ROSE READY TO BE TESTED AGAIN
Justin Rose has surprisingly never played Hoylake, but the Englishman will rightly be one of the favourites for the Open Championship in a fortnight's time.
Not only has the 33-year-old already claimed one major championship in the US Open at Merion in 2013, but his latest victory on the PGA Tour confirmed his ability to win on the toughest golf courses.
After the returning Tiger Woods departed the stage early by missing the cut on his comeback following back surgery, Rose defeated Shawn Stefani in a play-off in the Quicken Loans National on Sunday after both men had finished four under par at Congressional.
The same rain-softened course saw Rory McIlroy rewrite the record books when he won the US Open there in 2011, the Northern Irishman finishing eight shots clear of the field on 16 under par.
But with conditions far tougher last week, Rose demonstrated the kind of skills needed to win the game's biggest prizes, most notably saving par on the 17th and salvaging a bogey five on the 18th after hitting his second shot into the water guarding the green.
"It's a big boost and it has not been lost on me that I had not won for over a year. Obviously the clock passed a year at the US Open, so it was nice to get on the right side of that very quickly," Rose said.
"And it's a huge boost confidence-wise, for sure, because I've been semi in contention this year, had some fourths and fifths but I've sort of forced my way into fourth or fifth place. I haven't really been playing with a lead all year.
"To get it done and make key putts, that's huge for my psyche going into a major championship."
With Rose ranked eighth in the world and looking set to secure his third Ryder Cup appearance at Gleneagles in September, it is hard to believe he was not eligible to play the last time the Open was held at Hoylake in 2006.
"I missed it because I wasn't very good," Rose said with typical good humour. "I was having a bit of a rough spell around 2005, 2006, missing majors.
"That was sort of a remotivating period in my life when I was out on the sidelines. I just remember it being burnt out, really warm, people eating ice cream and Tiger winning."
Sixteen months later Rose finished the season as European number one after claiming his second victory of the year in the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, while he has since won a WGC event at Doral, the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, a FedEx Cup play-off event and, of course, that US Open title at Merion.
"I like this type of test," Rose said after securing his sixth PGA Tour title on Sunday. "Par is still a good score and you're not going to drop down the leaderboard shooting level par.
"You're going to miss greens, you're going to be challenged, you're going to have to grind and you're going to have to do everything at some point this week, and that's the type of golf I like, that tests all your skill-sets. That's normally what major championships do.
"I tried to talk my game up that way, that I feel like that will suit me going forward. I have won on some nice golf courses and I feel very privileged for that. Maybe I should start talking up the other ones, too."
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Rose has already risen to one challenge this month, namely the ice-bucket challenge which has become the latest trend in golf.
Apparently started when Rickie Fowler was challenged by Supercross rider Jeremy McGrath, the idea is to empty a bucket of cold water over yourself on camera, after which you can then "call out" other players to do the same or pay 100 US dollars to charity.
Rose responded to the challenge laid down by Ian Poulter, who also called out 14-time major winner Tiger Woods. There has been no sign yet of Woods subjecting himself to the cold water torture.
Watch this space.
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He may be a Nottingham Forest fan, but Lee Westwood has seemingly come to the rescue of another football club.
According to the Worksop Guardian, the town's most famous son has agreed a sponsorship deal with Worksop Town FC which will see the logo of Westwood's golf school appear on the Tigers home and away shirts for the coming season.
The club's 153-year history has been under threat since owner Jason Clark announced he was walking away earlier this summer.
"Worksop will always be my home, people will always associate me with my home town and I'm proud of my roots," said Westwood, who is now based in Florida. "I was sorry to hear that the town's football club were in such a perilous situation.
"Worksop Town are the world's fourth oldest club and their history and position in the heart of the community should be safeguarded. When the Worksop Guardian approached me with idea of sponsoring the shirts for the coming season, I saw it as an ideal way of showing my support for the club."
