Born in Johannesburg in July 1980, Justin Rose spent the first five years of his life in South Africa before his family moved back to England where Rose started to play golf seriously at Hartley Wintney GC near his Hampshire home. The talented youngster broke 70 for the first time at just 11 years of age.
After a promising amateur career, Rose gained notoriety when he tied for fourth to win the Silver Medal as the leading amateur in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 1998. The then-18-year-old turned professional the next day. Becoming part of a pack of young English golfers to emerge during that time along with Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter. After a rocky start to his new career Rose ploughed on eventually securing his first professional win in 2002 when he returned to his country of birth to snatch the Dunhill Championship.
He recorded a sensational victory at the 2007 Volvo Masters at Valderrama, beating Simon Dyson and Søren Kjeldsen in a play-off, to help him finish Number One on the Order of Merit and win the coveted Harry Vardon Trophy for the first time. In 2007 Rose earned over 2.9 million euros in tournament prize money. The TaylorMade player next earned a place on the 2008 European Ryder Cup team. Showing his worth throughout the competition by earning valuable points in his matches. Rose proved an excellent pairing with Ian Poulter and then defeated Phil Mickelson 3 and 2 in the singles.
In 2010, Rose took third place at the Honda Classic, before breaking through with a victory at the Memorial Tournament, finishing with a final round 66 to win by 3-shots, marking the Englishman’s first win on American soil. His good form continued to follow as he shot a final-round even par 70 to win his second PGA Tour event – the AT&T National, just one month later.
Rose continued to build momentum throughout the following season. Winning his third PGA Tour event in September 2011 at the BMW Championship. The golfer’s strong showing throughout the FedEx Cup playoffs that year helped him to finish 5th overall in the standings. 2012 saw Rose achieve his first World Golf Championship title. Beating American Bubba Watson by 1-stroke at the WGC – Cadillac Masters at Doral, a win that help the Englishman to move up to number 7 in the world rankings.
The following year, Rose was able to reach another incredible goal, clinching his first major at the 2013 U.S. Open. Making him the first Englishman to win a major title since Sir Nick Faldo at the 1996 Masters, and the first UK winner of the U.S. Open in 43 years. As his winning putt sank, Rose looked up to the sky in acknowledgement of the man that introduced him to the game, his dad Ken, who died of leukemia in 2002.
“It wasn't lost on me that today was Father's Day,” commented Rose after his win. “For it to all just work out for me, on such an emotional day, I couldn't help but look up to the heavens and think that my old dad Ken had something to do with it.”
Rose’s rise to success continued throughout 2014 with the golfer logging numerous top-10 finishes as well as back-to-back wins at the Quicken Loans National and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. With the latter tournament marking Rose’s first win in Scotland. In 2016 Rose became a fierce defender of golf's return to the Olympic games for the first time in 112 years. The Englishman headed to Rio and competed against some of the best players in the world including Henrik Stenson. Both professional golfers battled it out on the final day of play but it was ultimately Rose who came out on top, winning the coveted Olympic golf medal.
“That felt better than anything I’ve ever
won. It was the best tournament I’ve
ever done,” Rose told reporters afterwards. “It feels absolutely incredible. The whole week, I’ve been so focused. I’ve been so into it. I’ve been so up for it. It was just the most magical week, it really
was.”
Career Wins:
2002 - Dunhill Championship
2002 - Victor Chandler British Masters
2006 - MasterCard Masters
2007 - Volvo Masters
2010 - Memorial Tournament
2010 - AT&T National
2011 – BMW Championship
2012 - WGC-Cadillac Championship
2013 – U.S. Open
2014 – Quickens Loans National
2014 – Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
2015 - Zurich Classic of New Orleans
2015 - UBS Hong Kong Open
2016 - Rio Olympic Gold Medalist
2017 - WGC-HSBC Champions
2017 - Turkish Airlines Open
2019 - Farmers Insurance Open
