Rose reaps rewards of Pro choice

Those who thought Justin Rose made a huge mistake when he quit amateur golf at 17 should look at him now.

The mere fact that, four years on, he tees off with Bernhard Langer and Darren Clarke in the first round of the Benson & Hedges International Open at The Belfry tomorrow illustrates the point.

No longer is Rose a European tour struggler, thinking only of surviving the halfway cut - something he failed to do in his first 21 starts as a pro.

Instead he has a place amongst the elite, with the world at his feet again and that staggering fourth place finish in the 1998 Open at Birkdale looking like a stepping stone to greater things.

On Sunday Rose had his third victory of the year, adding the Chunichi Crowns title in Japan to two wins in South Africa.

Twenty-four million yen (€207,000) and a Toyota car were the reward for the latest success and now the 21-year-old would love nothing more than to add another £183,330 (€294,300) on Sunday.

‘‘It’s not the money, though,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s the elation of holding a trophy - and to do it on European soil is the obvious next step.’’

To do it this weekend would be extra special because, for the first time since last October, Rose has his father watching him.

In January Ken Rose underwent a stem cell transplant, the latest stage in his battle with leukaemia.

Rose said: ‘‘It’s been a long winter for him and he’s still weak, but he will try to walk a few holes. Mum also misses my golf, so it’s really nice to have them here.

‘‘Dad has always believed in me more than I believe in me and I’m just so delighted to have had the results I have so far this year.

'One goal I had this season was to win before this tournament because I thought it would set up the whole summer. Well I’ve done it three times.’’

Rose is up to 76th in the world, having been 160th at the start of the year, and if he can win one of the next three events it is the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open with Tiger Woods in the field next week, then the Volvo PGA championship at Wentworth he should enter the top 50 and earn a place in next month’s US Open.

Whatever happens, there is no doubt in his mind that he did the right thing by turning professional straight after his Open heroics.

‘‘I think I’ve justified that it was not the wrong decision. It looked like the harder route, but it’s got me to where I am.

‘‘It’s made me tougher, stronger. Struggling to make cuts has helped me to win - the pressure when you’re not playing well is worse than when you are.

‘‘There’s no right or wrong way to do it, but I wanted to do my learning as a pro. It took me longer to settle than I wanted, but ability never goes away.’’

A Ryder Cup cap is another of Rose’s targets, but because of September 11 he has to wait until 2004 for the next chance.

This year’s team have only four months to wait and, with the match against the Americans also at The Belfry, all but wild cards Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik are present.

So too are John Daly, Nick Faldo and Jose Maria Olazabal.