Executive Golf Magazine

One moment, only those of us who follow the fine detail of golf knew that Justin Rose existed. Then, suddenly, he was there in front of everyone and almost as quickly he was gone again, toast, you might say, before breakfast had finished.

Now, of course, the still young Englishman – he is 27 – is back. As the reigning European No.1, a golfer ranked sixth in the world as 2008 begins to stand on its hind legs, and this time it is not only Rose who believes he is here to stay. And to prosper.

Always the gilded youth where this daft game is concerned he exploded into an eager public’s consciousness when he finished fourth at the Birkdale Open in 1998. He was understandably raw and rather gauche back then, but it was clear he had something special. What’s more, he liked the limelight and grew, rather than shrank, in its glare.

“That was a surreal week,” he recalls. “I’d had a disappointing Amateur Championship a few weeks earlier and I’d no idea what to expect at The Open. Of all the things I thought might happen, the one I never considered was the way it all actually turned out.”

No sooner did he hole his pitch shot to the final hole in Southport than he turned professional. He also turned 18 the following week. This, judged by any standards, is far too young. He didn’t have to do it but he did and at least he had his father, Ken, along for the ride. It was a shock for both of them when he then missed 21 consecutive cuts on the European Tour. Ken, the nicest of committed parents, cruelly died far too early a few years ago after sparring with cancer.

For Justin, obviously, this was a huge loss. Not just a dad but a mentor and a guide through the no-go areas that make up big-time pro sport.

“It’s been a trip since 1998,” he agrees. “It’s had its moments when it’s been tough. Missing all those cuts, losing my dad, just growing up really. It has toughened me up, made me appreciative of the good times. Taught me also that you’ve got to work hard, got to dedicate yourself. Dad’s passing put a lot of things into perspective for me as did getting married last year. Golf is what I do; it means a lot to me. It’s what I am, but it is not who I am.”

“Golf is what I do; it means a lot to me. It’s what I am, but it is not who I am”

Already, however, it has made his fortune via a flurry of wins in Europe, Japan and South Africa. These on top of an enviable profile mean that Justin is in high demand. The occasionally smart men in the always smart suits know the real deal when they see one and Rose, increasingly, is just that. From the current crop of young Brits he is now the pick.

His performances in the 2007 majors makes impressive reading and means that, Tiger Woods apart, his has been the most consistent performance across the 2007 majors. He was fifth in the Masters, 10th at the US Open, 12th at Carnoustie and 12th in the USPGA Championship. He was second again to Woods in the US Tour’s all-round stats.

His confidence has soared on the back of a simplified swing technique. Few things in life are more boring than the concept of a swing technique but let me put it like this: the simpler it is, the better it is and it is better because when the Really Big Moments arrive and nerve ends jangle and a player wants to run home to mummy he has to know he can trust his body to just do the right things.

Often in games a blank mind is a good mind and it is this thoughtless state that Rose is now embracing often enough to afford those of us who support him some real optimism for the future.

He switched coaches last summer from David Leadbetter to the lesser-known Nick Bradley who, interestingly, learned his coaching skills from, yes, Leadbetter. “Before Nick, I was expending my energy on things that weren’t bearing fruit. Nick simplifies things and when things are simple they’re easier to trust and to replicate. Maybe before, I’d been trying to get too perfect.”

Whatever, he thinks his strength is that he does not really have a weakness; his chipping and putting as sound as his tee-shots and approaches are considered. He also enjoys a potential champion’s ability to exist in the moment, to shut out all that is going on and to concentrate instead on the job in hand. This sounds easy but it is the hardest bit of all to achieve.

“The big difference between last year and the couple before that is that I am now putting together four solid rounds more often than not. I also feel very comfortable playing under pressure. I genuinely contended at Augusta this year and although I didn’t finish the way I’d have hoped I felt that pressure and I know that I can cope with it when it comes again. Maybe that doesn’t mean I’ll win but what it does mean is that someone is going to have to beat me because I’m not going to beat myself.

“I still love the game, still get a kick out of hitting the ball dead centre and feeling it take off perfectly. But now, even more than the game, I love the competition”

“Golf-wise I have to keep getting just that little bit better. It’s a very fine line. What we’re dealing with here is that last one per cent that can make the difference between real major success and just a very decent career. But obviously I’m happy with what I’ve done so far. Mentally I’m much stronger and so I’ve surpassed the goals I set myself and now I want to move forward again. I won’t be trying to reinvent the wheel for 2008 that’s for sure.”

His decision to move to America four years ago carried with it at the time all the dangers one would expect from such an adventure for while the US circuit can make a man’s fortune it can also break his heart. But backed by Kate, a former international gymnast who is now his wife, Justin took it on as an adventure.

He lives now in Lake Nona, Florida, a gated community that plays host to a posse of rich, young golfers and while this place carries with it all the excitement you might drearily expect, it suits their lock-up-and-go lifestyle. He insists that a young man can live there and still be cool but he admits that his work ethic on top of a grinding schedule means that more nights are spent quietly with Kate than would be the case if they lived in his riverside apartment in London’s Putney.

“We’re really very comfortable in America,” he says. “Getting married to Kate made a big difference to me. It helps hugely that she understands so well the demands of making your living in sport. You might think Lake Nona is dull but for us it is a nice, quiet, peaceful haven. Life there is really easy, almost surreally so, but it suits us and what we want at this point in our lives. And the practice facilities are fantastic.”

He does enjoy being back in England however, enjoys seeing his old mates, slurping a proper cup of tea and sinking his teeth into the sort of bacon sandwich a man may only obtain on this side of the Atlantic. He admits that when he is back he sometimes sits with his breakfast and listens to the sounds of London coming awake and marvels at where he is and how he got there from Fleet in Hampshire. It really has been, as he says, some trip.

“Golf has been very kind to me,” he grins. “I still love the game, still get a kick out of hitting the ball dead centre and feeling it take off perfectly. But now, even more than the game, I love the competition. That’s the thing for me now. I’m addicted to competing.

“It’s a tough game and often a humbling game but it is the thrill that comes when I’m really in there contending for a big title that gives me the greatest satisfaction.

“Once you’re able to swing well enough consistently the thing you need most in golf is confidence and last year has given me that. It didn’t seem a good thing at the time but the back injury I suffered in 2007 meant I went into the Masters having been out for weeks and then it was the same when I played the PGA Championship.

“The way I played in both those events was the turning point for me. What did I learn from it all? I learned that, for me, less is actually more.”

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