The revolving door that is the top of the world golf rankings, may soon have a new number one. Dustin Johnson has been holding down the top spot for a while now, but Justin Rose is closing in, just as Justin Thomas was a few months back.
Simply put, JR is en fuego and is well ahead of schedule in his preparation to avenge the crushing playoff defeat to Sergio Garcia in last year’s Masters.
With three wins worldwide since October and a streak of 10 straight top-10s, the 37-year-old Englishman is the hottest player on the planet.
A victory in late October against the world’s best in the HSBC World Golf Championship was followed a week later by a win in the Turkish Open. And this past Sunday, Rose carded a final round 62 to demolish the field by eight shots in the Indonesian Masters. This, after opening with 62.
‘To come here with my game in good shape, have the deal with bad weather and jet lag and stay focused on all four rounds, is something that I am really pleased about. I have had a dream week and I have played incredible golf,’ Rose stated after the win.
In years past, Rose was more notorious for his ability to grind out a 68 on a tough track than he was for going low.
But those days are gone.
Early in the 2018 season, JR leads the PGA Tour in birdie average at 5.75 per round, which is significantly up from his 2017 average of 4.09. He is 3rd in scoring average at 68.20.
Rose has always been one of the best ball strikers in the game, but his improved putting is what has been the difference lately. He finished 2016 and 2017 134th and 123rd respectively in strokes gained putting. But he has gone to the claw grip and it seems to be paying dividends. Although its a small sample size thus far in 2018, he is in the top-20 in putting average at 1.69 putts per round.
And for a player who regularly hits an abundance of greens, if he continues to roll the rock, Justin Rose, who is one of the true gentlemen in the game, might be in for a huge 2018 campaign.
Come April, nobody should be surprised if Sergio takes off the green jacket, only to slip it on his friend.
