ROSE RULES WORLD
... but he’s edged out by Bradley in play-off
WHERE better than the city of Rocky Balboa for the man who began his pro career seemingly pinned to the canvas to finally make it to the top of the world?
It might have taken Justin Rose 20 years and 532 events to be officially recognised as the best golfer on the planet, but on another rainy day in Philadelphia and against a star- studded leaderboard at the BMW Championship yesterday, that can have only rendered the accomplishment all the sweeter.
The only disappointment was losing a play-off for the BMW title with the revitalised former US PGA champion, Keegan Bradley. Knowing he had achieved his life’s ambition regardless of the play-off outcome, did Rose lose a fraction of focus? us? The worst hole he e played all day was the e first extra hole, as an ugly three - putt handed the title to his opponent.
Still, what a way to plant your flag on the summit. By Rose’s s side all day was Rory ry McIlroy. Up ahead wasas a charging Tiger Woods. d Elsewhere, Billy Horschel and Bradley were shooting rounds of 64. Young American Xander Schauffele was showing his gifts.
Rose stayed calm. He hardly missed a shot and held the putts that mattered before gathering himself over the closing holes. Trailing Bradley by two shots, he birdied the 16th from 8ft, the 17th from 20ft and was desperately unlucky to see a 20ft putt for the title at the 18th horseshoe agonisingly out of the hole. When the play-off did not go his way, it left Rose with a bitter- sweet feeling in the immediate aftermath. But it wasn’t long before he was able to put his world No 1 achievement in perspective.
‘It’s boyhood dream stuff, and another string to my bow,’ he said. ‘I’ve won a major, I’ve won an Olympic gold medal and now I’m the world No 1. When you look at the players who have held that position, it’s scary company to keep. They are all great golfers and it’s a proud moment to join them.’ Woods got within a shot at one point but a bogey at the 14th effectively ended his chance. A 665 for tied 6th place, hohowever, meant this was another impressive oouting. McIlroy (68) mmissed putt after putt to finish fifth. Tommy Fleetwood struggled a llittle after going 62, 62 in the second and third rorounds but a 69 meant anoanother top 10. No golfer knows better than Rose the aptness of that old Rocky quote that it is not about how many punches you take, but whether you can keep moving forward. In 1998 Rose began with 21 missed cuts in a row. Mentally speaking, that must be about as rough a baptism as sport can offer. But here he is, all these years later, still taking the punches and still moving forward.
Over the past year, Rose has assembled a fabulous body of work to topple Dustin Johnson to become just the 22nd golfer — and fourth Englishman after Sir Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald — to reach the summit since the rankings began in 1986.
Over the course of 27 events, he has won four times, been runner-up on four occasions, and finished in the top 10 in an incredible 20 events. At the age of 38 years and 42 days, he is the oldest No 1 since 41-year- old Vijay Singh in 2004.
Rose has won tournaments in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. He has played in five Ryder Cups and contributed to three winning teams. In 2016, he won the first Olympic gold medal contested in golf for more than 100 years. Now he is world No 1 and the timing, from a Ryder Cup sense, could hardly be more propitious.
Meanwhile, the American team for Paris was completed last night when Tony Finau was handed the remaining wildcard.