Justin Rose landed his 12th PGA Tour title on Sunday, and while his caddie also celebrated a payday, the pair may not have been working together were it not for the Englishman’s wife
Justin Rose and caddie Mark ‘Fooch’ Fulcher earned a tidy sum after victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but may not have re-joined forces were it not for the golfer’s wife. Rose split with Fulcher in 2019, but rekindled their partnership two years ago.
Englishman Rose made it 12 wins on the PGA Tour on Sunday, after he edged out US Open champion J.J. Spaun in a thrilling playoff at the FedEx St. Jude, held at TPC Southwind. The 45-year-old took home £2.7million for his exploits.
Caddie Fulcher will pocket around 10 per cent of this, general estimations indicate, banking him £270,000. But this windfall may not have been earned if Rose’s wife Kate had not ended the four-year rift between them with a 2023 phone call.
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The US Open winner and Fulcher first split briefly in March 2019, with the latter stepping down to recover from heart surgery. However, after working together for 11 years, the two parted ways for the long term later that year.
Rose had various others on his bag after Fulcher’s departure, including Gareth Lord, David Clark and Josh Cassell, however, the pair’s partnership could not be easily forgotten.
In 2023, Rose’s wife, Kate, took it upon herself to call Fulcher’s other half, Adrienne, in a bid to reunite the pair, and it turned out to be the glue that repaired their relationship.
“‘Does Fooch fancy coming back? The old boy’s a bit miserable,'” Fulcher recollected of Kate’s phone call. “And I think my wife was saying, ‘My old boy’s a bit miserable, he’s drinking too much wine and sitting on the couch,’ so why not come back?
“Mrs Rose gets what Mrs Rose asks for, and she’s amazing. She’s always been a huge backer of me. We got to Wentworth and got to the house and it didn’t feel like those years had gone past at all.”
Fulcher and Rose joined forces once again in September 2023, with the caddie expressing: “It’s been 15 years since I started working for him, and obviously he’s more experienced.
“But he hasn’t changed his personality on the golf course. I think it’s an amazing challenge and I’m grateful to come on board with that journey with him again.”
Now, the pair have combined for their first Tour win since the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open with victory at the FedEx St. Jude, after forcing a playoff with Rory McIlroy at the Masters in April. Fulcher left a short message on Instagram after the feat, simply writing: “Ty (thank you) St Jude’s.”
Rose enjoyed a consistent weekend in Memphis, carding an opening round 64, and following that up with scores of 66, 67 and 67 to force Spaun into a three-hole sudden-death playoff, but not before missing a 13-foot putt for the outright win, playing with dejected initial final round leader Tommy Fleetwood.
The 45-year-old stunned in the playoff, making two birdies to prevail past Spaun, who had holed one from distance. But Rose revealed he always had faith, admitting after his triumph: “That was an amazing last 90 minutes. I never stopped believing.
“I played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch and had so much fun with it. When I bring my best I know I’m good enough to play against the best players in the world. I get nervous like anyone, but when it matters, I still rise to it.”