GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

Alison Root catches up with Kate and Justin Rose at Wentworth to find out more about the successful Rose Ladies Series and the couple's motivation for raising the profile of women's golf

- Alison Root

It was back in summer 2020 during the Covid pandemic that Kate Rose, wife of Justin, read an article in the Daily Telegraph by Ladies European Tour (LET) player Liz Young. Kate, a former international gymnast, was taken aback as she read how the UK’s female golf pros were about to put their hands in their pockets and organise roll-up events among themselves, simply so they had something to do and play for.

The article struck a chord with Kate because, despite a lack of crowds, the men’s tour was back in business, so this disparity in professional golf seemed utterly unfair. As someone who does not let the grass grow under her feet, Kate contacted Young immediately to ask what was needed. Within a week, golf courses and sponsors – including Computacenter and American Golf, among others – were on board and the Rose Ladies Series was born.

Sitting down with Kate and Justin at Wentworth during the third out of five one-day events in the 2023 series, it’s clear to see how genuinely passionate the couple are about supporting women’s and junior golf.

“Once Liz’s story was out, everything snowballed and there was a lot of goodwill,” says Kate. “It wasn’t just about what was happening. It was the fact that people were going out of their way to try and help them. The players felt heard, they felt seen and they felt supported for the first time and that was really, really meaningful.”