THE MODERATOR: We're joined now by Justin Rose at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Justin, welcome to your seventh Ryder Cup. We'll jump right into questions.
Q. Justin, the team clothing this week has been a nod to past European wins on American soil. Having been a member of one of those teams, how does that feel personally, and how different is the atmosphere here going to be compared to Chicago?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, great question. Obviously, yeah, we're definitely trying to harness those good, positive memories from Team Europe over the years.
I think in practice we wore the '87 shirt and then obviously, yeah, the 2012 shirts, that sort of deep purple, which obviously I had the privilege of wearing at Medinah, which was obviously an amazing week.
It was a pretty tough week, as well, for two full days, pretty much, until the very end of Saturday, as we all know, and then clearly Sunday turned it around.
But, yeah, Chicago crowd was an intense arena to play in, very difficult. I think you began to understand how important momentum is, really, with any match that has a home and an away crowd. So I think that really activates the intensity and the environment out there.
You don't want to compare anything to New York, but I think Chicago was also a big crowd. I think the scale of the Ryder Cup seems to have really kind of kicked on massively in the last decade. So I feel like each occasion is getting more and more intense., which is a lot of fun, obviously.
And I think this one, we don't really know. It's obviously going to ramp up. Obviously we were here for two days; it was very quiet. Had the course to ourselves.
Yesterday playing with fans in was a good step up in gear. Obviously today with the opening ceremony being moved forward is going to be another feeling of, okay, we're getting closer to the start line here and obviously it's all going to start to feel very real, and the intensity of it is going to grow and grow as the week goes on.
Don't know how to compare it to Medinah just yet, other than Medinah was very intense.
Q. We read a bit about you guys wearing the VR headsets during practice. I wonder if you can tell us about your experience with them. Do you think it was beneficial, and what was the worst sledge you got?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, listen, I think the VR headsets have been a thing. But for me personally, it was a great idea, and I wouldn't say I've spent more than five minutes using them, if I'm honest.
I think it was really, really interesting to put them on and get the feeling of what it was going to look like, obviously, with the 18th and the wraparound and the 1st and the stands and how a full Bethpage could look and feel.
I had more fun showing my family. Some people who aren't going to be here, my son, my daughter, my mom. Like this is what the first tee is going to feel like. That was really cool from that point of view.
Obviously it's VR, and it was the overlaying of just the U.S. chants and things like that. So worth doing, for sure, but a soft serving of it, let's put it that way.
Q. Can you talk about Luke Donald's leadership qualities? Does one emerge as a leader, or do you think a leader is born with those qualities?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think that's a great question. I think Luke has always been more on the introverted side throughout his career and very much focused on his own game and quiet and go about his business. And I think Luke has really emerged as a leader over the last couple of years, and I think he's really invested in himself as a leader.
And I think he's grown tremendously as a human, right. I think he's probably learnt so much through this process. I'm blown away by the work ethic that he's given this captaincy cycle, both of them. He came into it in Rome, maybe six months behind where he would have been otherwise, made up for it amazingly.
I think his communication style has been incredibly consistent and on point, and I think takes all the fuss out of it from a player's point of view.
So, yeah, listen, it comes down to execution from a player's point of view always. But just good, clear captaincy I think sets the tone and paves the way for the players to go ahead and focus on what's important, which is obviously on the golf course from Friday morning.
So there's probably a million decisions Luke has had to make to give us no decisions, and I think that that's ultimately what the job of being a captain is. But yeah, I give Luke tons of credit for how much he's invested in himself.
Q. You're a big Chelsea fan. What's it been like having Franco Zola around the place? Was he one of your heros? What are your memories of watching him, and what's he been like? What's his role around the team?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, obviously Chelsea legend. Clearly I'm a Chelsea fan. I didn't know he was coming this week. So it was a huge surprise, and literally, one of the first people I bumped into. I was coming around the corner hotel to the lifts and bumped into him.
I was just saying out there, I meet a lot of really cool people in my life through the game of golf. But I was like, "Whoa! Wow! Hey, Gianfranco!" I was starstruck which is amazing.
You know, football hits different, especially back at home, and obviously the career he's had, clearly -- I mean, listen, I've become more of an engaged football fan in the last decade, I would say. I have a 16-year-old-son who's mad about his football. So it's really been a thing we connect with now.
So I would say my history of football and like really knowing greatest hits and highlights, I'd be not quite there. But I think his energy, what he can provide, I think he's here just to sort of in a sense not -- let's call it fly on the wall. But I think if there's a moment that he observes and can kind of chime in and can understand the pressure or can understand momentum or locker room mentality, then obviously there's probably going to be something this week where he can relay a really powerful message.
