Justin Rose’s thrilling victory in the Volvo Masters, which saw him crowned Number One on The European Tour Order of Merit for the first time, saw him emerge top of a strong list of candidates to be named The European Tour Golfer of the Month for November.
At the beginning of the week at Club de Golf Valderrama, Rose knew he had to finish in the top three and ahead of Padraig Harrington in order to win the Harry Vardon Trophy and he did that when he ended regulation play tied with Simon Dyson and Søren Kjeldsen.
With the coveted European Tour Number One spot in the bag, Rose then went on to end the season in style with his fourth European Tour victory, birdieing the second extra hole at Valderrama - the par four tenth – to take the title.
Rose topped a list of outstanding candidates for the November award. Amongst those meriting praise from the judging panel were; Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren who together gave Scotland their first victory in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, beating the American duo of Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum in a thrilling play-off; England’s Richard Finch who a little more than three weeks after securing his card for the 2008 season, won his maiden title in the Michael Hill New Zealand Open; and England’s Ian Poulter who claimed the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix tournament on the Japan Golf Tour.
There was also special mention made of the wonderful achievement of Sir Bob Charles who at the age of 71 years and 261 days became the oldest player by some margin to make a cut on any of golf’s major Tours. He comfortably surpassed the great American Sam Snead who was 67 two months and 21 days when he survived the halfway cut in the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic on the US PGA Tour, and shattered The European Tour record held by Christy O’Connor of Ireland who was 64 and 184 days when he made the cut in the 1989 Carrolls Irish Open
His second round 68 at The Hills Golf Club was three shots better than his age – another record for the statisticians – and his final tally of two under par 284 put him in a share of 23rd place in the tournament overall – a truly remarkable effort.
Other winners of the monthly awards in 2007 have been; South Africa’s Retief Goosen (January), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (February), South Africa’s Anton Haig (March), Austria’s Markus Brier (April), Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (May and July), Argentina’s Angel Cabrera (June), Scotland’s Marc Warren (August), England’s Lee Westwood (September) and Nick Dougherty of England (October).
The European Tour Golfer of the Year will be selected by a panel from the Association of Golf Writers, Radio and Television at the end of the year.
