Coming up Roses
The Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, has the top five players in the world. It just doesn’t have the hottest player in the world.
That would be Justin Rose, who ended 2017 with 10 consecutive top 10s since missing the cut at the PGA Championship. That includes three victories (HSBC Champions, Turkish Airlines Open and Indonesian Masters), along with a runner-up finish in the BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Oddly enough, Rose wanted to be at Kapalua last year and made a reasonable argument that his victory in the Olympics should have qualified. He was eligible this year from his World Golf Championship title in Shanghai but chose to take an extended break before starting in Abu Dhabi.
Until his big run at the end, Rose had only one top 10 — a tie for fourth in the Irish Open — during a fourmonth stretch. Rose said that was due more to a few technical changes he was making in May and June than any hangover from his playoff loss to Sergio Garcia in the Masters.
“I try not to think about the Masters. I don’t think about it that much,” Rose said in the Bahamas. “Clearly, it’s one of those moments in your career. Fortunately, it’s not a defining moment for me.
“You’ve got to put yourself on the line. You can’t be afraid of losing. You can’t get through a career without some heartache. I’m all good with it.”