Justin Rose Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

Things didn’t start all that well for Justin Rose on Sunday at The Farmers.

He was wobbling, badly.

He looked nervous and vulnerable and certainly he was there for the picking.

Fortunately for the world’s No. 1, no one stepped up to the plate.

This was supposed to be a three-man showdown at Torrey Pines pitting the world’s No. 1 against a renewed Adam Scott and the always dangerous, ultra-talented world’s No. 7 — Jon Rahm.

Perhaps the proper thing for the 2019 Farmers winner, and that would be Rose, would be to get off a quick thank-you note to Scott and Rahm.

That note might look something like this:

Dear Adam and Jon:

I want to thank both of you for not bringing the heat early on Sunday.  As you can tell,  I was pretty out-of-sorts as we started the final round and after I made those three early bogeys, I was really sweating this one.  You could tell I was nervous, and yes I was.  Sure, I’m No. 1  but my collar has a tendency to get tight at times.  I really appreciate that neither of you saw fit to make a bunch of early birdies.  Adam, I was concerned about you, especially with that swing of yours — it was made in heaven.  But fortunately for me, your putting stroke is something made in hell.  Thanks for the missed putts. 

As for you Jon, I as most worried about you.  We all know how good you are and how you can get on those amazing birdie runs.  Thanks for not having one on the front nine.  By the time we got to the turn, I settled in and could tell that you really weren’t going to be a factor all day, and thankfully, you weren’t.

I want to tell you both how much easier it was for me to not have the heat on me early in that round.  I really needed this one, you know, with the new equipment sponsor, new clothing people and all that, the last thing I needed was to go out there and fall flat on my face.  Adam, thanks for giving me time to right the ship before you made that late run, glad you could pick up that second place money. 

Again, guys, my thanks and deepest appreciation.

Your  pal,

J-Ro.

Yes, as it turns out, things turned out perfectly for Rose.  Rahm never got it in gear and Scott’s move came too late.

There were a couple of guys who had the audacity to try and make a run, but they were too late.  Hideki Matsuyama (67) and rookie Talor Gooch (68), tied for third, three shots behind runnerup Scott and a distant five shots back of Rose.

Naturally Rose was overjoyed to have birdies on two of the last three holes that gave him four sub-70 scores for the week and a nifty 21-under total.

Everything was new for Rose — irons, driver, putter, shirt and yes, his caddie.  His regular — Mark Fulcher — is recovering from heart surgery.  Gareth Lord was filling in for him.

“This one’s for you Mark, love you, see you soon,” Rose blurted, sending his best to his regular man on the bag.

“I’m happy I challenged the status quo, I can’t believe how good everything is,” he said of the new utensils in his bag.

Rose said he’s totally thrilled to win this early in the season.  “I haven’t won in January since about 2002,” he reminded us.

A lot has happened to Rose in those 17 years and a lot has happened in the past six months.

Things are looking pretty “Rosey” so to speak the golf’s top dog.

It was a great week, but with a simple reminder that it’s always good to get a little help from your friends.

Farmers Final Scores: