SAN DIEGO (AP) \u2014 Justin Rose won two trophies from the Farmers Insurance Open. One was the bronze of a Torrey pine that he carried with him on the flight home to London. The other is a surfboard he posed next to after his seven-shot victory.<\/p>\n
Rose didn’t recall getting the surfboard from when he won at Torrey Pines in 2019. The Century Club of San Diego was more than happy to send him both, except that Rose had a favor. He wanted one of them to go his caddie, Mark \u201cFooch\u201d Fulcher.<\/p>\n
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Sunday’s victory was meaningful to Rose beyond breaking the tournament’s scoring record most recently held by Tiger Woods. He had his longtime looper at his side, and that wasn’t the case when he won seven years ago.<\/p>\n
Fulcher was home in England recovering from heart surgery in 2019. Rose used Gareth Lord, a longtime caddie who was on the bag for Henrik Stenson during his record win at Royal Troon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that win was always a tough one for Fooch, not fighting for his life but he was in a pretty bad way in the hospital,\u201d Rose said. \u201cAnd seeing us kind of cruise to victory and hugging Lordie on the 18th green, (he) nearly had to have another procedure after that, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Even with a seven-shot lead, Rose didn’t begin to celebrate until his wedge safely cleared the pond on the 18th green. He exchanged happy words with Fulcher and meant to speak into the camera, but there were so many on him that he wasn’t sure where to look. No one heard what he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were just trying to have a little bit of banter and make light of the fact, \u2018Hey, Lordie, I hope you\u2019re watching because now it\u2019s Fooch\u2019s turn to be walking down the 18th with me here at Torrey,\u2019\u201d Rose said. \u201cThat was fun to enjoy that with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fulcher returned to work for Rose at the Masters in 2019 after the heart surgery, but it was slow going and they parted about a month later. Rose brought him back in time for the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Italy and they’ve been together ever since, a total of some 14 years.<\/p>\n
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The Century Club was happy to send Fulcher his own surfboard, along with the two now won by Rose. But Rose had another request \u2014 just one surfboard for him was enough, with the years \u201c2019\u201d and \u201c2026\u201d on it.<\/p>\n
PAC election<\/p>\n
This is one election that is likely to be missing any vitriol, but it’s still interesting.<\/p>\n
Adam Scott and Lucas Glover are part of the 16-man Player Advisory Council, and they were selected to run for PAC chairman. It’s an important role because the PAC chairman then moves on to the PGA Tour board the following year for a four-year term.<\/p>\n
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The winner replaces Scott, of all people, whose term expires.<\/p>\n
Hasn’t the Australian been through enough? Instead of a term where big issues were pace of play and how to distribute FedEx Cup points, Scott has been in the mix for negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which have been off the table for nearly a year. There was a Player Equity Program to get started, and pathways created back for LIV Golf players.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t think it’s going to happen,\u201d Scott said of another PAC chairmanship.<\/p>\n
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Glover, 46, is serving on the PAC for the first time. The former U.S. Open champion has been outspoken about the shrinking of fields and the $20 million signature events, fearing they limit opportunities for players.<\/p>\n
Scott said he would like to stay involved, primarily because \u201cthere are some things I’ve been involved in that probably won’t be resolved this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be happy to have a say, and the only way to do that is to be involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The tour did not say give a deadline for the players’ vote for PAC chairman, only that results would be announced at a later date.<\/p>\n
LIV replacements<\/p>\n
LIV Golf begins its fifth season Wednesday without Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood, both announcing they will have to skip the opening events in Saudi Arabia and Australia.<\/p>\n
Mickelson cited a \u201cfamily health matter\u201d without elaboration for having to stay home. As the captain of the HyFlyers, he said Ollie Schniederjans would replace him those two weeks. Schniederjans played four times on LIV last year as a reserve, his best finish a tie for 30th in Riyadh. He is joined by Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and NCAA champion Michael La Sasso.<\/p>\n
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Westwood said he injured his wrist getting ready for the season.<\/p>\n