Opinion & Analysis

The Subtle Flair of Justin Rose

Published

11 years ago

Apr 27, 2015

If you decided to skip out on the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, you missed quite a show.

A gaggle of golfers held the lead or had it within their grasp at some point on Sunday, and three names fought furiously for the title over the final holes, with Justin Rose proving the strongest of the trio.

The Englishman birded Nos. 17 and 18 to take the initiative and eventually the title by one stroke, lasering an approach on a dangerous line on the penultimate hole, rolling in the subsequent 10-footer and following up with a 14-foot birdie effort that confidently dove into the left side of the cup.

It was Rose’s seventh career PGA Tour win and characterized in the aftermath as a quality triumph for a good guy.

And that’s great. From there, words like “solid,” “stoic” and “classy” come to frame Rose, and a player could do far worse than that. But while these descriptors aren’t necessarily incorrect, coloring the Englishman by these simple terms misses an essential point. Rose isn’t some vanilla personality who has some quality wins and a major: He’s an exciting force that some fans have generally yet to fully appreciate.

OK, it’s no secret that the Englishman has blossomed into a star as he’s progressed into his 30s (his mainstay among the world’s top-10 is tough to hide), but it still feels like he gets lost in the shuffle among the best players.

For one, if you mention Rose and his recent years of on-course performance, it doesn’t elicit that much enthusiasm. Yeah, he’s a great golfer, an elite one even, but he doesn’t produce hot bursts of play that capture media attention and can vault a golfer to exalted status in the game.

But there’s more than one way here.

How about this: Over the last half-decade, Rose has possibly played the consistently highest level of golf in the game. Does that sound enticing?

The beauty with Rose stems from his ability to mix stability with top-of-the-line play like few others. It’s a brilliant balance that doesn’t deserve to remain under the radar. After all, it’s terribly hard to reach a top-five level of play, which Rose has in the past five years, and significantly more difficult to basically never stray from that impeccably high bar.

Yet, Rose has mastered this tightrope.

Aside from one poor stretch in the middle of 2011, the Englishman all together avoided extended slumps from the spring of 2010 through 2014. (He also started off 2015 very poorly, but it later became clear that he wasn’t at all healthy.)

From the time of his big wins in 2010 through 2014, Rose produced an 87 percent made cut rate, finished top-25 in 68 percent of events and top-tenned 45 percent of the time. And his numbers year to year from 2010 to 2014 were eerily similar to these totals.

Compare this to other top-five players from 2010 on, and you start to see just how startling these consistent numbers are over a five-year period.

Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald — all top-five players at one point or another from 2010 or later — can point to consistent numbers over a season or two just as good if not better than Rose’s 2010-2014 stretch (especially Donald, who finished in the top-25 88 percent of the time and top-tenned at 76 percent rate in 2011). Over a five-year period, though, their numbers do not hold up, as every one of these cream of the crop golfers had at least one significantly down season, a distinction Rose managed to avoid.

The only players that really belong with Rose in managing to keep up this elite level of play over the past five years are Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy.

That’s it. Just those two. Heck, from 2011-2013, McIlroy experienced a few months-long valleys where he never sniffed contention.

This tiny list is instructive. Rose’s run over the past five years, rather than mundane in its sameness each season, actually proves quite marketable. The fact is, the 34-year-old has displayed an extremely exclusive ability, a long-term high-level consistency that has eluded almost every single top golfer over the past half-decade.

That’s pretty flashy to me.

And then there’s the personal side of Rose.

The Englishman doesn’t really seem to get the reputation of having an interesting backstory or possessing a discernible personality. On the former point, remember that Rose was a prodigy from a young age, a 17-year-old who inspired a nation with his performance at the 1998 Open Championship.

He then famously proceeded to miss the first 21 cuts of his professional career and really fell off the radar until he won four times in 2002. Rose then dropped off again as his father passed away that same year and he rose back up in 2006. That’s two devastating pitfalls only to re-emerge from the ashes stronger than before.

As a result, Rose has a sneaky confidence that comes out on the course from time to time, especially on the greens. It’s almost a cheeky sort of attitude that’s pretty amusing to watch. You can see a couple of examples from the top and bottom GIFs in this Adam Sarson post.

He’s generally also just kind of has a weird side, as we can see in these two examples.

GIF via Adam Sarson

GIF: Justin Rose's putts circles the bowl, then the hips don't lie pic.twitter.com/g1LWNjtZsN

— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) April 12, 2015

Honestly, these snipits speak to an inspired soul rather than a boring, flatlined personality.

So throw away your pre-conceived notions. Rose possesses plenty of unearthed allure, reiterated by his spirited reactions to his final putt in New Orleans.

It’s about time everybody catches on.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag