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It’s been a long, long time coming, hasn’t it? And he was forced to wait one more day as torrential rain at Philadelphia’s Aronimink Golf Club turned Sunday into Monday at the BMW Championship. Despite the loss, Justin Rose became just the fourth Englishman ever to top the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
When the baby-faced 17-year-old chipped in on the 18th at Royal Birkdale to finish fourth as an amateur at The 1998 Open Championship, many would’ve expected a meteoric rise. It took him fifteen more years to win his first Major at the 2013 U.S. Open. Now, aged 38, Rose is officially the World No. 1 for the first time. The Olympic Gold Medallist boasts a career of memorable moments- rightly describing himself as “A history books guy”, but his rise to the top has not been a straightforward one.
The Rise of Rose
After that now-legendary finish to The Open, Rose turned Pro. What could go wrong? 21 consecutive missed cuts, that’s what. Early career struggles were followed by success in 2002 and 2003, before more struggles followed by more success. Form was not always consistent for Rose but, as the old adage tells us, that is temporary. With Justin Rose, class is a permanent fixture. Be it a patriotic desire at the Olympics or extraordinary grace in defeat at the 2017 Masters, Rose won the hearts of golf fans around the world. In 2016, his services to the sport were rewarded with an MBE following that Olympic success. After his Birkdale magic he could so easily have fallen into the same trap as many other young talents but, and I’m sure it was hard to see this at the time, those early struggles as a Pro may just have helped Rose form the character that has given him so much success.
What Next?
The career grand slam, he says, is the ultimate goal. Not surprising, but certainly ambitious. At 38 it will mean kicking on. It’s a little strange to think that he only has one Major under his belt, especially given his fifteen Top-10s at Majors and his ability to win on the biggest stages (U.S. Open, Olympics, 2 WGCs, Rolex Series, FedEx Cup Playoffs and so on). However, Rose now has something that he lacked for so long: consistency. It’s also worth noting that his U.S. Open victory made him the first English Major winner since Sir Nick Faldo in 1996 and the first to win the U.S Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.
English Golf
Rose’s latest achievement marks a serious improvement in English golf. Youngsters like Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick look set to follow in his path, whilst veterans Paul Casey and Ian Poulter cannot be overlooked. With a total of 20 victories across the PGA and European Tours, Rose is the shining light for English golf right now, but this could be a taste of things to come. With five Englishmen in the 12-man Team Europe for the Ryder Cup and 9 in the OWGR Top-65- including 5 in their twenties, exciting times lie ahead for English golf.
Congratulations, Justin Rose!
Written by Joe Carabini
