The future couldn’t have been brighter for Justin Rose last year. The native of England captivated his home country by finishing tied for fourth in the British Open at age 17. He did it with a flourish, holing out a chip at No. 18, resulting in one of the biggest roars in Open history.
Rose turned pro the next day, starting what seemed to be a glorious career.
Now here’s the rest of the story.
Rose went 21 tournaments in a row before making his first cut. He tied for 74th at the Compaq Euro Grand Prix, earning all of $1,397.
It certainly looks as if Rose made the pro jump too soon.
“I would tell Justin that I wished he had gone over and played university golf in the States,” said Payne Stewart. “At 17, I don’t think you’re mature enough to come out and compete with the best players in the world. I think maturity is something that comes over time. I mean, look at me, I’m 42 and I’m just now maturing.”
Rose, though, says he has no regrets about his decision. He said he had to take his game to the next level.
“To me, it is the simple thing: `How am I going to be a great player quickest?’ ” he said. ” `How am I going to learn fastest?’ To me, that is by turning professional, providing you feel you’re good enough, providing you feel like you’ve achieved enough in the amateur game. You definitely learn to play good golf as an amateur, but I believe it can only take you so far.”
Turning 50: It looks as if it is the end of one career for Tom Watson and the beginning of another. Watson, who is turning 50 in September, is eying the Senior Tour, but he has mixed emotions.
“I still love playing golf against the best, and when you’re playing on the Senior Tour, you’re not playing against the best in the world,” Watson said. “You’re playing the best over 50.”
Watson went to the U.S. Senior Open last week to film a promotional commercial with Ray Floyd, Dave Stockton and Jim Colbert. The spot was to welcome him to the Senior Tour.
“It was great to be with my old friends,” Watson said. “I miss them. So that is (a plus). But the other element is still that I’d like to play the best. But Father Time is telling me that the Senior Tour is the place to be.”
The odds: Ladbrokes has Tiger Woods as a 5-1 favorite to win the Open. David Duval is next at 10-1, followed by Colin Montgomerie at 12-1.
To show how quickly Nick Faldo has fallen, he’s going off at 100-1. Faldo maintains he’s not done yet, although it is hard to find any positives about his game.
“I still believe there is one last major inside me,” he said. “My odds? What do the bookies know.”
Tighter: Phil Mickelson, describing the tight fairways that are surrounded by brutal rough at Carnoustie: “I’ve never seen fairways as penalizing for a major championship. You might as well stick red hazard posts down the fairways.”
