The Golf Watch

Justin Rose's diary reveals all

Ever wonder why the Europeans are so far superior at the Ryder Cup?  I think this excerpt from Justin Rose's diary says it all...one word, methodical!

Poults and I talked about who would play the first tee shot. I know the atmosphere is going to be very noisy and the tension will be so thick you could cut it with a knife. We decided that I would play the first shot. This is a moment people have talked about for a long long time. I am looking forward to experiencing it. The golf course suits us if I take the odd holes on which to drive and Poults takes the even ones. It gives me a lot of the mid irons and long irons into the greeens, which I think I hit on a slightly higher ball flight than Ian and therefore might give us a little bit more control if the greens do get firm. It gives him some tee shots he feels comfortable with and also should I miss one or two greens with those long irons Ian has a great short game as well to get us out of trouble.

Miceli: Rose won't return until Riviera

Alex Miceli, a contributing writer for Golfweek, writes that Justin Rose, the world's sixth ranked player, won't get started on the PGA Tour until the Northern Trust Open at Riviera from February 14-17.  This comes as a surprise because Rose started his season last year at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and in 2005 and 2006, at the Sony Open.  Miceli writes, "Instead of competing, Rose has spent his time getting in the best shape he can for the Tour grind and, of course, the Ryder Cup." 

Rose believes he can be number one in the world

Justin Rose believes that he can one day overtake Tiger Woods and become the best golfer in the world, reports Tony Jimenez of Reuters.  Rose told Reuters, "In the short term, the next one or two years, number two in the world is a realistic target for anyone because Tiger is so far ahead of the pack right now.  In the long term, say three to five years, I've got to work to chip away at the number one spot. That is a long way off but ultimately it's a dream of mine, for sure."  Rose, at 27, is still looking for his first win on the PGA Tour, but has skyrocketed up the world ranking to number six with steady play throughout the year.   

Rose falters on 18th, Immelman wins Nedbank Golf Challenge

Trevor Immelman and Justin Rose entered the final round of the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa tied for the lead.  Even though Immelman bogeyed his final three holes on Sunday, he still won the tournament, due to a closing double-bogey by Rose on the 18th hole.  "It's an event every South African golfer dreams of winning," said Immelman, a South African who moved up to 19th in the world golf ranking because of the win.  Even though Rose finished in second place, he still moved up one spot in the world to number seven. 

Rose climbs to seventh in world golf ranking

With his sudden-death playoff win at the Volvo Masters, Justin Rose has moved up five positions in the world golf ranking to seventh overall, making him the highest ranked European player.  Rose also won the Order of Merit title with his win at Valderrama.  He is expected to play in Tiger Woods' tournament, the Target World Challenge, in Decemeber. 

Rose captures Order of Merit, Cabrera wins in Singapore

Justin Rose captured the European Tour's Order of Merit title on Sunday with his playoff win at the Volvo Masters.  Ernie Els was leading the Order of Merit heading into this week's tournament, but opted to play in Singapore instead, where he missed the cut.  Rose had played in only 12 tournaments on the European Tour and still managed to win the money title, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in the Tour's modern history.  As for the Barclays Singapore Open, Angel Cabrera won the title by one stroke over Vijay Singh.  Americans Charles Howell III and Phil Mickelson both struggled, finishing 14 and 16 strokes back respectively. 

Rose gets hot start, ties front-9 tournament record

Justin Rose was on fire on the front-9 at the BMW Championship, firing a 6-under 29, tying a tournament record.  Rose said at his press conference, "Last week for some reason being a Friday start, I felt a little bit jaded by the time the tournament came around.  This week, I’ve relaxed a little bit.  I guess that produced the right mindset for me to play well."  Rose faded on the back-9 with bogeys on the 15th and 18th holes.  Nevertheless, he shot a 6-under 65, and trails Jonathan Byrd by only one stroke. 

Rose shoots 1-under 69, despite lingering back problem and wrist injury

Mark Lamport-Stokes of Reuters writes that Justin Rose "has had his tournament schedule severely curtailed this year because of a lingering back problem and then a wrist injury."  Despite this, Rose has five top-10 finishes this year, and has gotten off to a strong start at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.  Rose fired a 1-under 69 yesterday and is scheduled to tee off later today at 12:37 p.m.