Justin Rose isn’t unsure of his role on the European Ryder Cup squad.
At 45 years old and with six Ryder Cups under his belt — just one shy of Rory McIlroy while nine years older than the Northern Irishman — “elder statesman” is a title that suits Rose well.
Rose made his debut in the tournament nearly two decades ago in 2008, and the dearth of experience has made him an ideal partner to help players around him develop.
Rose had been partnered with Robert MacIntyre in 2023 and he was credited with helping the then-Ryder Cup rookie during the tournament, with the pairing winning both of their matches as the Europeans went on to win that year in Rome over the Americans.
Though he wasn’t inclined to take much of the credit when it was broached on Wednesday.
“Ultimately, to be the best leader is by being the best version of yourself and leading by example,” Rose said. “So that’s why I felt like at the last Ryder Cup, essentially, I just had to remember all the things that work for me and try to sort of basically lead by example.
“But I guess it helped me more than it helped Bob, is what I would say to that.”
The response would match up with the person that Team Europe teammate Tommy Fleetwood described on Wednesday morning when he was asked about the “old man” on the team.
The two have been Ryder Cup teammates since 2018 and Fleetwood has seen the competitor and leader that Rose has been.
“He doesn’t need to raise his voice or speak loudly or be the motivating force in terms of that. He’s there, he has plenty of words of wisdom, and he leads by example in how he prepares himself and conducts himself on the golf course,” Fleetwood said.
More than that, Rose’s game has not shown any sign that he will stop anytime soon.
Rose is ranked 14th in the world and at the Ryder Cup, he has a 14-9-3 overall record, along with a 7-2-1 record in foursomes.
Rose said he was still “enthusiastic” about his game and when it came to his success alongside a partner at the Ryder Cup, he boiled it down to “mutual respect” for one another.
“The ability to not feel like you have to say “sorry” to your partner; having enough of a comfort level where if things go wrong, there’s not that moment where heads go down and you feel like you’re letting one another down. That’s kind of like the line you can’t cross,” he said.