Justin Rose
He was born to golf. From the age of five, he was the great hope of British golf, enjoying a glittering amateur career and an astonishing performance in the 1998 Open Championship, where he tied fourth. Then it all went horribly wrong. He turned pro and missed 21 cuts in a row, but he recovered to win three times in 2002, on the European, Sunshine and Asian tours. A slow slide out of the world’s Top 100 was halted by a number of decent showings on the PGA Tour and although his tied 5th in the 2007 Masters looked like a missed opportunity at the time, it was the trigger for a season where he contended in all the Majors and nailed the European Tour’s Order Of Merit. Perfect timing for his debut on the InGolfWeTrust couch…
IGWT: What do you have in common with the small Australasian country of Vanuatu?
JR: Ummm… Pass. Can I come back to that one?
IGWT: OK.
IGWT: What interests are listed on your profile on the European Tour website?
JR: Cars, music, food…. Films maybe? Damn, I’ve got to get this right.
IGWT: There’s one you haven’t mentioned.
JR: Tennis?
IGWT: No, it’s ‘sports’. You’re off the mark, though…
3 out of 4
IGWT: At which event did you record your first professional hole-in-one?
JR: That will be the Chrysler Classic.
IGWT: And for no bonus whatsoever do you remember which year?
JR: 2004
1 out of 1
IGWT: In 2000, your first full season on the European Tour, what was your best finish?
JR: Tied 11th at the BMW International.
IGWT: Right again.
1 out of 1
IGWT: Your first win on the European Tour came in the 2002 Dunhill Championship. What were your scores?
JR: Ohhh…. Umm!!! 71-66-65-66. I don’t think that’s right. I’m close though, aren’t I?
IGWT: Yes.
JR: Ok… 71-67-65-66. That’s my final answer.
IGWT: Almost. It was 71-66-66-65. To buy back some points, can you name the four players that finished behind you.
JR: Martin Maritz, Mark Foster, Retief Goosen…. I’m thinking Ernie Els, but I don’t think that’s right. Ummm… can I get a clue?
[A passing Lee Westwood chips in]: Give him the nationality.
IGWT: He’s Irish.
JR: (After a slight pause) Oh yes, Paul McGinley. I played with him in the last round.
4 out of 5
IGWT: Before this year, your highest finish on the European Order of Merit was ninth in 2002. How much to the nearest 100,000 euros did you win?
JR: I think it was about £900,000, so I’m going to say 1.35 million euros.
IGWT: That’s pretty good. It was 1,323,529 euros.
1 out of 1
IGWT: You claim residence in London and Orlando, Florida. Who is the current mayor of Orlando?
JR: I’m not going to get this, but I’ll know when you tell me.
IGWT: It’s Buddy Dyer.
JR: Oh… I don’t know him.
0 out of 1
IGWT: What is your average driving distance on the PGA Tour for 2007?
JR: I’m going to say 287 yards.
IGWT: It’s 288.7 yards.
JR: Did I need to get it to the decimal point? I think I should get half a point…
IGWT: Reluctantly, we agree.
.5 out of 1
IGWT: You lead Tiger Woods in two categories of standard statistics this year…. Which two?
JR: Mmmm, putting average and ….. Driving accuracy.
IGWT: You’ve got one right. Want to try again?
JR: I don’t think it’s stroke average, although I’d like that.
[Justin’s caddie Mick pipes up]: It might be sand saves.
JR: Yeah, that could be it. I’m going for putting and sand saves.
IGWT: Sorry, it is driving accuracy and sand saves.
1 out of 2
IGWT: You lead the European Tour for performance on par threes. How many under are you in total for the season on par threes?
JR: This is a guess. 20 under? Actually 20 under seems a lot. There are some tough par threes out there. Half a clue maybe?
IGWT: 20 under is a lot.
JR: Ok, I’ll say 6 under.
IGWT: It’s 4 under.
0 out of 1
IGWT: “Oh Jesus! Interpret.” How does this biblical sounding quote relate to you?
JR: “Oh Jesus!.... Interpret”??? Is it one of those where you re-arrange the letters of my name?
IGWT: What would you call that?
JR: An anagram?
IGWT: That’s correct.
1 out of 1
IGWT: Ok, back to the first question. What do you have in common with the small Australasian country of Vanuatu?
JR: Oh my God, I don’t know. Are they well known for growing roses there or something?
IGWT: No. You were both born on the same day. Vanuatu received its independence on July 30th 1980.
JR: Interesting!!
0 out of 1
IGWT: We try to inform and educate whenever we can. Thanks Justin. We appreciate your time.
JR: You’re welcome, thanks.
Final Score: 13.5/20
