Justin Rose returns to Hong Kong Open, aims for ‘Indian summer’ as golf career winds down
The Englishman, a former Olympic champion and US Open winner, will be in the field with South Korea’s Tom Kim for the Asian Tour event
It is nine years since Justin Rose won the Hong Kong Open and seven since he last had a crack at conquering Fanling, but the Englishman will be back in the city in November eyeing the start of an “Indian summer” to a career that began in 1998.
On Tuesday, organisers announced that Rose and South Korea’s Tom Kim would both be in the field for the Asian Tour event, which is the eighth stop on its elevated International Series.
In different stages of their careers, Tom Kim is 22 years old and has won three times on the PGA Tour and twice on the Asian Tour. Rose, an Olympic gold medallist, US Open champion and winner of 20-plus tournaments, needs little introduction, and at 44 is nearer the end of his career than the beginning.
But in a year when he finished second at the Open Championship and with DP World Tour stops in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to come before his return to Hong Kong, Rose is looking to end on a high note a professional journey that began when he was just 17.
“I’m still very focused on playing Ryder Cups,” Rose said. “I’d love to be in the team at Bethpage in September next year.
“And also coming so close to winning a major or two this year. Yes, I won a major [2013 US Open], yes, I’ve been world No 1, yes, I’ve won an Olympics [Rio 216]. I’ve done a lot of things, but I’ve really only ever done them once, you know? So I’d love to become more of a consistent winner at that level.
