Justin Rose says he was channelling tennis great Novak Djokovic as he roared in delight at a key putt which capped a glorious day for Europe at the Ryder Cup.
The Englishman rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th hole at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome to halve a fourball match against Max Homa and Wyndham Clark which he and Robert MacIntyre trailed by two with two to play.
Fans and players went wild after Rose capitalised on Homa missing his own birdie attempt and said his reaction was inspired by the same emotions that guide Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“Djokovic even said, you’ve got to use people as inspiration out there,” Rose told reporters.
“In some ways, the 10 caddies and the vice-captains and everybody else out there, that was the inspiration for that particular putt … you can’t plan that reaction, you know what I mean. It just kind of comes out in the moment. It was a lot of fun.”
Justin Rose made THIS putt at the last as Team Europe went undefeated on day one. #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/mNW8TduEfY
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) September 29, 2023
MacIntyre watched on in joy as Rose holed his decisive putt, and another one at the previous hole which allowed the pair to halve the match at the last.
The Scot was on a high despite not being the star of the show due to the team spirit he feels among the players and supporters.
“This is the reason that I play golf,” said an elated MacIntyre. “That was incredible out there, even watching Justin holing that putt and hearing the crowd behind you… I don’t get that feeling anywhere else.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
