Kohler, Wisconsin - England's Justin Rose heads into this week's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits full of confidence in pursuit of a second major title after producing stellar form on the PGA Tour since April.
The world number six clinched his seventh victory on the U.S. circuit at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that month and has a good feeling about a run of three top-six finishes in his last three starts.
“I feel like I'm trending in the right direction,” Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, told reporters on Tuesday. “I'm moving towards the winner's circle, so I'm coming into here with a lot of confidence.
“This would be a great week for it all to line up. It would be nice to take that extra step and get over the finish line first.”
Rose tied for sixth at last month's British Open, then shared fourth place at the Quicken Loans National before finishing joint third at the elite WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.
He felt he produced his best golf of the season from tee to green in last week's event at Firestone Country Club and was considering a switch back to an old putter this week to improve his sharpness on the greens.
“There were a lot of positives last week,” said Rose. “My putting has been pretty good, I just need to find that level of consistency. I'm not trying to change too much.
“I'm looking at going back to my old putter this week. My old putter is definitely a putter that would suit these greens that are rolling very pure.”
Rose, whose spectacular form through this summer began with a tie for second at the Masters in April, has been especially pleased with his golf at the first three majors of the season.
“It's been nice to perform well in the major championships,” said the 35-year-old Englishman. “I certainly didn't panic earlier in the year when I wasn't playing well.
“I tried to tell myself that my year was going to be built around April through to September, and that's when a lot of the big tournaments rolled around. That's when I wanted to be fresh and at my best. It's going according to plan.”
Rose is scheduled to tee off from the 10th hole in Thursday's opening round at Whistling Straits in the company of American Brandt Snedeker and Australian Geoff Ogilvy. – Reuters