Rose plans big year to climb the rankings

JUSTIN Rose has pledged to “come out swinging” as he looks to fix the mistakes which have seen him slide down the world rankings.

A first successful title defence of his career in the Turkish Airlines Open in November 2018 took Rose to world number one for the second time, but he was already in the process of switching equipment suppliers.

In his second event using Honma products, Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019, but that remains his last win to date and just over a year later there was no Honma equipment in his bag at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The split was made official in May and, although Rose finished third in his first event following the coronavirus shutdown, he endured a first winless season since 2009 in 2020 and starts this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic ranked 38th in the world.

“World rankings only serve a purpose to get into tournaments, they don’t concern me,” Rose said. “Winning major championships concern me; I still feel like that’s ahead of me and I have that opportunity. I still believe that my best is ahead of me.

“That motivates me. If I felt I was on that slippery slope out then it’s hard to put one foot in front of the other.

“I’m not concerned about playing the game for the sake of playing the game, I only play because I feel like I can improve and I’ve dedicated my whole career to leaving no stone unturned and enjoying the process of getting better as a player.

“I’ve definitely made some mistakes the last couple of years and they are only really mistakes in hindsight.”

The loss of long-time caddie Mark Fulcher due to health issues was largely out of Rose’s control, but the 40-year-old also split from coach Sean Foley and conceded the equipment change was all down to him.

“Some things didn’t fall into place after that,” he added. “You make the best decision you can at the time thinking it’s the right decision. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.

“I’ve pivoted as quickly as I can in those scenarios. Sometimes there’s water that’s gone under the bridge and you need to work your way back a little bit. It’s what my career has been about, I’ve had my ups and downs.

Meanwhile, Davis Love III will captain the United States in the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in his home city of Charlotte, North Carolina.