:: April 09
THE TIMES ONLINE, APRIL 13, 2009 - JUSTIN ROSE'S DIARY FROM AUGUSTA: DOUBLE BOGEYS PROVED VERY COSTLY (ARTICLE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
So, after finishing 20th at the Masters, and tying with Sandy Lyle and my old friend Poults [Ian Poulter] I'm off home to Orlando to see Kate, my wife, Leo, our son, and Margi, my sister who has flown in. I'm looking forward to a cuddle from and with Leo.
I have a week off now and as I play three tournaments in a row starting next week I am determined to make the most of my time at home with the family. As I have said before, I have made a promise to myself and to Kate that when I am on tour I am tour and when I am at home I will be there for her and for Leo. So there won't be much golf this week.
Twentieth was not my best finish at Augusta but not my worst either. I was fifth in 2007, 22nd in 2004, 36th last year and 39th in 2003. I have always made the cut at the Masters. I felt I did well to stay patient this week, not to lose the plot. But I also left far too many putts short and I had five double bogeys, which is not very good.
I feel that this week I demonstrated how when my back is against a wall I play better. I am a grinder. I don't give up. My first round was not great, a 74, and I did okay to recover from that and make the cut, which was important to me. My last two rounds were both 71. I am not excited about my golf but nor am I disappointed.
I did enough this week to make me think that I am getting better. When I look back on the week as I fly home tonight or as I go about my business in Orlando this week, I shall be proud of myself. Proud that I did not give up. Proud that I can play well.
I still can't manage any chords on a guitar, though. My hands, though big, really don't seem to open to their full size very easily. I am intrigued by the instrument and I think I would like to learn a little more about it. It was good having Nick [Bradley, his coach] around this week to watch him play it and to listen to him playing the drums. I am not sure when I am going to see him next. Probably at a tournament. We certainly have not fixed a date yet.
Jim Loehr, the sports performance specialist, was in the house with us this week. As it happens he is a neighbour of mine in Orlando. He usually works with tennis players but the principles he applies with them and to them can also be applied to golf. I will need to assess what we talked about, and so will he for that matter.
At the moment I am looking forward to coming to Britain to compete in the BMW PGA Championship. I am in the top 20 in the Race to Dubai so I am doing all right on that front. I need to play a bit better over here and assuming I do, as I am sure I will, I will be at Wentworth next month.
THE TIMES ONLINE, APRIL 11, 2009 - JUSTIN ROSE'S DIARY FROM AUGUSTA: I AM STAYING PATIENT WITH MYSELF (ARTICLE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
I had 17 pars and one birdie today in my 71. That means I went bogey-free round Augusta. Any time you do that it's pretty good. Not sure how far back that leaves me. I'll worry about that when I come out tomorrow.
I wonder if I went bogey-free when I shot a 67 in 2004? I might have done. I have had a 68 and a 69 in the first round in years gone by too. I might have gone-bogey free in one of those. It's a rarity that's for sure.
I hear that Fooch, my caddie, thinks I have come of age mentally. When your form is not great it is easy to get frustrated and down on yourself. I am not doing that right now. I am staying patient with myself. That is the best way to turn form around. If you keep beating yourself up it makes it a long road back to playing awesome golf. Everything is so close right now. It is going to happen quite soon.
Leo, our son, has put another element into my life. I am not quite so dominated by golf as I was although I made myself a promise that when I was on tour I would be on tour 100 per cent and when I was at home I would be at home 100 per cent. The first thing I do when I come off a golf course is telephone Kate and see how the baby is. We may talk about him for 10 minutes before we get on to how I played so that just puts it into perspective.
At the house we are renting in Augusta this week there are 11 electric guitars in the basement so I have been trying to learn to play the guitar. Nick [Justin's coach Nick Bradley] plays the guitar beautifully. He really does. I am finding it very, very difficult. For some reason I don't have the ability to spread my fingers that wide. Maybe it is because I am so used to gripping a club tightly in my hand. I find it hard to reach the strings and spread across a couple of different frets to hit notes.
Nick has an amazing musical ear. He has never drummed in his life and yet the first time he picked up drum sticks he was unbelievable. Every time someone comes round to the house I drag them downstairs and say "Nick, show them your drumming."
This year has been more low-key than last year but we have had 11 people for dinner each evening, which has been nice. Everybody clears out about 9.30 so that I can get a bit of time on my own to rest up. I am a sociable person. I like being around people. That is the way I am. But it is very important for me to have some thinking time too, time to think about my round, to strategise.
Having our own chef at the house has been great. I asked him to make a parmesan-encrusted pork last night and that was delicious. He couldn't have done it without me, of course. That's how I am. Kate makes a lasagna, I sprinkle some cheese on it and call it my cooking.
