How life has bloomed for Hampshire’s Justin Rose
IT’S a picture that golf fans across the country will have etched on their memories.
Justin Rose, who went to Robert May’s School in Odiham and honed his talents at courses in Basingstoke, Farnborough and Hartley Wintney before finding a home at North Hants Golf Club in Fleet, kisses his golf ball and points skyward in memory of his late father.
It is June 2013 and the 32-year-old has held off Australian Jason Day and American Phil Mickleson at Merion Golf Club to win the US Open. In the process, Rose, who grew up in Hook, became the first English golfer since Nick Faldo in 1996 to win a major tournament.
Fast forward eight years and although the now 40-year-old’s form has dipped since changing club manufacturer in 2019, Rose remains one of the world’s top golfers.
After attracting attention as a young player locally, a 17-year-old Rose took part in the 1997 Walker Cup – a team tournament contested between leading amateurs from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. Rose and his teammates were beaten by their opposition at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in New York 18 to 6, but the experience was nonetheless invaluable.
Rose then burst onto the scene at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale the following year.
Still a few weeks shy of his 18th birthday, the young amateur finished tied fourth and hit arguably the most memorable shot of the tournament on the 18th hole in his last round.
Finding himself in the rough around 50 yards from the flag, he would chip in for birdie to the delight of those watching.
The top-five finish would remain his highest placing at the tournament until 2018.
After his amazing performance at the Open, Rose returned to the Hook home he shared with his parents amid a storm of media interest ahead of his professional debut later that week.
His first tournament would take place at the 1998 Dutch Open Golf Championship at the Hilversumsche Club. Perhaps the personal highlight of his young career so far,
Rose was able to play a practice round with his hero Nick Price ahead of the event.
After what seemed a long wait for European Tour success, Rose won the 2002 Dunhill Championship at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg. It was fitting that his first professional win would come in the country of his birth – South Africa.
Fast forward to 2008 and Rose was selected for the Ryder Cup squad for the first time.
The then 28-year-old’s three points were not enough to help team Europe retain the trophy, with the US winning it for the first time this millennium.
Two years later, Rose would experience his first victory on US soil after winning The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club, sharing the moment with wife Kate and son Leo (pictured above). The couple would welcome daughter Charlotte into the world in January 2012.
Rose celebrated Ryder Cup glory in 2012 in team Europe’s greatest ever day at the tournament. The Miracle at Medinah saw Europe defeat the US team 14.5 to 13.5 to win back the trophy after overturning a 10 to 6 deficit heading into the final day.
Now at the very top of his game, the following year Rose finally achieved the major victory many knew he was capable of, claiming the US Open title.
The 2014 Ryder Cup, Rose’s third, would turn out to be his most successful to date with him winning a total of four points for his side.
Golf returned to the Olympics for the first time in more than a century in 2016, but whereas many topranked golfers withdrew from the tournament due to concerns surrounding the Zika virus, Rose decided to play on for a shot at glory and can currently claim to be the only man on the planet to be an Olympic gold medallist golfer.
In the blistering Rio heat the Englishman made the most of the weakened field, seeing off the challenge of Ryder Cup teammate Henrik Stenson to win the top prize.
The 2017 Masters has so far been the closest Rose has got to putting on the famous green jacket, finishing in second place after losing a play-off to Sergio Garcia. Yet any heartache he felt after this near miss, followed by a second-place finish at the 2018 Open, would have been forgotten about by the following autumn.
A stellar campaign saw Rose climb to world number one for the first time in his career.
His form saw him secure the season-long Fed-Ex Cup, pocketing the $10 million prize money.
Rose would also play a key part in another Ryder Cup success at Le Golf National in France, as continental Europe hosted the tournament for the first time since 1997.
The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in January 2019 was Rose’s most recent career victory. With consistency since then being hard to come by, Rose will be hoping to change his fortunes over the coming months to be considered for selection as a wildcard pick in Padraig Harrington’s 2021 Ryder Cup squad.
One of the greatest English players in world golf’s modern era, it is surely only a matter of time before Rose is regularly competing for, and winning, top prizes once again.