Justin Rose
Olympic gold medallist, Major champion, former world number one and multiple winner globally…Justin Rose’s achievements in golf are legendary.
At the peak of his powers as he approaches his 40th birthday, Rose will be looking to add the SMBC Singapore Open in 2020 to his long list of titles.
In his only previous appearance at the prestigious event, the Englishman tied for ninth in 2011.
His Olympic win came in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 when golf returned to the Games after a 112-year break. He also made history when he recorded the first hole-in-one in Olympic golf.
Rose first came to prominence as an amateur at The Open in 1998, holing out from the rough at the 72nd hole at Royal Birkdale to finish tied fourth.
After a tough start to his professional career, Rose has gone on to win 10 times on the PGA Tour and 11 times on the European Tour. The highlight came in 2013 when he triumphed at the US Open.
He had a brilliant 2018, winning the season-long FedExCup and the juicy US$10 million prize that went with it, helping Europe to victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, Paris, France, and reaching world number one for the first time.
He rounded off 2018 by retaining his title at the Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour and in January, 2019, he won for the 10th time on the PGA Tour with victory at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Date of birth: July 30, 1980
Country: England
Year Turned Professional: 1998
HomePlayer Profiles Henrik Stenson
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Stenson, a history-maker and Major champion, is a welcome addition to the SMBC Singapore Open in 2020.
It will be the Swede’s second appearance at the renowned event and he will be looking for a degree of revenge at the Sentosa Golf Club, where he missed the cut in 2011.
Ice-cool and steely on the course, funny and relatable off it, Stenson will definitely make his mark in Singapore.
In January, he eclipsed some of the world’s best professionals – including tournament host Tiger Woods – to win the Hero World Challenge.
Stenson shot a final round 66 at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas to secure his first victory since the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour in 2017.
In an incredibly exciting prospect for fans in the Lion City, he joins England’s Justin Rose – with whom he forged an unbeatable partnership at the Ryder Cup September 2018 – in the elite field.
The duo also fought a memorable battle at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Stenson won the silver medal finishing two strokes behind gold medallist Rose.
Stenson is the first male Swedish Major champion, having won The Open in 2016 at Royal Troon in Scotland after a titanic battle with American left-hander Phil Mickelson.
He also made history in 2013 by winning the FedExCup on the PGA Tour and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, the first player to clinch both titles, and to do so in the same season.
Date of birth: April 5, 1976
Country: Sweden
Year Turned Professional: 1998
Matt Kuchar
There are two reasons why golf fans in Singapore can look forward to seeing Matt Kuchar play in the 2020 SMBC Singapore Open: firstly because he has been one of the world’s finest players over the past 10 years and secondly, well that’s obvious, everyone is going to love shouting “Kuuuuch!”
The popular American started his career in a big way in the amateur game narrowly losing in the semi-finals of the 1996 U.S. Amateur championship to Tiger Woods before winning the prestigious title the following year
He received the Haskins Award in 1998 as the nation’s top collegiate golfer (he attended Georgia Tech), and was the low amateur at both The Masters and U.S. Open.
Matt briefly enjoyed success in the early 2000s before suffering a slump where he struggled to maintain his playing status on the PGA Tour. But he rejuvenated himself and built a new, one-plane swing from 2008 onward leading to vastly improved results. He was the PGA Tour’s leading money winner in 2010.
He is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour having triumphed in some of the biggest tournaments in the game including the Players Championship in 2012 and the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He has also finished in the top-10 at Majors on 12 occasions.
Like Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson he has been a regular in the Ryder Cup matches over the past decade. And of course Matt famously claimed the bronze medal behind Rose and Stenson at the Olympics in 2016.
Date of birth: June 21, 1978
Country: United States
Year Turned Professional: 2000
*Information and images credit to smbcsingaporeopen.com/
