“I could never get comfortable” – Justin Rose claims he turned down a LIV Golf offer for his ‘childhood dreams’
Justin Rose recently explained why he declined to play for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. The English golfer, competing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tournament this week, recently claimed that he turned down a contract offer from LIV Golf two to three years ago.
According to Nuclr Golf, Justin Rose denied LIV's offer to stay on the tour because he did not want to give up on his "childhood dream" of winning Major tournaments.
Speaking about LIV Golf, Rose confessed that he didn't want to rely on a special exemption to compete in the Majors. Speaking about his decision to stay on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Rose said (via Nuclr Golf):
"For me it was always I could never get comfortable with the giving up on the childhood dreams of the majors and I just couldn't see that changing anytime soon. I was in a position, a situation where I was having to earn my way into them so I didn't have those long-term exemptions to buffer it.”
It is important to note that LIV golfers do not get Official World Golf Rankings points, which makes it harder for them to maintain their rankings. They struggle to earn a spot in the Majors.
They could only play in Majors on special exemption and thus only a handful of LIV players compete in Major events.
A quick look at Justin Rose's performances in Majors
Having turned pro in 1998, Justin Rose has played in all four Majors and won one. In 1998, he participated in The Open Championship as an amateur and tied for fourth place, marking his Major debut. He returned to The Open the next year as a professional golfer, but this time he was unable to make the cut.
His maiden Major win came in 2013 at the US Open, when he registered a two-stroke victory over Jason Day and Phil Mickelson.
Although he did not win any other Major except the US Open, his best finishes in all four Majors events are within the top five. He was the runner-up at the Masters in 2015 and 2017. He finished third at the PGA Championship in 2012 and second at The Open Championship in 2018.
Justin Rose has won 25 professional tournaments in his career so far and was ranked number one in the world back in 2018. He has won 11 PGA Tour events and 11 European Tour events, along with other events on the Asian, Japan, Sunshine and Australasia Tours.
He is the defending champion of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament. Rose won the PGA Tour event last year to end his four-year winless drought. He had also played at the Ryder Cup in 2023 and was part of the winning European team.