Justin Rose Rises into Ryder Cup Contention
By Josh Carr On February 7, 2023 10:00 UTC
Justin Rose climbed a staggering 97 places on the World Points List after his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR.
The triumph saw the five-time European Ryder Cup player become the first European to win the event while also jumping to ninth place on the World Points List with 39.31 points.
Rounds of 69-69-65-66 saw Rose finish comfortably three shots ahead of his nearest competitor Brendon Todd at the weather affected event.
"The way I've been with my game, I've had to be quite selfish and just focus on me and focus on my improvement and what I need to do to start playing better golf," Rose added. "I haven't even entertained what the Ryder Cup looks like for me, other than I want to be there.
"I felt like what was really important to me was getting off to a good start on the PGA TOUR so I wasn't under pressure later in the season, so I could turn my attentions to the Ryder Cup and the [DP World] Tour as and when that becomes the important phase of the season.
"Obviously I would love to play my way onto the team. But I wanted to be a player that if I'm playing well, Luke [Donald] has to consider and feel good about being part of this team."
While making moves in the Ryder Cup Rankings, Rose’s first PGA TOUR win since 2019 also moves him inside the World’s top 50, into 35th position, and secures a place at The Masters and the US PGA Championship.
Meanwhile, a tied fourth finish alongside 2018 Ryder Cup winner Thorbjørn Olesen at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour saw Poland’s Adrian Meronk climb four places into tenth position on the European Points List.
Should he make European Captain Luke Donald’s team at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Meronk would be Poland’s first ever Ryder Cup player.
Englishman Daniel Gavins won the event and in turn climbed 38 places on the European Points List into 18th position.
As it stands Rory McIlroy (1,856.50 points) Jon Rahm (1,850.00 points), and Victor Perez (1,252.49 points) would claim the three automatic qualifying spots on the European Points List, with Viktor Hovland (59.98 points), Alex Noren (47.53 points) and Shane Lowry (45.18 points) currently sitting in the top three positions on the World Points List.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between Sept. 25 – Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy.