Justin Rose is one of the most influential golfers in world golf right now. He has earned everyone’s respect for his attitude, the way he wins and loses, his commitment to the Ryder Cup, his extraordinary effort to remain competitive at the big events and his fantastic performance despite a long career. When he speaks, people listen. He rarely gets into trouble and his opinion is usually calm, measured and very well considered. Today, ahead of THE PLAYERS, he was one of the figures to come through the press room, and he was asked about the situation of Jon Rahm and his standing with the DP World Tour and the Ryder Cup. Rose has spoken out. He understands both sides, but he asks the Spaniard to make an effort
This is his reflection: “The DP World Tour has reached an agreement with eight players and Jon has not. It seems fairly clear that the deal they were offering him was not unreasonable. I would like Jon to pay his fines, of course, and to be part of the Ryder Cup. From my point of view, playing in LIV was a decision he made because he wanted to, and I think that’s fair enough for him, well done. He is playing good golf there. He is winning. He is earning a lot of money. You can’t argue with, you can’t criticise what he has achieved there. I would see the fines as a toll he must pay. Playing the Ryder Cup is more important than money. I might say that he could be right about the Tour forcing him to play extra tournaments. He may be right about that. Perhaps a middle ground should be found where he does his best to support the Tour when appropriate, but without it becoming an excessive burden for him. But paying the fines is, evidently, step number one”, he concluded.
Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Rose also spoke about the captaincy of Luke Donald and his candidacy. Justin made clear that Donald was always the first choice. “It’s true that they approached me and you never know when the best time is. I’ve spoken to many Ryder Cup captains and they all tell me there’s nothing better than playing it. I want to play a few more, one, two, as many as I can. I think I can still play a few more. But in any case, the first word has always been Donald’s. He has done an extraordinary job and he was the first choice. I will also tell you that it will not be easy to pick up his mantle because he leaves some huge shoes to fill. We’ll have to work from dawn to dusk to be up to his level”, he explained.
On the other hand, Justin Rose has played the THE PLAYERS Championship 21 times and says he still hasn’t got the hang of the course. “That’s what Pete Dye’s designs are like. You have to respect them. I’ll give you an example: on hole 1, when the pin is at the back left, tucked in, you know that if you play to the right — the sensible shot — the slope of the green will carry the ball about seven or eight metres away. Since you have a wedge in your hand, you might be tempted to get it in on the left, between the hole and the edge of the green, but you know that if you miss the green it’s a sure bogey. That’s Sawgrass. If you’re playing well, you can make a lot of birdies, but if you’re not sharp, it will catch you out all over the place. It’s similar to Augusta, a second-shot course”.
Indeed, regarding the tournament, he is confident that things will finally go his way here this week. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my career it’s that after a break I always play better in the second week”, he explains. In this sense, his performance should be much better than at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A victory at Sawgrass would be huge. “I wouldn’t say it’s like a major, because that’s the biggest thing, what you always dream of as a child, but I’d put it on a level with winning an Olympic gold or the FedEx Cup”. And it’s not said by just anyone — as you know, Rose won the Olympic Games in Brazil in 2016.
Regarding the future of the PGA Tour, Rose trusts that Brian Rolapp, CEO of the American circuit, will provide clarity in his press conference on Wednesday. “There are a lot of people who have been working for a very long time to find the best product. They’re better prepared than me. For me, my ideal model would be simpler and clearer for the fan, with more similar tournaments, a condensed calendar, but without so much movement — meaning you wouldn’t be unsure if you get in or not this week or if you have to play another because there are more points. Something more balanced and easy to understand for the fan. But above all, the most important thing is to finally know the changes they want to make”, he concludes.
