Q. Congratulations 5-under par 67, yesterday you described your game as decent, better than today.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it was better than decent. That's a good score today to be honest with you. This golf course has a bit of teeth and this morning, we have had some sunny days and this morning, a bit darker and a bit more grey, and I felt like it was a little heavier and thicker with the rough in terms of the conditions. The start is pretty tricky around here, 1, 2 and 3.
Point being, didn't feel like you rolled out of bed feeling like you played great golf. You had to work for your score today. I felt like the start of this golf course today 1, 2, 3, were playing pretty tough.
Q. You have an old friend on the bag that you've known for a long time, did he do a good job?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, Matthew did a good job. He was on time at my house this morning and kept me fed and watered all day. He was edging closer to me as the day went on. I think we've all had situations like this in the last year and a half where you have to make the most of the cards you're dealt and Matthew did fine today.
Q. You wanted to make a statement for The Ryder Cup; how big a statement was that today?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I haven't really paid tons of attention in terms of what I have to do, I've just been trying to focus on my game and my form. That's what I'm focusing on. I can appreciate how many scenarios are still in play this week, but one of them being me winning a golf tournament and making the team outright.
So this gives me the option to focus on something positive for the remainder of the week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports