Justin Rose's wife helped end four-year rift with phone call that inspired heroics

Justin Rose's wife's phone call played a crucial role in his impressive performances at The Open and the Ryder Cup.

Rose parted ways with his long-time caddie Mark "Fooch" Fulcher in 2019, but they reunited last summer. The 43 year old then played a key role in the victory over the United States in Rome to reclaim the iconic trophy before a brave performance at Royal Troon on Sunday .

Despite facing the harshest conditions on Scotland's west coast all week, Rose skilfully put himself in contention during the first three rounds. However, he was outdone by two shots as Xander Schauffele confirmed his status as a contemporary great.

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Fulcher humorously wished that the American was a "------", but admitted "he couldn't be nicer". He added: "He did not put a foot wrong and it was nice not to pay for a ticket and watch it all day because it was fantastic."

Rose shared second place with Billy Horschel and had to hold back tears as he left the 18th green, having missed out on the title he most desires, taken from him by the world No. 2.

The Englishman, a former US Open and Olympic champion, is confident of more significant victories ahead, and reuniting with his old friend Fooch has made a huge difference.

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In a revealing chat, Fulcher described how it took a call from Rose's wife, Kate, to his own partner, Adrienne, to patch things up with former world No. 1 Justin Rose.

The caddie expressed that their reconciliation wouldn't have happened without the intervention, stating: "'Does Fooch fancy coming back? The old boy's a bit miserable,'" was what he recollected Kate asking. "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? ".

Fulcher shared the influence of Kate Rose emphatically: "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."

Reflecting on Rose's later stages in his career, Fulcher noted: "Justin's very conscious of his age and I think that's an inspiration for him. He wants to buck the trend of it being 20-year-olds and obviously there is unbelievable talent coming out every day."

Rejoining Rose as his caddie has shown Fulcher a stronger golfer than before: "But he believes in that Steve Stricker mould and having gone back to work for him, he's certainly stronger than I've ever seen. Fifteen years since I started working for him and obviously he's more experienced, but he hasn't changed his personality on the golf course and I think he can compete."

The seasoned caddie is excited about the unique challenge ahead: "He's using it as an inspiration. There was a time when players matured in their mid-30s. Now they are maturing at 19. But I think it's an amazing challenge and I'm grateful to come on board with that journey with him again."

"There is no question that his emphasis is more on the majors. That's why he wanted to try to qualify and that's why finishing second is great for us this week because I think it gets us in all the majors next year."