Monday 6 November 2017 08:16, UK
Justin Rose admitted his victory at the Turkish Airlines Open could prompt him to change his schedule and play in next week's Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Rose followed up last week's WGC-HSBC Champions win with another superb performance in Antalya, rolling in a 10-foot birdie putt on the final green to pip Nicolas Colsaerts and Dylan Frittelli to the title and throw the Race to Dubai wide open.
Tommy Fleetwood's lead in the race to be crowned European No 1 has now been trimmed to less than 135,000 points with only two events remaining, but Rose is currently not in the field for the penultimate tournament of the Race to Dubai and the Rolex Series in South Africa.
The 37-year-old was keen to reserve his energy ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship rather than play four weeks in a row, and he is also committed to playing in the Hong Kong Open the week after Dubai.
"I put myself in a predicament about next week," said Rose after lifting his 11th career European Tour title. "I didn't quite fully anticipate being so close to Tommy, but we'll have to see. It's in Tommy's hands still, but I just know I need to go and play well in Dubai. That's been my mentality from the outset and it not going to change, but it's exciting to be within touching distance.
"Playing four in a row is not something that I do scheduling-wise. I've done it many times and I feel like by the fourth week, you're hoping to play well, not knowing you can play well, at least for me. And especially travelling through all these time zones, I'm kind of banking on trying to freshen up and continue my good form and momentum in Dubai.
"I think I'm focusing on if I win there, then Tommy is going to have to play some good golf next week and in Dubai to beat me, and if he does, hats off to him. I'll set my stall out, and I'll stick to it.
"I made the decision based on what I know works for me as a golfer, and having been a pro for nearly 20 years, I kind of know what works for me and what doesn't. I know that when I do play, I want to be ready and prepared to play."
Rose also revealed that he was reluctant to spend an extra week away from his young family in Florida despite being in contention to end the season as European No 1 for the second time, and the first since 2007.
"My decision was based around what works for me, and also family commitments," he added. "Being away from the kids for six weeks is not something that I do. Some things aren't worth the sacrifice, and I really try to be around my family as much as I can and I try to limit the time away to three weeks.
"So those are some of the ways I try to run my life, and you need to make decisions according to that. If I were young, single and could carry on, it would be a much easier decision."
