Justin Rose was clearly in the mood to talk about wife Virginia when he made his first public comments regarding her diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disorder.
“It’s a hard thing to describe, I’ve been working very hard on it and just found out last week it’s a bit of a really steep hill to climb,” he said on Sky Sports PGA Tour.
She’s been digging her nails in so badly. She’s hitting lots of shots I don’t like. — Justin Rose (@JustinRose99) November 10, 2016
“My mind was going a mile a minute.” — Justin Rose (@JustinRose99) November 10, 2016
“She’s in excruciating pain, really hard to understand at times. I don’t think that she knows too much but she knows a lot more than she used to. If there’s a diagnosis that’s a big deal. “
It’s hard to take that golf course if it’s really just an ugly feeling, and I’ve had plenty. They could have done something to help. This is a key, key part of our life and I hope we get to work on it.”
His wife lives in England but is due to visit her family on the U.S. Tour this week.
“It’s not good out there,” he said. “She wants to come here and help me out but I can’t pull my legs, all the clubs are connected so I can’t set up holes and watch her hit balls.”
Justin’s mother Sally Rose tells #SkySportsNews she can’t believe her son is struggling so much. 🤙🏼 pic.twitter.com/8QQL65n9nJ — Sky Sports PGATour (@SkySportsPGATOUR) November 10, 2016
His wife’s illness had plagued Rose for a while but had remained low-key. The 2016 Masters champion, however, revealed last week she was going to begin a trial of a new medication.
“I’ve tried a couple of things, now I have to wait to see what will work and what they can, and what’s manageable, because I want to be out here and playing,” he said.
Rose said on Thursday at the Hero World Challenge that his wife had helped rescue him in a tough time two years ago as he slipped to a mediocre finish at the 2015 Masters, while he battled with a leg injury.
“It definitely helped, she knew when to drive me to get the treatment that we needed,” he said.
“I think if you ask most players they wouldn’t agree to that, it’s not a good thing, but I know she’s happy to drive me to the doctor and she’ll push me to get where I need to be.”
Woods also spoke about his wife’s illness.
“It’s frustrating because she’s been through so much over the years and there’s probably no one more deserving of the ride I’ve been on with her and kind of seeing how she copes with these things and her coping mechanisms and the daily life that we’re in,” he said.
“[Our kids] think it’s funny, because they’re not fully aware, but if they started to read about it, it’d be difficult.”
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