THE TIMES ONLINE, APRIL 11, 2009 - JUSTIN ROSE'S DIARY FROM AUGUSTA: DELIGHTED WITH MY COURAGEOUS FIGHTBACK (ARTCILE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
That was courageous. I don't mind admitting that. A 70, which got me to level par after my 74 in the first round, was just what the doctor ordered. It got me through to the last two days. My score leaves me nine strokes behind Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry, the leaders, but that is achievable. Hard but achievable.
I didn't want to miss the cut. I haven't missed a cut in Augusta yet and as I keep telling myself I am good when my back is against the wall. I am good fighter, a good grinder. Having made an ugly start and missed a couple of birdie chances, I think it all turned around for me on the 9th.
I was beginning to get edgy now and tense, thinking things were not going my way. So after I had hit my second onto the 9th green I gave myself a little talking to. It is a hole I have played well down the years. I holed a 30-foot putt there in the first round on Thursday so I said to myself: "Jus, you have always made putts on this green. Do so again."
Other people might not obey me but I obey myself. I rolled in a 15-footer and that energised me going into the back nine.
The 13th was the crunch hole. I had taken my 3 and 5 irons out of my bag and put a rescue club in. It is well named because it rescued me on this hole. Using it I hit my second shot just behind the hole and birdied it. That took me to plus one overall and I knew that I was right on the mark. I knew what Campbell and Perry had finished and I knew there was a ten-shot rule, meaning anybody within ten strokes of the leader would get through to the last two days.
I made a scrambling par on the 15th and then holed a 15-foot bunker shot on the 16th and chipped in on the 17th for a birdie on a hole I traditionally have trouble with. So that was me really fighting out there. The bunker shot was only 15 feet from the flag. You have a tiny portion of green to aim at there. I went for it and found it. A good shot.
So I have nine strokes to make up on the leaders. Nine is my lucky number. That is why I have 99 on my golf balls. Actually 9 is Kate's lucky number and I have adopted it. Her birthday is the 9th of March.
I was better today. I have got momentum. I know my game is going to turn around. Generally the leaders slow up a touch the nearer you get to the end of a tournament. That is the nature of golf. I am in a good position. I have nothing to lose now.
THE TIMES ONLINE, APRIL 10, 2009 - JUSTIN ROSE'S DIARY FROM AUGUSTA: BEMUSED AS A GOOD ROUND FALLS APART AROUND AMEN CORNER (ARTICLE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
I am bemused. I am not bothered and bewildered as well as the song has it but I might as well be. I am full of bemusement. Is that a word? Is it the right word? I just don't know what happened.
I know I went round in 74, two over par, which is my worst opening round in a Masters since my debut here in 2003, but I did an awful lot right. I swung the club well. I hit a lot of nice shots. I bounced back from the bad holes following them with a pair of birdies. I putted well specially the way I holed the 35-footer on the 9th. It was Augusta, I was back and I felt awesome.
But then Amen Corner, the stretch of holes from the 11th green, the 12th and the tee shot on the 13th, got the better of me. I made double bogeys on the 11th and 12th and a third double bogey on the 17th.
It's a funny thing to say perhaps but I am not used to Augusta playing so easy. I did not feel as though seven or eight under was possible. Perhaps my attitude was wrong when I got to two under. Perhaps then I should have said to myself: ok Jus, kick on.
But I did not beat myself up about those three holes. I lost my temper with myself on the 17th but I think that was justified. That tee shot gives me trouble. I should play a draw but I hit it right into the trees. I need to change my strategy on this hole.
I will use another lob wedge in the second round because the one I used today did not feel quite right. I did not convert a number of what should have been routine up and downs. There was one on the 2nd, another on the 3rd.
But when I look back on it I cannot blame myself too much. I got back to the house, found the chef we have brought up from Orlando was preparing dinner, got a cold beer in my hand and felt much better.
Then I thought of the previous night's Champions' League football. I love watching the big four teams playing, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. I live in Putney when I am in England so I support Chelsea. I have rather got on the bandwagon with them, specially since adidas, my sponsors, are a sponsor of Chelsea so I can get tickets. I watched the second half of the game against Liverpool and believe me that was rewarding, a lot more rewarding than those double bogeys I had today.
TIMES ONLINE, APRIL 9, 2009 - JUSTIN ROSE'S DIARY FROM AUGUSTA: PLAYTIME IN THE DISNEYLAND FOR ADULTS (ARTICLE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
I feel inspired every time I come back to Augusta. I call this place Disneyland for adults, a place where dreams come true. It's surreal. I love it.
It was good to be able to have Dominik Senn as my caddie in the par 3 competition. He is the boss of 4Sports, the management company that looks after me, and as well as being a past downhill skier for Switzerland he is a mad keen golfer. This was a good year for Dominik to do it. In the past, my Grandpa has done it and my mother. Last year Matt Dawson did it. Daws is here again this year but not Kate, who is at home with Leo, our new-born son, nor my Mum.
