Rose gives Donald food for thought for Rome

Justin Rose of England plays his second stroke No. 18 during Round 2 of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 9, 2021. Picture: Augusta National Golf Club

Justin Rose turned professional in 1998. He first burst onto the scene by finishing tied fourth at the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale as an amateur.

His first few years were a struggle but In 2002, he won his first event on the European Tour and went on to become a serial winner, making his first Ryder Cup appearance at Valhalla in 2008.

Rose made his second Ryder Cup appearance in 2012 and played a significant role in the Miracle at Medinah as he defeated Phil Mickelson in the singles.

Rose made a theme of beating Mickelson, holding off the left-hander to win his first major in the US Open at Merion Golf Club in 2013 where he ended a 17-year drought by becoming the first English winner of a US major since Nick Faldo in 1996.

Rose played in both the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cup teams at Gleneagles and Hazeltine National and when golf returned to the Olympics in Rio in 2016 after a 112-year absence, he was delighted to win the gold medal by two strokes from Henrik Stenson.

In 2017, he lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia for the Masters, but he had his best year on tour in 2018 when he tied for second in The Open in Carnoustie and went on to win FedEx Cup at East Lake and the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris before finishing the year as world number one.

He started 2019 in excellent form, winning the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines for his 10th victory on the PGA Tour.

But since finishing tied third in the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2019, he has struggled due to multiple injuries and loss of form.

He missed the cut seven times in 2019-20 and was again poor in 2020-21 before he showed signs of life by shooting a final round 60 to finish tied fourth at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open.

He got a timely confidence boost with a top 10 in the Houston Open before Christmas.

Rose was ranked 71st in world golf rankings at the end of January 2023, but after finishing in the top 20 at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, he took that form to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Rose opened up with rounds of 69 at Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula and added an incredible 65 on a weather-delayed day three when he made a hole-in-one at Spyglass Hill.

It was interesting to see if a five-day tournament would affect 42-year-old Rose, but he eagled the par-five sixth and took a one-shot lead into day five.

Rose made a couple of incredible putts as he shot a final round of 66 to become the first Englishman to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

He is now ranked 35th in the world and on course to play the Masters, but with many young players looking to make the European Ryder Cup team, Luke Donald may find Rose’s experience invaluable in Rome later in the year.