FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — It’s often the case with professional athletes that in the moments immediately after a victory it’s hard to put words to the emotion or summarize a sense of meaning. Yet, less than an hour after Europe’s Ryder Cup victory two years ago in Rome, Justin Rose put words to what being a part of Team Europe meant to him.
With his teammates looking on, alongside his captain and friend Luke Donald, Rose interjected into the winning press conference when a journalist asked the team “What unites Team Europe?”
The Englishman, sitting in his sixth post-event press conference at a Ryder Cup, put words to what many have wondered.
Justin Rose speaks in Friday press conference at 2023 Ryder Cup.
Jamie Squire
“I was just thinking there, before you asked that question” Rose said. “We are united by a culture, and we are united by a generation of players that have come before us. This is our time. Luke has been very clear on that message—this is our time to shine, not because this is our stage, we are just taking care of it because of the amazing role models that we’ve had before us that have shown us how to do it.”
To many on that team and the current team at Bethpage Black this week, Rose himself is now one of those role models.
“There’s a really strong culture on the European team,” Rose said at Marco Simone in ’23. “A good pairing on the European team doesn’t mean playing with your best mate. You know, it means about representing something bigger than yourself, and I feel like that’s, for me, what being a European Ryder Cup player is all about.”
The look of pride on Donald’s face that day was hard to hide.
Two years later, Donald is back and so is Rose. The 45-year-old winner of 12 PGA Tour events and the 2013 U.S. Open was not picked by Donald to be the steely veteran in the team room, but is an automatic qualifier—on the team through merit and hard work as the 14th-ranked player in the world. In fact, of the seven teams Rose has now featured in, 2023 was the only time he relied on a captain’s pick to be part of the European team.
Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose during a practice round at Bethpage.
Vaughn Ridley
“Justin has always been someone I’ve been close to and looked up to,” Tommy Fleetwood said at Bethpage Black on Wednesday, one of several players on the 2025 version of Team Europe that view Rose as both a teammate and role model.
“It’s the way he goes about his game. He’s very much a lead-by-example person. He doesn’t need to raise his voice or speak loudly or be the motivating force in terms of that. He’s there, he has plenty of words of wisdom, and he leads by example in how he prepares himself and conducts himself on the golf course.”
The term “veteran presence” is used loosely, but it perhaps fits Rose better than most. When he made his Ryder Cup debut in 2008, 10 of his 11 current teammates were still junior golfers. Rasmus Hojgaard was 7 years old.
Justin Rose hits a tee shot during a practice round prior to the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Richard Heathcote
Rose not only has experience on the biggest stage, he has winning experience. In his six prior Ryder Cup appearances, he’s only had a losing record once and has lifted the Ryder Cup four times.
Perhaps the best testament to Rose’s game and character may fall in his record in alternate shot. In 10 foursomes matches in Ryder Cups, Rose has only shaken hands as the loser on two occasions. His ability to lead by example, Fleetwood says, is clear.
In Rome, Donald gave Rose the role as a mentor to rookie Robert MacIntyre in both fourball sessions. MacIntyre remembers the experience well.
“That first day I was so nervous. More nervous that I’ve ever been a golf event before,” he said. “Rosey and my caddie were talking to me on the way to the first tee, but I could only nod along, I couldn’t speak.”
MacIntyre and Rose were drawn against Max Homa and Wyndham Clark.
“I remember Rosey coming over to me once we got to the first tee and saying “don’t worry, in five minutes this will all be over,’” MacIntyre continued. “And he was right. I’d missed the fairway on the first hole in all my practice rounds but hit it there and then I was off.”
In a back-and-forth battle that Friday afternoon, MacIntyre and Rose were in the last match to finish. With the entire crowd and their teammates packed around the 18th green, it was the veteran they were all watching. With a 10-foot putt to halve the match and cap off a dominating opening day for Europe, Rose stepped up. The putt dropped, the crowd cheered, and his teammates jumped for joy.
As for Rose, he pointed. Over and over again. At each of his teammates.
Justin Rose celebrates on the 18th green during the Friday afternoon fourball matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Patrick Smith
“You, you, you, you!” he shouted before beating his chest.
His words after the week may have summarized his feelings about Team Europe, but that celebration spoke volumes.
“Ultimately, to be the best leader, you have to be the best version of yourself,” Rose told the media this week. “I just try to lead by example, and I think it probably helped me more than it helped Bob.”
Regardless, his presence seems to be a huge boost for Team Europe.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
