Justin Rose, of England, and José Maria Olazábal, of Spain, won the Asprey Golfer of the Month Awards for January and February respectively, each earning £1,000 charity donations to The Golf Foundation
Rose emulated his achievement of last season, when he was also named Asprey Golfer of the Month for January, following his maiden European Tour victory in the dunhill championship, and Olazábal’’s success in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines earned him the February Award.
Rose said: “I am delighted with this news. January seems to be a lucky month for me. It was a great honour to receive the Asprey Award last year when I came second at Houghton, but it is far more rewarding to accept it for winning the dunhill championship.
“It was a week I will never forget, winning the title in front of so many family and friends in Johannesburg. I am delighted to add the Asprey Award to my growing collection of silverware and it was especially nice to follow up that win with another victory in the Nashua Masters on the Sunshine Tour.”
The Asprey Award is presented to a European Tour Member each month from January to November for his performances on The European Tour and in worldwide competition. At the end of the season, the panel will select the Asprey & Garrard Golfer of the Year which, in 2001, was Volvo Order of Merit winner and US Open Champion, Retief Goosen.
A panel from the Association of Golf Writers, Television and Radio met with representatives of Asprey and The European Tour to discuss a host of contenders for both the January and February Awards.
The panel nominated Rose following a lengthy debate which included Sergio Garcia, winner of the Mercedes Championship on the US PGA Tour; Retief Goosen, who won the Johnnie Walker Classic with a course record 63 at Lake Karrinyup CC, Perth, and the Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Sunshine Tour; and Tim Clark (Bell’’s South African Open) and Ernie Els (Heineken Classic), both winners on The European Tour. Rose shot 71-66-66-65 for a 20 under par total of 268 in winning the dunhill championship at Houghton Golf Club, Johannesburg – the city of his birth – by two from Mark Foster, Goosen and Martin Maritz.
Bruce Critchley, the Sky Sports commentator, said; “Retief had a fantastic month – in total he was 72 under par for five tournaments – and it was a privilege to watch his 63 in the Johnnie Walker Classic. That said, Justin finally achieved a level that would have been his ambition when he turned professional. He stuck to his guns, raised his game down the stretch at Houghton and, in what was one of the toughest decisions the panel has made in the Asprey Awards, we recognised the importance of this first European Tour win by a fine young man.”
Rose, following his win in the Nashua Masters on the Sunshine Tour, was also a contender for the Asprey Golfer of the Month for February along with Richard S Johnson (ANZ Championship), Arjun Atwal (Caltex Singapore Masters) and Alastair Forsyth (Carlsberg Malaysian Open), all winners on The European Tour, Ernie Els, who won the Genuity Championship on the US PGA Tour, and Olazábal.
The panel commended Olazábal for his high level of performance in the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play, in which he beat Justin Leonard, Goosen and Mark Calcavecchia, in addition to his victory in the Buick Invitational in which he scored 71-72-67-65 for a 13 under par total of 275 for his sixth US PGA Tour win.
Edward Asprey, New Business Director of Asprey London, the authentic British luxury lifestyle house, said: “February, like January, contained a number of outstanding performances by European Tour Members but the panel was swayed by the very high level of play that José Maria produced over the weekend at Torrey Pines with scores of 67 and 65.”
