{"id":617262,"date":"2026-05-01T13:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617262\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T13:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:05:16","slug":"justin-rose-hits-back-with-humour-after-tough-doral-start-sparks-mclaren-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617262\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Rose hits back with humour after tough Doral start sparks McLaren criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Rose has issued a light-hearted response to critics questioning his decision to switch to McLaren Golf irons after a difficult opening round at the Cadillac Championship.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old Englishman, who was unveiled earlier this week as McLaren Golf\u2019s first PGA Tour<\/a> ambassador, made his debut with a new combo set<\/a> of Series 1 and Series 3 irons at Trump National Doral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The move marks a significant shift in equipment<\/a> for the former world number one, who also holds an equity stake in the brand.<\/p>\n

However, Rose<\/a>\u2019s first competitive outing with the new setup did not quite go to plan.<\/p>\n

He opened with a two-over-par 74 on the notoriously demanding Blue Monster course, leaving him 10 shots behind early leader Cameron Young and outside the top 50 in the limited 72-man field.<\/p>\n

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Young moved into pole position for the PGA Tour’s fifth Signature Event of the season after a first-round 64, which marks a new course record at Donald Trump’s Doral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rose <\/p>\n

Rose off the 1st during Thursday’s first round<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s opening lap around Trump National Doral was anything but steady.<\/p>\n

He carded two costly double bogeys on the par-fives at the first and eighth holes, alongside four birdies \u2014 three of which came in his opening five holes \u2014 and additional bogeys at the 11th and 18th.<\/p>\n

Following his round, Rose faced immediate criticism on social media, with some golf fans questioning whether the switch to McLaren irons had disrupted his recent good form.<\/p>\n

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Golf analyst Rick Gehman highlighted the severity of the struggles in a post on X.<\/p>\n

“That’s his second worst ball-striking and worst tee-to-green round of his year,” wrote Gehman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rose, however, took the comments in stride and responded with humour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Cheers Rick for the stats… will use DRS tomorrow after that info…” he replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The quip referenced Formula 1\u2019s Drag Reduction System (DRS), a nod to McLaren\u2019s motorsport heritage \u2014 although the system has been phased out for the 2026 F1 season.<\/p>\n

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Rose also engaged with another user who suggested he could miss the cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Justin Rose missing the cut with his new McLaren irons would be something\u2026.” one fan posted on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The world number seven replied: “What odds you giving me??”<\/p>\n

The light-hearted exchanges didn\u2019t stop there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When another fan joked about securing tickets after enjoying Rose\u2019s social media responses, writing: “Seeing as your liking all my replies, any tickets going?” Rose came back with: “Maybe if I make the cut!”<\/p>\n

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With no halfway cut in this week\u2019s Signature Event, Rose was quick to underline that he would have the full 72 holes to recover.<\/p>\n

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While some observers have questioned the timing of Rose\u2019s switch \u2014 particularly given his strong recent form \u2014 the veteran insists the move is well considered ahead of three majors over the next three months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Rose claimed his experience as a former equipment free agent, along with past high-profile changes, has better prepared him for this transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned so much from being brand agnostic for a while that I kind of have my own preference list now,\u201d explained Rose, who has spent the past two years working with McLaren on product development, testing prototypes and helping shape the brand’s first gen clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in an environment where I can take all my preferences to one place where they can execute on that for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo from my point of view, no, I\u2019m actually looking at what can be better. I\u2019m looking to mitigate risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI\u2019ve done this once before as well in 2019, obviously, and I kind of learned a lot from that process, so I feel in a bit better place now to kind of go down this path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s previous switch in 2019 \u2014 when he left TaylorMade for Honma while ranked world number two \u2014 offers a useful reference point.<\/p>\n

Although he initially enjoyed success, including returning to world number one, the long-term results proved inconsistent.<\/p>\n

That experience, combined with a prolonged spell without a full equipment contract, has shaped his current thinking.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve been playing the perfect set of clubs for me,\u201d Rose openly admitted ahead of the Cadillac Championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been just kind of playing \u2013 I think when you\u2019re not with an equipment manufacturer it\u2019s, there\u2019s a little bit of temptation just to bounce around anyway, there\u2019s so many good options out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Justin <\/p>\n

Justin Rose joins McLaren Golf<\/p>\n

The reaction to Rose\u2019s switch is heightened by his recent resurgence.<\/p>\n

Earlier this season, he claimed his 13th PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open and followed it up with a strong run at The Masters, where he finished tied third after briefly leading around the turn during the final round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Given that form, some critics have questioned why he would risk disrupting momentum at such a pivotal point in the season.<\/p>\n

\"Mark <\/p>\n

Mark ‘Fooch’ Fulcher with Justin Rose<\/p>\n

Despite his slow start at Doral, Rose remains well placed to recover in a no-cut event and demonstrate the long-term benefits of his new equipment.<\/p>\n

And given his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 \u2014 which includes a US Open title, Olympic gold medal, FedEx Cup victory, and multiple Ryder Cup triumphs \u2014 it would be unwise to draw conclusions from a single round.<\/p>\n

Rose has also made no secret of his ambition to complete the career Grand Slam before retiring, suggesting his latest move is part of a broader strategy rather than a short-term gamble.<\/p>\n

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For now, his response to the noise has been clear: measured, confident \u2014 and with just the right touch of humour.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin Rose has issued a light-hearted response to critics questioning his decision to switch to McLaren Golf irons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-617262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}