Justin Rose had a choice.
The one he made led him to where he sat Sunday at the winner’s press conference at Torrey Pines after an emphatic, record-setting win at the Farmers Insurance Open. It was his second win in six starts, the 13th of his PGA Tour career and it vaulted him back to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s 45, and, if you ask his caddie, Mark Fulcher, this is the best he has ever played. Rose would tell you that he can’t conjure up new tricks, but his ball speed has increased, the approach play is among the best in the world and, more importantly, Justin Rose still has dreams. And a deep desire to make those dreams a reality.
It was those dreams that drove his decision in 2022. The one that led him here to a mid-40s renaissance that has become the best story in golf.
In 2022, Rose’s game had dipped. The former World No. 1 had fallen into the 60s in the OWGR and LIV came calling. The Saudi-backed breakaway league was collecting names and resumes. It was paying for past achievement, hoping the major-winning names would drive initial interest. Where Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and others said yes, Justin Rose said no. It was fitting that, during the week Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour after a three-plus-year voyage with LIV, Rose continued to validate his decision with a romp that saw him break the 72-hole scoring record set by Tiger Woods.
Rose was able to do that because he wanted more. He has been able to do all of it because he wanted more.
“My career goals have always only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA TOUR because access to them is not, you know, not possible the other way,” Rose said on Sunday about his decision to reject LIV and the ripple effects of it.
“But obviously I want to play amongst the best players in the world. That obviously for me is kind of what keeps me motivated, what keeps me hungry, what keeps me pushing. So yeah, it would have been easy to potentially do other things, but none of that excited me, I don’t think really. And none of it gave me access to what I wanted to achieve. So I kind of always felt like my childhood self wouldn’t feel very good about making that decision and kind of giving up on those dreams.”
Justin Rose’s dreams weren’t for sale. And his climb back to the top — what he has called his “Indian Summer” — in pursuit of those childhood dreams is perhaps something different than it initially appeared.
There’s nothing better in sports than the old great who refuses to let Father Time steal his gifts. Nothing more endearing than the Old Lion who refuses to let the sun set even as the shadows threaten to envelop him.
But there is a difference between a final blip, like Jimmy Connors’ run to the 1991 U.S. Open semifinals or Phil Mickelson’s 2021 PGA Championship win, and the sustained, high-level play of someone whose peak should have already passed them by. Those greats who refuse to believe the best has already come, who are fueled by the hope that there is more to come. Those who beat back the sands of the hourglass with the one thing that has allowed them to reach this point.
They all have it, the greats. It’s in their DNA: self-belief wrapped in an unmatched work ethic, topped off with a love of their craft.
At his Patriots Hall of Fame induction, Tom 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,” Brady said, clad in a red sportcoat. “You just have to be what most people aren’t: Consitent, determined and willing to work for it.”
Tennis great Roger Federer offered a twist on that at a Dartmouth commencement: “Discipline is also a talent. And so is patience. Trusting yourself is a talent. Embracing the process, loving the process, is a talent.
“I didn’t get where I got on pure talent alone. I got there by trying to outwork my opponents … I believed in myself. But belief in yourself has to be earned.“
Said LeBron James: “Any way you can be great at doing what you love to do, you got to commit to it. You can’t want something but not put in the work.”
There was Justin Rose on Sunday on the 18th green at Torrey Pines, having just run away from the field. He jokingly apologized to Woods for breaking his scoring mark. Then he offered a glimpse at the same secret — one that has seen him post two runner-up finishes in his last five major starts and has him believing he can stop the sun from setting, trusting that the horizon holds what he has been searching for. He just needs to reach it.
“I’m still loving it,” Rose told CBS’ Amanda Balionis. “I’m still working hard. Obviously, you’ve got to love it to work hard. I still believe there’s some really good stuff ahead of me.”