I have good memories here and obviously a couple of hurtful memories too. I have led after the first round three times so obviously I can draw on those good memories. Augusta National is an extreme test and I like extreme tests. It is a course where you need to have imagination, a course where there are three or four ways to play a shot. That what I like.
I tee off at 10.12 in the first round, playing with Angel Cabrera and Henrik Stenson. I am pretty familiar with both guys. They are two great big hitters. The tendency will be for me to try and hit the ball hard playing with those two guys so I am going to have to work hard to stay in my rhythm.
My ball striking is not quite where I want to be. I have had good spells. In last few years I have managed to peak going into Thursday here and I have had great opening rounds. This year I am hoping I can build momentum as the week goes on.
I don't expect to come out of the blocks all that quickly to be honest. I want to put together a solid round mentally as well as physically. I have come in under the radar a little bit. I haven't overprepared or overpractised. I have only played nine holes each day. I am not overtired. I shall go through my notes tonight, formulate a game plan and go at it tomorrow.
I have learned that on this golf course more than any other a slight lapse of concentration can lead to a bogey or worse. There is danger lurking on almost every shot.
I have to stay focused. That is what Trevor immelman did so well last year. I got caught out on the par 5 15 last year when I wanted to go for the green in two, rushed my lay-up and didn't really think too clearly and ended up making an eight. It was a good and harsh lesson to have learned.
I think it is experience that makes you better at this stage of the game. I don't think technically I am any better or my ball striking is any better than it was last year. I have learned a lot about myself,what my tendencies are. Fewer things surprise me. I am becoming a grizzled old veteran. Imagine that. A grizzled old veteran at 28.
THE TIMES, APRIL 9, 2009 - CONSISTENCY KEY TO MASTERING AUGUSTA, SAYS JUSTIN ROSE (ARTICLE BY JUSTIN ROSE)
I feel really comfortable to be back at Augusta. The course fits my eye. Obviously I have done well there, at least in the first rounds. I led or shared the lead after 18 holes in 2004, 2007 and 2008. What I must try to do this year is hold on to my advantage a bit longer. Until Sunday evening would be nice.
Having played in Houston last week I flew home to Orlando for a day before coming up here. It was nice to see Kate and Leo, our 6-week old first child, and to give Leo a cuddle. Kate feels a bit like a single mum when I'm on tour. I hadn't seen him for six days and that was the longest time I had been apart from him. I noticed immediately how much he had changed, even in that time. He has filled out. He weighs 10lbs now. Everything about him is amazing. We are completely in awe of him.
I am using my time on tour to catch up on sleep. I do my share of changing Leo's nappies. So far so good as far as he is concerned. I must say, though, that he saves his fireworks for when I'm looking after him. Any projectile vomiting is aimed at his dad and he peed all over me just now.
My form this year has been encouraging in that I seem to have rediscovered the art of scoring birdies. I found that hard in 2008. This means I am putting better and I must be hitting the ball closer to the hole than I was last year. What is tending to happen now is that when I get some momentum going I make a mistake. I would describe my game as so-so. Coming second in the Dubai Desert Classic in February was good. When things come together in all departments then I am up there, but I need more consistency and I am trying to make sure I do not get too frustrated.
I have split with Kam, my fitness adviser. I just felt that it was time. I have started using Justin Buckthorp, who I met in the build-up to last year's Ryder Cup. He was working at the place in Surrey where the Europe team went before we flew to Kentucky. Kam was very hands on. Justin is going to be less so because he lives in England, but I think I will see him at least once a month.
Nick Bradley is still my coach and Fooch [Mark Fulcher] is still working as my caddie. I can't say enough good things about him. He wants nothing but the best for me. I hope I can give him something to be pleased about this week.
When I think back to the Masters last year, my entire tournament was spoilt by one hole in the second round. I took an eight on the 15th on the Friday, hitting my approach into the water and thinning my next shot over the green. I was frustrated at how slow the round was and shot a 78, ten strokes worse than my first round. It was the most insanely slow round I have ever known, nearly six hours in all and after that I was slightly disheartened. The weekend was a bit of a non-event. I finished joint 36th.
I have adopted a different approach this year, much more low-key. Kate is not coming, nor are any members of my family. Daws [Matt Dawson] will be in town and my brother might be too, so I will have lots of friends to eat dinner with. Nick Bradley and I are sharing a house and we have brought up a chef from Orlando to look after us.
I was pulling for Paul Casey to win at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday. He is an old friend and rival from our days back in England and Fooch was rooming with his caddie. Paul has been playing good golf. In fact, I tipped him for Augusta as long ago as the start of the year. He and Geoff Ogilvy were my picks. It's about time there was another British winner and that is my goal this year - to win.
