Justin Rose owns something nobody else on the PGA Tour has, an Olympic Gold Medal.
However, that won’t get him anything this week in the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., where he needs a high finish to climb into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for the Tour Championship in two weeks at East Lake in Atlanta.
“Everyone’s got their mind on East Lake,” said Rose, who is 50th in the standings after slipping five spots last week in the Deutsche Bank Championship, in which he struggled to a closing 79 and tied for 57th. “Everyone knows how the FedEx Cup is structured. Everyone knows if they are in the top five going into the Tour Championship, you’ve got that opportunity to win it.
“So everyone’s vying for position now. I’ve played the Tour Championship every year since 2010 and that’s something I’m proud of, and this year I’m outside of the bubble right now.
“But all it takes is one good week.”
Rory McIlroy proved that on Monday by winning the Deutsche Bank, and that’s what happened in 2011, when Rose captured the BMW Championship by two strokes over John Senden of Australia at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill.
The third of his seven PGA Tour victories jumped Rose to No. 5 in the point standings and gave him a chance to claim the FedEx Cup with a victory at East Lake, but he tied for 20th and finished right there in fifth.
“In 2011, I was maybe 70th at (the start of the playoffs),” said Rose, who won the 2013 U.S. Open by two strokes over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day of Australia. “I know that it’s one good week; one good week sets up my whole FedEx Cup at this point of the season. That’s all you’re looking for.
“You’re looking for that opportunity going into East Lake to sort of bring out your best game when it really, really matters. So for sure, every single one of these weeks is an important step towards the grand finale, yeah.”
Rose didn’t get the chance to defend at Cog Hill because the tournament rotation sent the tournament to Crooked Stick, where he finished in a tie for 16th.
However, simply seeing his name on the trophy of what started out as the Western Open in 1889 gives him chills.
“It’s overwhelming to think that you grew up watching the Western Open and that you’re a part of that tournament and that heritage,” said Rose, whose last PGA Tour victory came in the 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
“The history is what really makes tournaments great. The list of names on that trophy — Hogan, Snead, Palmer, Nicklaus and Tiger — is really great.”
Crooked Stick also is where John Daly became a folk hero overnight by winning the 1991 PGA Championship after getting into the tournament as an alternate.
Rose knows that story, too.
“It was the whole story, (Daly) driving through the night, getting there late,” Rose recalled. “I think it shows you that sometimes expectations, or the lack thereof, is a mindset that brings out the best in us.
“I feel like sometimes, I’ve played my best golf when I was really sick. When you talk about the FedEx Cup and the playoffs, sometimes, I think it’s important to not believe your own words and to simplify it to just golf.”
Rose, who represented Great Britain, has his own unique piece of history by holding off Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Matt Kuchar of the United States to win the Men’s Olympic Golf Tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
It was the first time golf was contested in the Olympics since 1904.
“I really enjoyed my Olympic experience,” said Rose, one of the top players to go to Rio after Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and McIlroy, the top four players in the World Golf Rankings at the time, and others stayed home, most over fears of the Zika virus.
“I was obviously one of the golfers excited about the prospect of going down there to Rio, and just embracing representing your country and embracing being an Olympian. … Just the feel and the reach that it’s really had for me. I’ve really noticed a difference from people’s reactions.
“And obviously now to come away with a gold medal and be called Olympic Champion is quite clearly just a huge carrot.”
Rose needs to bring that Golden game again this week.
–Story courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
