No end to Rose slump
Third missed cut in four for Justin
AS A media scrum assembled around Rory McIlroy on Friday night at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his playing partner Justin Rose grabbed a couple of personal items from his golf bag, exchanged a few words with his caddie Graham Lord, and made a dejected exit.
These are tough times for the Englishman, perhaps the toughest he has known in a decade.
Rose was a byword for consistency on his way to crowning a 20-year professional journey by becoming world No1.
A flat campaign last year has been followed by three missed cuts in four starts.
To put that into perspective, you have to go back to 2016 to find the last time he missed three in an entire season, let alone the space of a month.
Rose has now had six over-par rounds in a row on the PGA Tour and that has not happened since he first ventured to America. Summing up a troubled mind was a golf bag filled with Taylor Made clubs, despite the fact he signed a lucrative contract with Honma early last year.
It brought little respite. Rose’s ball striking was always the core of his strength as a golfer, but right now he is a mile behind McIlroy in that department, often trailing him by 50 yards at Bay
Hill, and crooked as well. Of course, it is too early in the season to go into crisis mode. But what will alarm Rose is the lack of improvement in his long game, having put in some hard hours over the winter with long-time coach Sean Foley correcting some bad old habits that crept in last season.
Rose was looking to the four events that comprise the Florida swing to build up confidence before a serious tilt at the Masters, the major where he has done everything bar claim a green jacket. Halfway through and the problems, if anything, appear to have magnified. Now down to 13th in the world, a fall outside the top 15 would even imperil the defence of his Olympic crown, where the golf is due to start on Rose’s 40th birthday on July 30.
It would be cruel indeed if he was not there, given how much he did last time to raise the profile of the event on its return following an absence of more than 100 years.
Alongside the top 15, who are all exempt, only two representatives from each nation qualify and there are four other Englishmen within touching distance of Rose, as well as Tommy Fleetwood ahead of him.
If there is one thing we have learned about Rose it is his ability to dig deep when the chips are down. This week, he has the perfect event to draw a line in the sand with the PGA Tour’s signature event, the Players Championship. As for Arnie’s event, one of those Englishmen not far behind Rose in the world rankings just happened to be the joint leader at the halfway stage.
What a remarkable recovery Tyrrell Hatton, ranked 32nd, has made given he has only just returned to the game after three months on the sidelines following wrist surgery.
Before that, he won the Turkish Airlines Open in a six-man play-off, despite his injury. ‘It’s true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder,’ said the 28-year-old from Marlow. ‘I’m loving being back.’
Hatton shared the lead with the Korean Sung Kang, with McIlroy just two shots adrift as he seeks to continue his splendid run of six straight top-five finishes.
Also in touch at five back on a crowded leaderboard were Englishmen Matt Wallace and Danny Willett, alongside Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell.