Friday 20 September 2019 17:43, UK
Justin Rose described the BMW PGA Championship as a "bucket list" event as he continued to defy a knee injury to remain in contention at the halfway stage at Wentworth.
Rose, who emerged as an injury doubt when he slipped and hurt his knee last week, opened with an impressive 67 and followed that up with a solid five-birdie 68 on day two which left him just two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend.
The world No 3 warned the field to "beware the injured golfer" after an excellent first two rounds, and he outlined his desire to collect the coveted title that has narrowly eluded him, with two runner-up finishes still fresh in the memory.
"I call this a bucket list event," said Rose, who has only two bogeys on his card after 36 holes. "This is one I'd dearly love to win. It's my home event, really, and it's one I've watched since I was a little kid.
"Its position now in the schedule is nice because I can focus on it a bit more. You get the whole FedExCup out of the way and you have a few weeks to freshen up mentally and you can really pinpoint it. I like its position now."
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Rose, who was unable to play a practice round ahead of the tournament, admitted he felt "banged up" when he awoke early on Friday morning and was forced to wear softer shoes to help stifle the pain in his left knee.
"I guess 'beware of the injured' golfer rings true, certainly for me this week," he added. "I'm delighted with that 68, and I didn't know where my game was coming in yesterday, and I wasn't prepared at all for the tournament.
"But sometimes you come in with low expectations because of that, and I'm very happy to put a good round together on top of yesterday's round, which is a huge result.
"I wore a softer pair of shoes today, something with a little more forgiveness," he added. "I was kind of hobbling out of the hotel this morning thinking it could be a long day but like anything, once the body gets warmed up, it's all good.
"For me, it's a bucket list tournament and I'd love to win here one day. I've been close a couple of times, and it's an important one for me and comes at a great time of year. I love autumn golf, so yeah, it's nice."
