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Rose fears Ryder Cup talk may affect his game

Justin Rose claimed the Memorial Tournament at the weekend, prompting congratulations from Jack Nicklaus © Getty Images

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Justin Rose has admitted that he fears that he will plummet down the world rankings if he begins to focus on securing a place in the European Ryder Cup team.

The world No. 33 claimed his first PGA Tour title at the Memorial Tournament over the weekend, which propels him to eighth on the Ryder Cup world points table.

He is still outside the automatic qualification places for a spot at the Celtic Manor competition in October, meaning - as things stand - he will have to rely on a captain's pick from Colin Montgomerie if he is to compete.

Rose is not letting himself get carried away with Ryder Cup talk, however - he is just glad that his game is on the rise after he sank to 70th in the world rankings in 2009.

"I think my best way of getting into the Ryder Cup is not worry about the Ryder Cup - I've been saying that for quite some time," Rose said.

"The key is to just keep plugging away and don't get too involved in all these things that, I guess, started me slipping down in the world rankings. So continue to play free. I talked about trying to play one shot at a time, stay focused, not get ahead of myself.

"I also really tried hard to not distinguish a huge difference between winning in Europe and wining in America. I was trying not to put a huge barrier in front of me. Now, with the monkey off my back, there is a difference, of course.

"To win a PGA Tour event I think you certainly need to have 100% control of your emotions. The last tournament I won was the 2007 Volvo Masters and I didn't win it in a fashion that I was actually terribly proud of.

"I was four or five ahead at one point and ended up winning in a play-off. This gives me a lot more satisfaction to win the way I did."

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