The Ryder Cup star is up to world No.3 at the age of 45 but he still wants to win more Majors
Justin Rose celebrates his seven-shot win at the Farmers Insurance Open with his caddie Mark Fulcher(Image: Getty Images)
Justin Rose revealed he still dreams of completing his career Grand Slam after breaking Tiger Woods’ scoring record to win the Farmers Insurance Open.
And the Ryder Cup star, now 45, showed he is not ready to become the next European captain if Luke Donald decides against standing again in 2027.
“I still believe there’s good stuff in front of me,” said the new world No.3.
Rose opened with a 62 and became the first wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines for 71 years as he finished on 23-under 265. It was one better than Tiger Woods in 1999 and George Burns in 1987.
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“Sorry, T-dub, if you’re watching,” Rose told US TV after his seven-shot win. “I was keenly aware of it, actually. It was the only thing I was focused on the last three holes.”
The former world No.1 was world No.55 last January but shot a closing 66 before losing a playoff at the Masters and then played superbly at the Ryder Cup. And after rating his tee-to-green play and “mental maturity his best ever in California, Rose said: “Those days or those weeks or those rounds are definitely showing me that the gas is still in the tank. Obviously, accessing it is the job now. How do I do that more often? That’s always the trick, but at least knowing it’s there, it builds a lot of confidence.”
Justin Rose played a big part in Europe’s Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black(Image: Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images)
His 13 tour titles have been at Muirfield Village, Aronimink, Merion, Congressional, Pebble Beach, Colonial and now twice at Torrey Pines – all courses that have hosted majors or a Ryder Cup. And Vijay Singh back in 2008 is the only older man to have ever achieved the world NOo.3 ranking.
But the 2013 US Open winner, who has also won Olympic gold and made seven Ryder Cup appearances, still wants more from his career.
Justin Rose will be a candidate to be the next Ryder Cup captain if Luke Donald decides against taking the job for a third time at Adare Manor in 2027(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
“Majors is where I have my attention, for sure,” he said. “I’ve achieved a lot in the game, but I’ve achieved a lot of it just once. So I’ll take multiple of anything that I’ve achieved for sure would be great.
“But if I look at my career, I’ve been really close to the Open, I’ve been really close to the Masters. The dream of winning all four was obviously the ultimate goal since I’ve been a kid. but it seems a long way off to think that way, but if you think about some of the results I’ve had in the last year or 18 months, I’m not that far away so may as well keep believing.”
Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open (Image: Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka finished tied 56th on his return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf. The new season of the Saudi-backed league starts on Wednesday.
But Rose, who turned down an early offer from LIV, said: I feel like my career goals have always only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA TOUR. I want to play the best players in the world. That is what keeps me motivated, what keeps me hungry, what keeps me pushing. It would have been easy to potentially do other things, but none of that excited me I don’t think really. And none of it gave me access to what I wanted to achieve.”
