Justin Rose said the fear of allowing a first USA win to go against Europe inspired his late heroics on the 18th hole on dramatic day one of the Ryder Cup.
After Team Europe had produced their first-ever clean sweep against Team USAin the opening session of the cup, the visitors again failed to card a victory in the afternoon fourballs.
At one stage, it looked like the United States might potentially win that session 3-1, only for Europe to rally through Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and finally Justin Rose.
Rose ensured the session ended 2½-1½ in Europe’s favour with the day’s final scoreline 6½-1½ with a nailbiting putt to launch rapturous celebrations on the 18th in the day’s final match.
Afterwards, the 43-year-old, comfortably the oldest player on either side, revealed: “I said to my caddie, ‘Come on, I don’t want to be the only piece of red on that board’.
“The 18th hole was incredibly kind to us, and the boys holed some unbelievable putts. Those three ties mean a lot, just for a moral victory as well as obviously keeping the score as spread as possible.
“I couldn’t have imagined it. I definitely felt Europe were up against it for a period of time. Today was an unbelievable day.”
Rose said the hosts would bid to build on their momentum when the action resumes with the second quartet of foursomes early on Saturday morning.
HOW'S YOUR NERVE ROSEY!!! 🌹@JustinRose99 coming up clutch at the last!#TeamEurope | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/6avIet26S4
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 29, 2023
But despite having the clear momentum, he warned against complacency against a star-studded US line-up, which failed to fire on the opening day.
He added: “Obviously, Team USA is strong and will be strong and will come out strong tomorrow. There's no complacency here. Today was an unbelievable day.
“There are small margins between the teams. You look at the way it was - obviously the American team is a great team, top 20 in the world, they are a hell of a team.
“And it's going to still to be that way for the next few days. We're going to be fighting for small margins out there.”
