I had so many tweets I just scrolled through them at the time and completely missed it. 
I did provide him with his first line of his speech at the G8 summit with Barrack Obama. ‘Our boy’s come over and won your title’ is basically what he said. I don’t know if the President sent one back about Phil winning The Open though!

I’ve done things I never would have been able to do were it not for winning the US Open. We were in the Royal Box at Wimbledon to see Andy Murray win the final, and that only came about because I won this trophy. I went back to Merion in the autumn with my best mates and we all attempted to recreate my 4-iron shot from near Ben Hogan’s plaque. This time mine went in the car park! But it was so special to go back there with everyone and have fun.

Is it harder to motivate yourself now you’ve achieved such a big goal?

I want to win more. You’ve got to build a whole new body of work. You can’t rest on your laurels. After the US Open, I found I’d miss the odd session in the gym and the odd practice session just because there was a lot going on, and your game soon lets you know about that! At the Open last year at Muirfield I didn’t have it, but there’s always a bit of ebb and flow. And of course, I’ve had a bit of shoulder trouble these past few months and that’s delayed my return to playing properly, so I’m still rebuilding a little bit. I am excited about the rest of my 2014 and the Majors. Augusta and the Masters was a good week for me, though I felt I let it go a little bit with my finish on Saturday. If I’d been 3-under instead of 1-under, I would have been better placed to challenge. I didn’t really get going on Sunday and Bubba fully deserved to win.

Majors come around so seldom that you can’t go into them half-cooked; you’ve really got to be ready. There are not many opportunities. You have got to accept you’re going to play five or six Majors well and not win. Then there are Majors where you turn up and you haven’t got your game. After you take all of those out, it doesn’t leave you with that many opportunities to win one. 
So you have to make the most of every opportunity and that’s why preparation is critical. I feel this is my time to do that and win more.

You mentioned you’ve had some issues with your shoulder; how is it now?
It’s just tendonitis; so the tendon gets angry 
if I do too much. I’ve got to repattern the shoulder, get everything moving better around it, get the muscles hitting better; basically putting my scapula in a better position so the tendon doesn’t keep hitting 
the bone. I have to be very meticulous and methodical in my warm-ups and icing down. I really think I’m over the hump. It’s a repetitive injury sport. You do one thing over and over and over again, and things are going to give out. I’m 34 this year and I’ve been playing golf every day since I was five years old. I consider myself lucky I’ve never had a major injury. I’ve never had surgery and I’ve got a good team around me to ensure that I never have surgery.

Read Justin’s 3 keys to winning his first Major here

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