ROSE IS THE $10m MAN ... BUT FOR EUROPE HE’S PRICELESS
The day after he won $ 10million at the Fedex Cup, Justin Rose began to play his priceless role in the european team room at the Ryder Cup. The week after holding aloft a trophy that was all about the money, he goes in search of another that’s all about the honour.
every great Ryder Cup team needs a stoic — quietly accumulating points and leaving it to the more extrovert members to claim the glory. Rose continues a noble traditionn that began with Bernhard hard Langer before he gave way to Lee ee Westwood.
europe captain Thomas Bjorn was reluctant to divulge the specifics of a private pep talk he had with the englishman, in n which he identified d a specific role he would like the world orld No 2 to play. It is not hard, however, too guess. Bjorn recently described Sergio Garcia as the heartbeat of the team. Continuing the analogy, Rose is the backbone.
‘With the stature he has in the game, he carries a lot of weight on his shoulders,’ said Bjorn. ‘But that’s what you expect when you’re the world No 2 and a major and Olympic champion. It’s up to you to go out and impose yourself and Justin will do that.’ As tempting as it must be to spend each evening wondering how to spend his windfall, Rose parked it to the back of his memory the moment he stepped off the plane from Atlanta. ‘The team have had a bit of fun at my expense, placing all their drinks on myy tab and that sort of thing but for me the Fedex finished when we landed,’la he said. ‘I enjoyed the plane pl ride over but b once we got here h I became one of 12 guys. This week is about another job to do and getting another party p started on Sunday Su night.’ Rose R sounds pretty pret keen to get the partypar started come tomorro tomorrow morning, urging the French to be at their most passionate. ‘At Gleneagles it was a purist golf crowd but I expect this will be more of a sports crowd,’ he said. ‘I’d welcome an atmosphere that’s a bit more raucous and like we face in America.’ Whether at home or away, Rose has shown his mettle. It was on display at Medinah in 2012 on that unforgettable Sunday afternoon, when he holed a tram-liner from 50ft on the 17th to draw level with Phil Mickelson and then from 10ft at the last to beat him.
When asked about the glory putt on the 17th, he preferred to dwell on the one that followed.
‘The first one was unbelievable and inside I wanted to cannonball across the lake when it went in, but the second was the one I am most proud of,’ he said. ‘The first one would have meant nothing if I hadn’t finished the job off.’
Rose will play at least four games this time and revealed he has been preparing for a heavy workload.
‘ I think our team will prove fresher than the Americans,’ said Rose. ‘I’ve made a lot of mini decisions through the Fedex Cup to make sure I have a bit of gas in the tank and can play five games if necessary. I think the other experienced europeans have done similar things. I know henrik skipped a couple of Fedex events, as did Ian Poulter.
‘So I feel like we’re more rested. The Americans feel they are playing their way in and that gives them the advantage, but I guess we’ll see whose strategy pays off.’
Ask Rose what it’s like to play in a Ryder Cup and he gives a typically thoughtful answer.
‘At Medinah, the captain Jose Maria Olazabal gave us a little memento with the inscription: “All men die, but not all men live”.
‘What he meant was that feeling of adrenalin and emotion you get at a Ryder Cup and it will reach a crescendo on the first tee on Friday morning. It’s going to be the most incredible first tee shot I’ve ever hit, for sure, with the amazing grandstand behind it.’
From the 18th-hole money madness on Sunday to the first-tee festival tomorrow. Rose is certainly a man enjoying Olazabal’s maxim.