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Justin Rose has explained that an unwavering belief that he can still fulfil his boyhood dream of winning majors was behind his decision to turn down an offer from LIV Golf.
Plenty of the Englishman’s peers – including compatriots Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey – took up lucrative offers from the Saudi-backed breakaway series, turning their back on the PGA Tour and limiting their participation in golf’s biggest events.
Rose was also subject to an offer three years ago, but declined a deal in order to continue to pursue a second major title.
Another success to follow his 2013 US Open triumph is still to arrive yet the 45-year-old has continued to compete at the sharp end of leaderboards, finishing an agonising second to Rory McIlroy in a play-off at the Masters earlier this year.
Having won the FedEx St Jude Championship last weekend, and sealed his place at the Ryder Cup in September, Rose has suggested that his competitive spirit remains undimmed as he targets more success late in his career.
“I had the opportunity and a lot of my friends have gone over there,” Rose told the No Laying Up podcast about LIV Golf. “I harbour no ill feeling for guys who have made that decision at certain times in their career.
“I just felt like I had more to give myself. I felt like I needed to believe in the 12-year-old me that wanted to win major championships and chase my dreams. LIV didn’t offer me that at all.
“It didn’t offer me the opportunity to play in majors. I’m still not really guaranteed to be in majors for ever more – you have got to earn your way in this game. That’s what I like about it. There is nothing given out here, you have got to earn everything, and I felt like I needed that challenge and that environment to keep pushing me.
“I didn’t really have any business believing I could win a major again but I truly do believe I can have that Indian summer to my career. To me, that is way more valuable than, let’s just say, putting a financial reward to it. It’s my golfing dreams, it’s the 12-year-old me. It’s like having a rhetorical conversation with the 12-year-old me and trying to justify why I would make that move – he wouldn’t have been too happy with it.
“With where I am trending, I am pretty happy with where I’m at and I think the dream is still alive.”
