Justin Rose was briefed by European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald on what he needed to do to be picked for the Ryder Cup team.
Justin Rose won the St. Jude Championship last weekend to secure automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup. But entering the tournament, the Englishman was outside the top six and hoping for a captain’s pick from Luke Donald.
Rose said he hoped to secure automatic qualification before the St. Jude, but he was given a clear brief on how he could be selected to the team should he finish outside the top six.
Justin Rose has to give ‘evidence’ to Luke Donald that he should be picked for the Ryder Cup team
Rose, aged 45, has had an incredible season this year. He just missed out to Rory McIlroy at the Masters, losing a playoff for the win. He then won the St. Jude in a playoff against U.S. Open winner JJ Spaun, making four birdies in the final five holes.
He’s proven beyond doubt that he can still hang with the very best in the game, and has booked his spot in New York for the Ryder Cup. But Donald said to Rose that all he needed to do was be in the conversation, and he would be picked.
Rose revealed to reporters before the BMW Championship, “I felt very comfortable with the conversations that I’d had with Luke and his team. Their preference was for me to be on the team; I just needed to give them some decent evidence to get me on the team.
“Whether that meant I needed to finish in the top 12 for a pick, or the top 15. Just be relevant for the conversation. That was the brief that I was given, and I thought that was really fair because I do balance the team on one end and you always have the youngsters coming through.
“I knew what my job was. I haven’t put myself under a lot of pressure because of that. Playing better in Scotland and The Open Championship was enough to show them that my game was still right there.
“They have confidence that I can pull it together when required, hopefully.”
USA Captain Keegan Bradley said no one outside the top six can expect to be picked for the American team. That’s a vastly different approach to Donald, who gave Rose pre-tournament assurances.
The American captain is the centre of Ryder Cup conversations, as Bradley weighs whether to be a playing captain. Rose speculated whether he had accidentally played himself into contention.
Justin Rose says Keegan Bradley has ‘played too well’ ahead of Ryder Cup
Bradley is ranked 10th in the USA Ryder Cup rankings entering the BMW Championship, and is faced with the dilemma of whether to become the first Ryder Cup playing captain since Arnold Palmer.
Rose said that Bradley probably never thought he would be in this position, and has played so well he’s forced himself into a difficult decision.
He said, “The overall honour of leading the team was probably his decision-making at the time. That’s going to trump all for him. New York, lead out the team, he’s obviously a charismatic and fiery competitor, and with that will make a great captain.
“He’s almost played too well for his own liking in a sense. The team may well require him. The best way to win the Ryder Cup is to score points, so if he feels like he’s an absolute strategic, brilliant mind then he might focus one way, or if he thinks ‘I’m playing well, I can win points, I’m going to do it that way.
“He’s going to figure out the best way to win it for him, and I think that’s his job as captain now.”
McIlroy said it isn’t possible to be a playing captain because there are too many responsibilities. Rich Beem said he’s worried about Bradley and the pressure he would face in New York.
But ultimately it’s the job of the captain to make the best possible decisions for their team. It’s a unique spot for Bradley, but if he thinks he’s one of the best 12 Americans, he should play.