Hopefully he has that opportunity because I'd love to hear it.
Q. Luke seems to have planned -- seems to have detailed plans for everything this week. Is there an official policy for how to handle President Trump on Friday when he's on the course? Are you going to ignore him? Say hello to him? How are you going to handle it?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, obviously he's going to bring certainly a lot of attention and patriotism to the event.
By all accounts, he's going to be in -- I don't what I'll say, but I don't think he's going to necessarily be on the tee box with us or roaming the course.
So from that point of view, I think there will just be a lot of noise around it, but I'm not sure there will be the continued distraction of it. But again, I could be wrong, just based upon what I've heard, how they're going to handle his movements around the property.
Listen, it's great for golf that he's engaged in the game and obviously he brings a lot of eyeballs with him.
Yeah, fan-wise, I'm sure Friday afternoon will be certainly very intense and entertaining.
Q. We all know Trump likes a winner, and he was there when Chelsea won the trophy in July. Would you welcome him on the stage if Europe retain the trophy, invite him along if you do win on Sunday?
JUSTIN ROSE: 100 percent, yeah, would love the opportunity to have that opportunity. Listen, I'm not sure he's going to want to be on the stage congratulating the team that sort of wins in his backyard.
But listen, of course, he's the President, ultimate respect, and that would be a great opportunity.
Q. Rory seems to be the self-appointed chief chirper. Are you happy with him in that role, and how well do you think he does it?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think Rory is very comfortable with himself. I think he has thick skin. I think that he can handle the blowback of if he says something that he believes and it is not taken in the right way, I think he's happy to see it how he sees it and call it how he sees it. And I think he has the freedom on the golf course to just roll with that.
I don't think it sort of layers -- what he says I don't think layers into his golf game, and that's an amazing talent that he has. I think he always plays incredibly freely, and I think that's probably the line where Rory can tiptoe better than most.
Q. Rory has got one more Cup than you. You've got him by an age, still.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yes. It's a rocky relationship there, yeah.
Q. Curious, what kind of leadership role do you take amongst the players?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so obviously elder statesman, as I've been called.
But I don't try to see myself that way, really, because I'm still enthusiastic about my game and I still want to be a contributing member of the team in the greatest way possible, which is earning points, and not just here for wisdom and things like that.
But I celebrate the differences in our team, and I think that's obviously what Team Europe is all about. Come from different places, different cultures, different backgrounds, and I think celebrating that's important.
So me putting my spin on it, I don't want to cloud anybody's judgment out there. But I also want to be an open enough book that if someone is feeling like they have a question, then I'm -- yeah, please, come and ask me. I'll be happy to share my experience on that.
But I think that there's not really a need for me to be able to -- or to have to put my arm around anybody. And I think the fact that we are 11 out of 12 returning players is an amazing thing, especially coming to an away Ryder Cup, or 11 and a half returning players, really.
Q. But you did a good job shepherding Bob around last time.
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, for sure. I get a lot of credit for that. But whether I did or didn't, I don't know.
But ultimately to be the best leader is by being the best version of yourself and leading by example. So that's why I felt like at the last Ryder Cup, essentially, I just had to remember all the things that work for me and try to sort of be -- yeah, basically lead by example.
But I guess it helped me more than it helped Bob, is what I would say to that, for sure.
Q. A lot is made of the success with you and Bob in Rome. Obviously with your experience, you gave a lot to him. But just wondered what do you look for in a partner that helps you thrive in the moment out there as a team?
JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that's a great question. I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of great partners over the years, either great friendships or very similar golf games, or like taking on a different role within the pairings.
I've played alongside big players. Henrik Stenson and myself were, I think, at the time top of the game in terms of world rankings, played a very similar game, and that worked for us. That sort of similarity worked for us.
Myself and Ian Poulter were fantastic. I think we have totally different personalities and characters, but we were also best friends because of that. So celebrating our differences in that sense made us a great pairing.
And then obviously I've had a lot of variance, as well, throughout the years, especially on the four-ball side of things.
So I think what makes a great pairing is just the fact of having that mutual respect, ultimately, and the ability to not feel like you have to say "sorry" to your partner; having enough of a comfort level where if things go wrong there's not that moment where heads go down and you feel like you're letting one another down. That's kind of like the line you can't cross.
But other than that, I think it's a pretty broad remit that could make a good pairing out there.
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