How active are you in terms of your endorsements and which brands you end up being associated with?
Very. I’m the boss at the end of the day in terms of my management group so I am the one that makes the decision. Everyone I am affiliated with is my choice. It has to work both ways and that’s the long lasting approach. I’ve been with TaylorMade for 17-odd years and in that time [2008] Ashworth has become part of the group. I have made a lot of friends and there is a lot of trust from both sides.
Favourite restaurant in Hong Kong?
The first time I came to play this tournament I missed the cut. That wasn’t part of the plan but I was able to take the weekend to enjoy the city. It’s a fun place to be. I can’t remember all the restaurants I’ve eaten at here but certainly Zuma sticks in the mind - there are Zumas all over the world and they’re all fantastic. The other would be High Tea in the Peninsula. I’m showing my English roots there [laughs].
Favourite hotel in world?
The Four Seasons in Hampshire - so much so that we don’t own any property in the UK any more. It’s an old stately home which has been turned into a hotel. It’s only 10 minutes from where I grew up - just outside of Fleet, so it’s right on my old stomping ground. It’s the perfect location and a really great place to stay for a week or two.
Favourite course?
Outside of the majors I have three. Friars Head in New York, which is a Coore-Crenshaw design. It’s a new course but it tries to take golf back to its purest form. There are no yardage markers or anything, so you have to rely heavily on a caddie. The next would be Swinley Forest, which is only five minutes from Wentworth: a true hidden gem. It’s an amazing little place, a mini Sunningdale. I love that heathland style of golf because that’s what I grew up on. My other favourite is the Links at Fancourt in South Africa (pictured). I love playing golf in South Africa. I was born there and lived there until I was five but we went back every year. The Links is the opposite to Friar’s Head in that they moved a lot of earth there. But it looks like it’s been there forever.
People will assume that your US Open win at Merion in 2013 is the most important victory of your career, but how important was winning the Dunhill Championship in 2002 for your first victory on the European Tour?
The whole of 2002 was very special. It was the year my Dad passed away and so to win that event showed that his belief in me as justified. It was played in Johannesburg, his home town, so a lot of his friends were there as well. It was a very special time in my life.
A very unfair question to end: if you could pick what you achieved at Merion in 2013 and what you did at the Ryder Cup the year before at Medinah, which would you select as your favourite moment of the two.
Wow, well they were two amazing moments - and both very different. [But] I would always take the major over the Ryder Cup. That’s what you’re conditioned too. But for the pure enjoyment of the moment, that has to be the Ryder Cup. Celebrating with a team is way more fun than celebrating as in individual. But in terms of career achievements, you have to go with the major.
Justin Rose is a brand ambassador for Ashworth Golf. Our thanks to Dynamic Management Group for arranging this interview.
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