A goal was achieved by Justin Rose in 2018 as he reached the top of world golf when becoming the official number one golfer on the planet.
It was a boyhood dream fulfilled for the likeable Englishman, who profited from a season of metronomic consistency as others around him in the Official World Golf Rankings struggled to bring their A-game week-on-week.
That wasn’t a problem for Rose, who actually only won two tournaments all season but was the model of consistency.
Double triumph
Ultimately, those performance levels earned him not only the world number one spot from Dustin Johnson (albeit only briefly at first), but also saw him sign off the campaign as winner of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Series.
His figures speak for themselves. A win in the Fort Worth Invitational, a WGC event, and countless top 10s including runner-up at The Open Championship behind Francesco Molinari after a final day surge at Carnoustie, earned him the number one spot for the first time. But it lasted just a week.
Undeterred, Rose continued his solid form into the end of season European Tour events, having switched back across at the end of the PGA TOUR season, and victory in the Turkish Airlines Open for the second year running put him back on top of the world rankings. This is a man who is being rewarded for consistency.
A consistent performance
The fact Rose was already a major winner having won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, as well as the inaugural Olympic golf gold medal in 2016 in Brazil, underlines just how good a career he has had.
Throw in a Ryder Cup veteran of European team success, and Rose really is a champion. Now, the accolade of reaching the top of the sport is his, too.
From that fresh-faced rookie starring in the 1998 Open Championship—a tournament in which he won the Silver Salver as leading amateur and finished fourth overall—to missing a staggering 21 successive cuts when turning professional and then becoming a major winner, Olympic champion and world number one…it was been some rollercoaster ride for Rose.
Justin Rose, a family man
The South African-born Englishman had just one more wish, however: for his dad Ken to have been there for more of it than he was able, having sadly died in 2002.
Justin Rose has done him proud, there’s no doubting that. A look up to the skies upon reaching the world number one status was fitting, as was the Twitter post immediately afterwards.
“We did it Dad….” Rose wrote after reaching the number one spot. “World Number 1. Thank you so much to my family, friends & everybody that has helped me achieve this incredible goal. Also, my sponsors @TaylorMadeGolf @adidasGolf @Hublot @Mastercard @ZurichNAnews @MorganStanley @LamkinGrips Thank you!”
He added after his win in Turkey which took him back to top spot: “Thank you #TeamRose for all the support it really does mean so much. Very cool winning this and being back as world number 1. Thanks again JR.”
See also: Chipping Out of the Rough