Justin Rose’s resurrection began with choice, but secrecy made it possible

Justin Rose had a choice.

What he did led him to where he sat Sunday at the winner’s press conference Torrey Pines after an emphatic, record-setting victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. it Was his second win in six starts13th of his PGA Tour career and moved him back to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s 45 years old, and, if you ask his caddy, Mark Fulcher, this is the best he’s ever played. Rose would tell you he can’t come up with new tricks, but his ball speed is up, his approach game is among the best in the world and, most importantly, Justin Rose still has dreams. And a deep desire to make those dreams come true.

It was those dreams that drove his decision in 2022. What led him here was a mid-40s renaissance that has become golf’s greatest story.

By 2022, Rose’s game had declined. The former world number 1 had slumped in the 60s at OWGR and LIV came calling. The Saudi-backed breakaway league was gathering names and resumes. It was paying for past achievements, hoping big winning names would spur initial interest. Where Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and others said yes, Justin Rose said no. It was convenient that during the week Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour after a three-year journey with LIV, Rose went on to validate his decision with a bang that saw him break the 72-hole scoring record set by Tiger Woods.

Rose was able to do this because she wanted more. He was able to do all of them because he wanted more.

“My career goals have always only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA TOUR, because reaching them is not, you know, impossible otherwise,” Rose said Sunday of his decision to turn down LIV and its ripple effects.

“But obviously I want to play among the best players in the world. That’s definitely for me what keeps me motivated, what keeps me hungry, what drives me. So yeah, it would have been easy to potentially do other things, but none of that excited me, I don’t really think. And none of that would allow me to feel really good about what I always wanted to achieve. decision and kind of giving up on those dreams.”

Justin Rose’s dreams were not for sale. And his climb back to the top — what he’s called his “Indian Summer” — in pursuit of those childhood dreams is perhaps something different than it first appeared.

There’s nothing better in sports than the big old who refuses to let My Father steal his gifts. Nothing more endearing than the Old Lion who refuses to let the sun go down even as the shadows threaten to envelop him.

But there’s a difference between a final shot, like Jimmy Connors’ run to the 1991 US Open semifinals or Phil Mickelson’s win at the 2021 PGA Championship, and the consistent, high-level play of someone whose prime should have passed them by now. The great ones who refuse to believe the best have already come, who feed on the hope that there will be more. Those who beat the sand of the hourglass with the only thing that allowed them to get to this point.

Everyone has it, the big ones. It’s in their DNA: confidence wrapped in an unmatched work ethic, infused with a love of their craft.

To his Patriots Hall of Fame inductionTom Brady explained the greatest career in NFL history in simple terms.

“To be successful at anything, the truth is, you don’t have to be special,” said Brady, wearing a red sport coat. “You just have to be what most people aren’t: Steady, determined, and willing to work for it.”

Great tennis Roger Federer offered a twist on that at a Dartmouth start: “Discipline is also a talent. So is patience. Believing in yourself is a talent. Embracing the process, loving the process, is a talent.

“I didn’t get where I did on pure talent alone. I got there by trying to do more than my opponents … I believed in myself. But self-belief has to be earned.”

said LeBron James: “No matter how great you are at doing what you love to do, you have to be dedicated to it. You can’t love something but not do the work.”

It was Justin Rose on the 18th green at Torrey Pines on Sunday, having just run off the green. He jokingly apologized to Woods for breaking his mark. Then he offered a glimpse into the same secret – that which has seen him post two runners-up in his last five major starts and makes him believe he can stop the sunset, believing the horizon holds what he’s been looking for. He just has to achieve it.

“I still love him,” Rose told CBS’s Amanda Balionis. “I’m still working hard. Obviously, you have to love it to work hard. I still believe there are really good things ahead of me.”