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Rose on rules controversies: We're creatures of habit

Cape Town - World No 2 Justin Rose was at his diplomatic best as he fielded questions from the media about the controversial changes to the Rules of Golf.

Golf's governing bodies have been on the defensive in recent weeks as many former and current players have criticised various aspects of the new rules and their implementation.

Last week, Justin Thomas was involved in a very public social media spat with the USGA regarding the two-shot penalty imposed on Adam Schenk for breaching the caddie-alignment regulations at the Honda Classic, and that was just the latest in a series of controversies.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to all PGA Tour players on Monday to explain the Tour's position on the new rules, and Rose has admitted it has taken time for players to get used to the changes.

"I think that sometimes there's always a sort of a teething period with any change and I don't know how you get around that," Rose told the media ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. "It's just about an adjustment period.

"I think all the guys are just so well ingrained into seeing it a certain way. If you think about why they have been made they make sense, but I just think the aesthetic of them is looking so strange to us.

"We're all creatures of habit and it's just going to take some time to get over them. I don't think too deeply into whether they're better or worse.

"It's obviously something we have got to get on with and obviously it's easy to get caught out, as there are some subtleties. No matter what the rules are you're always going to, there's always going to be that situation that comes up."

Rose's message seems to be that players need to suck it up, accept the changes and adapt to the new rules, rather than try to fight them, but it's safe to say not all his peers are in agreement.

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