JUSTIN ROSE believes that jet lag may have accounted for his poor performance in the Benson & Hedges Open last week.
The 21-year-old Hampshire star tees off in today's richest European Tour event of the year, the Deutche Bank Open in Heidelberg confident he can put his Belfry nightmare behind him.
Rose finished at the tail end of the Belfry field at ten over just days after a brilliant win in Japan's luctrative Crowns Tournament - a success which earned him £120,000 and a top of the range Toyota.
It was his third win of the season but Rose paid for it at The Belfry and admitted: "My shot selection and my club selection weren't up to my usual standard and maybe it has something to do with jet lag.
"My game feels fine. The problems I had last week came from smaller things rather than big destructive shots. Mentally I just wasn't with it."
The two million-plus euros on offer in Germany this week should jerk Rose's time clock back into synchro.
Although he has risen to 76th in the Sony World Rankings, he has slipped to 35th in the Volvo European Order of Merit. A good finish in the Deutche Bank event which concludes on Monday, will more than rectify that.
And to prove he's in the right mood for the tournament, Rose had the lowest round of his life yesterday. He shot a ten-under-par 62 in the pro-am curtain-raiser for the German event.
"Nine under was my best until now," said Rose. "I think I may have once had a 61 at my home course North Hants, but that's a par 69."
One man desperate to make the cut and finish up with some serious money is Richard Bland from Stoneham who is currently 124th in the money list with £26,875 earned from ten tournaments.
If he is to keep his card, he'll need to earn close to £100,000. His 46th place finish in the Benson and Hedges earned him £5,390, but two dropped shots in his last three holes cost him over £3,000.
Problems with his driving led to Bland snatching a quick lesson with coach Tim Barter who is over in Heidelburg helping cover the tournament for SKY TV.
World number one Tiger Woods will be chasing his third win in five years in the German tournament which also happens to be a favourite of Lee Westwood.
The European number one in 2000 has won it twice and hopes a return to a happy hunting ground will kickstart his own season.
But the man expected to push Woods the hardest is current order of merit leader Retief Goosen.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article