Farmingdale (United States) (AFP) – Justin Rose said he would welcome US President Donald Trump on the stage if Europe wins this week’s Ryder Cup, and he expects Trump’s visit Friday to create an intense atmosphere. England’s Rose, at 45 the eldest player in the biennial golf showdown at Bethpage Black, begins his seventh Ryder Cup appearance on Friday, when Trump is expected to be among 50,000 spectators at the suburban New York layout. “He’s going to bring certainly a lot of attention and patriotism to the event,” Rose said Wednesday. “I don’t know what I’ll say, but I don’t think he’s going to necessarily be on the tee box with us or roaming the course.”
Trump will make the latest in a series of appearances at major sports events this year, including the Super Bowl, this month’s US Open men’s tennis final in New York, and the FIFA Club World Cup final in July when Rose’s favorite team, Chelsea, took home the title with Trump on stage with the squad. Rose wouldn’t mind a repeat on Sunday, but he’s not sure Trump would be up for it given it would mean the United States had been thwarted on home soil. “A hundred percent, yeah, would love the opportunity,” Rose said of Trump on stage with the team and Cup. “I’m not sure he’s going to want to be on the stage congratulating the team that sort of wins in his backyard, but listen, of course he’s the President, ultimate respect, and that would be a great opportunity.”
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American supporters are expected to create a raucous and intense setting for the matchup at Bethpage Black, with Trump’s appearance adding fuel to the combustibility. Rose, however, isn’t sure Trump will be a distraction once competition begins. “I think there will just be a lot of noise around it, but I’m not sure there will be the continued distraction of it,” Rose said. “But again, I could be wrong, just based upon what I’ve heard, how they’re going to handle his movements around the property. Listen, it’s great for golf that he is engaged in the game and obviously he brings a lot of eyeballs with him. Fan-wise, I’m sure Friday afternoon will be certainly very intense and entertaining.”
– Zola ‘fly on the wall’ –
There’s another spectator at the Ryder Cup this week who has been a distraction for Rose — Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola of Italy, who scored 59 goals in 229 appearances for the London club from 1996-2003. “Chelsea legend. Clearly, I’m a Chelsea fan. I didn’t know he was coming this week,” Rose said. “So it was a huge surprise, and literally, one of the first people I bumped into. I was coming around the corner hotel to the lifts and bumped into him. I meet a lot of really cool people in my life but I was like, ‘Whoa! Wow! Hey, Gianfranco!’ I was starstruck which is amazing.”
Rose said Zola is a “fly on the wall” to support Europe. “But if there’s a moment that he observes and can kind of chime in and can understand the pressure or momentum or locker room mentality, then there’s probably going to be something this week where he can relay a really powerful message,” Rose said. “Hopefully he has that opportunity because I’d love to hear it.”
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