Justin Rose reiterated his No. 1 World Ranking on Sunday at Torrey Pines, cruising to a two-shot victory that never even seemed that close.
Rose, who led by three entering the day, held off Adam Scott to win the Farmers Insurance Open and notch his 10th career PGA Tour victory. Scott lost by two, and he even birdied the last four holes to tighten that deficit.
It was a big win for Rose, who did it without regular caddie Mark Fulcher, who had heart surgery on Jan. 17. Rose has used Gareth Lord, Henrik Stenson’s former caddie, as a fill-in since. That duo finished 34th at the Desert Classic last weekend before winning this week.
Minutes after his victory, Rose led off his post-round interview with a shoutout to his caddie at home.
“Fooch, that was for you, mate,” he said, looking into the camera. “I’m sure watching us all weekend was harder than the heart surgery. … Love you, and we’ll see you soon.”
And, if you follow Fooch on Twitter, you would know that he was absolutely watching at home.
https://twitter.com/Fooch1993/status/1089626261511720960
https://twitter.com/Fooch1993/status/1089630633289224194
https://twitter.com/Fooch1993/status/1089646363070119936
https://twitter.com/Fooch1993/status/1089663366317125633
Rose closed with a three-under 69 on Torrey’s South course. The victory also pushed him over the $50 million in career earnings mark.
“It’s sort of been an emotional week, a different week,” Rose said. “Obviously dedicated this [win] to my caddie, Fooch, who is sitting at home and is probably finding it much harder siting at home than actually being out here. Probably harder than the heart surgery itself watching this weekend. This one’s for him.”
Asked about Fulcher’s timeline, Rose said it could be anywhere from six weeks to three months. He said he expects him to be back for the Masters, and anything prior to that would be a bonus.
“Fooch is my man,” Rose said. “He’ll be back.”
A special place.
A special win.A message from the champ, @JustinRose99. 🤳#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/HvEX0IOfHE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 28, 2019
