Rose admits frustration at poor form ahead of PGA Championship

Former world number one Justin Rose admits his patience is being tested by the poor run of form that has seen him tumble down the world rankings.

The English golfer first topped the rankings in September 2018 and has spent a total of 13 weeks at number one but arrived at Wentworth for this week’s PGA Championship at 23rd in the standings.

The 2013 US Open champion finished ninth in the US PGA Championship in August but has missed the cut in five of his past seven events after splitting from long-time coach Sean Foley in June.

“(It) hasn’t worked out yet, but these things don’t always happen immediately,” Rose said on Wednesday.

“The last couple of days there’s been some lightbulb moments and it’s a blend of some of the new things I’ve learned along the way and some of the old blueprints under Sean.

“You always see results on the range before you see it on the golf course, but I feel positive and motivated at the moment.”

Rose, 40, who is in the process of moving back to England from the Bahamas, said he was enjoying his golf.

“You can only hope that does lead to good stuff eventually,” he said. “Patience-wise, it’s been tested for sure. It’s not fun not competing out there at the top end of the leaderboard.

“I’ve seen a couple of spells that keeps you buoyant. It’s not all been doom and gloom and I feel like I’m working on ultimately a bit of a bigger plan and prize at the end of it all.”

Defending champion Danny Willett also comes into the event, starting Thursday, on a run of poor form. The 2016 Masters champion has missed the cut in his past five starts.

“My game has not been in an amazing place, so nice to be back here and get a few nice vibes of how things went last year,” he said. “We’re working hard and see if we can get a little bit of form back and put up a little bit of a fight this week.”

The Englishman is one of 11 players in the world’s top 50 in the field at Wentworth, with Patrick Reed the only member of the top 10 competing.

Reed was given honorary life membership of the European Tour in 2019 in recognition of his Masters victory the previous year and is currently top of the Race to Dubai.

“It definitely was motivated by winning the Race to Dubai,” Reed said of his decision to play at Wentworth. “When you’re in the lead, being able to come over is always nice to try to stay on top.

“I wouldn’t have felt right not coming over and supporting the European Tour. I always wanted to be a worldwide player, not just stay at home and play in the States.”

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