Fans of Justin Rose may have felt a little uneasy about the announcement concerning the Englishman this week.
Rose can already reflect on this year being an overwhelming success, with his victory at the Farmers Insurance Open and another run at The Masters title.
It had felt almost inevitable that the 45-year-old would win another major at some stage before his career at the highest level concludes.
However, Rose seems to have now taken a real gamble.
Justin Rose announces new equipment manufacturer
It was announced on Monday that Rose will now use McLaren golf clubs after working with the brand for the last two years. He has become their first ambassador.
Rose is not foolish. He will be desperate to continue to shine in the twilight of his career. There looks to be a real opportunity for the 2013 US Open champion to add at least one more playing appearance at the Ryder Cup to his record.
However, it is hard not to draw some comparisons between this announcement and Rose’s decision to become the first notable name to sign with Honma back in 2019.
At the time, Rose was the world number one. So it was a surprise to see him move away from TaylorMade. From the outside, it appeared to be Rose’s attempt to become the number one marquee name with a manufacturer.
Justin Rose did not have the best time after deciding to sign with Honma
The decision was initially vindicated, with Rose winning the Farmers Insurance Open within a couple of weeks of the move being announced.
However, the multi-year deal came to an end in 2020. Rose had already been using equipment from other companies for a while before the parting of the ways was announced.
Unfortunately, that spell did not prove to be a successful one in Rose’s career. He would go four years without a PGA Tour win. Meanwhile, the 2021 Ryder Cup was the first Rose did not play in since 2010.
You would imagine that Rose will have kept that in mind when considering his move to McLaren.
Nevertheless, it is surprising to see him rock the boat like this at a time when he clearly has the ability to still win on the PGA Tour.
