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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM One guy who might have hoped the holiday break didn’t come when it did is Justin Rose. During the FedExCup Playoffs, he posted top-10 finishes in each of the four tournaments. Then in his first start of the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season, he won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. He immediately followed that with a win on the European Tour at the Turkish Open, followed by three more top-10 finishes in non-TOUR events. The Englishman is keen not to be forgotten among the surge of young talent in the world of golf and is ready to show that those in their 30s – Rose is 37 — should not be forgotten. It’s easy to forget sometimes that this guy now has eight PGA TOUR wins and five European Tour wins. Oh, and also wins on tours in South Africa, Japan and Australia, not to mention an Olympic gold medal. While he’s already won this season, the 2016-17 season was one of near-misses as he notched up three runner-up finishes on TOUR as part of eight top-10s. Most famous was his playoff dual with Sergio Garcia at the Masters and then his impressive FedExCup Playoffs run that read T10, T10, T2 (at the BMW Championship) and T10. It sent him into the fall with tremendous confidence … and now he’ll roll into 2018 with even more momentum. In 2018 the sublime ball-striker will have lofty goals. Nothing short of multiple victories and a FedExCup are on the former U.S. Open champions radar. BY THE NUMBERS How Justin Rose ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 6th Playoff appearances:11 TOUR Championship appearances: 8 Best result: 5th (2011) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Justin Rose in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit Rose is still in bloom, and how, with a productive fall. As usual, look for Rose to make a strong run at Augusta National, where he fell to Sergio Garcia in an epic Masters last season, and to lead the European Ryder Cup team in Paris in the fall. FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton You’re not going to find another athlete more comfortable in his own skin than the 37-year-old Englishman. And rightly so, he’s done it all. That includes receiving the MBE after winning the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics. You’ll have to cover for occasional spells when his average putting weighs down his world-class ball-striking, but they don’t turn into droughts. EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Rose added a custom low-spin TPT 15LKP-LT-LW shaft to his TaylorMade M1 2017 driver last season. Split P-Series iron setup includes a P790 4-iron and P730 “Rose Proto” blades. The major champion played an integral role in the design of the company’s first muscleback in three years. Made a putter change in China, swapping TaylorMade’s TP Red Chaska for TP Red Ardmore 2 (double-bend hosel).  STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Rose bounced between Ashworth and Adidas over the past few years before becoming the front man for the Three-Stripes brand’s new adiPure line. He debuted the new collection at the 2017 Masters en route to a runner-up finish. Look for Rose to continue to rep the line in 2018, as the luxurious performance fabrics, traditional colors, and classic styles are a perfect fit for him.

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Missing the cut immediately after your first top 10 on the PGA TOUR in 11 months is not usually a recipe for success, but for Rickie Fowler a weekend off in Las Vegas was a blessing in disguise. Fowler was unable to continue his momentum at the Shriners Children’s Open from his season opening T6 at the Fortinet Championship last week but missing out on weekend play at TPC Summerlin allowed the 33-year-old to spend more time with coach Butch Harmon as they rekindle their relationship. The results were on show in Japan as Fowler backed up his opening 67 with a bogey free 7-under 63 in the second round to join a share of the lead at 10 under with Andrew Putnam. It’s the 11th 36-hole lead of his career and first since The American Express in January of 2020. Fowler recently returned to Harmon, the man who helped him from an early age with his swing, after a three-year run with John Tillery. While he was unable to contend for the Shriners title last week, the 2015 PLAYERS champion was able to get some much-needed personal time with the veteran coach in Las Vegas as a result of his free weekend. The two have been working on a steeper left arm plane to get Fowler’s hands higher at the top and the club in a better position which gives him more room and space and makes his swing more efficient. “The last two days I wouldn’t say I had my best swing wise. I kind of did a good job of managing my way around,” Fowler said. “But I’ll get some work in tomorrow before the round and try and exaggerate a few things where I’m a little bit tighter in lines and flights that I want. But I can’t complain about a 63. “I’m very happy with where we’re at. Obviously didn’t have the week we wanted last week, drove it poorly, but with some of the changes we’ve made and to have the finish that we did at Napa and kind of seeing a lot of good things, I’m definitely happy about it and excited to be here and off to a good start.” In Japan on a sponsor invite after missing the FedExCup Playoffs in 2021 and barely scraping in in 2022, Fowler has eaten Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club’s five par 3’s alive, playing them six under par through two rounds with seven birdies and one bogey. While Fowler is popular everywhere around the globe, his Japanese heritage via his grandfather certainly helped elevate his support. “I definitely enjoy myself over here and the people are awesome. It is really cool to play in front of the Japanese fans,” he said. “Hoping we can give them more good golf over the weekend.”

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