Since he burst onto the scene as an amateur with a T4th finish at The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1998, Justin Rose has gone on to enjoy an extremely successful career, claiming multiple titles including the 2013 US Open, as well as a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.
A former World No.1, Rose has not just made a big impact on the course, but also off it, starting his own Rose Ladies Series alongside his wife Kate in 2020. In this piece, we get to know her a little bit better.
Born in 1980, Kate Phillips (now Rose) attended the University of Sussex and competed internationally as a gymnast growing up. She retired from the sport before taking a job at IMG.
Justin and Kate met in 2000, when Kate was working at IMG and Justin was forming his pro career. At the time, IMG represented Rose and Kate traveled to the tournaments he was playing in.
After striking up a romantic relationship, the couple married in December 2006 and went on to have two children - Leo, who was born in 2009, and Lottie, who arrived three years later.
Nowadays, Kate is heavily involved with the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation. The Foundation, which was established in 2009, aims to help fight childhood hunger in the Orlando area and also provides impoverished children with education and experiences.
In 2021, Justin earned the Payne Stewart Award on behalf of the foundation, which is given to the individual who has shown 'character, sportsmanship and commitment to charitable giving.'
After receiving the award, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan paid tribute to the work of the couple, saying: “The inspiring progress that he and Kate have made through their family’s foundation is a terrific representation of how Payne chose to focus his efforts away from the golf course, by giving back and treating people the right way.”
On top of the Foundation work, Kate was also the driving force behind the funding of a run of ladies tournaments called the Rose Ladies Series, where the couple donated £35,000 to sponsor the events.
The couple are one of the most well-known on Tour, with Kate regularly appearing at tournaments and events alongside the pair's children.
The family was also featured on two separate episodes of Netflix docuseries Full Swing, first showing Justin's desires to earn a pick for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup and later his hopes of winning The Open Championship.
In an interview with Di Stewart, Kate said she would choose her husband if she had to choose someone to make a 10-foot putt to save her life. She said that Justin loves the high-pressure moments and there wouldn't be a higher-pressure moment than that!
Away from golf, Kate appears very passionate about horses, owning at least one currently while she also used to have her own racehorse - which was bought for her by Justin.
It was named ‘Master Merion’ after the venue of her husband's 2013 US Open victory. However, according to Justin, "the horse's name had nothing to do with me."
Master Merion was a relatively successful horse in its career between 2016-2019, winning four of 17 starts in the USA and earning $382,900 in prize money along the way.
When not on the golf course or attending their many pets, the Roses have been regular attendees at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London.
They have been spotted in the Royal Box on Centre Court several times over the past few years just ahead of Justin's trip to The Open Championship.
