Everyone needs a special person by their side and Justin Rose has been extremely blessed to have such someone. Yes, we are talking about his wife and pillar of support, Kate Philips, with the help of whom he was able to achieve the many accolades he was able to in his life and career, counting the 25 professional wins.
Rose is not a name that is alien to the golf world. After turning professional in 1998, the English athlete has raked in a total of 11 wins on the PGA Tour, including a major at the 2013 U.S. Open. He was able to do so all thanks to his soulmate, who herself is a former Olympic gymnast and philanthropist.
Meet Kate Philips, Justin Rose’s wife
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Kate Rose (born Philips) was born on July 30, 1980. Following her high school education, she was able to obtain her BA Honors degree in French and Italian from the University of Sussex in 1998. During and after her collegiate education, she also represented her country as an international gymnast. However, she soon retired from the same, all the while taking up the role of an assistant at IMG.
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The golfer met the former gymnast in 2000 when she was working at the global sports and culture company. IMG had then been representing Justin Rose and, as a result, the duo had to travel together a lot of times as part of his international schedule. The pair then started dating soon after their fateful meeting. Fast forward to 2006. After six years of being together, the two lovebirds tied the knot in December and then shifted to the Bahamas.
“I was always going to be happy about getting married no matter what,” admitted the golfer in an interview with the Telegraph, “but I have to admit that the wedding champagne will be tasting that bit sweeter.” He said so the day before getting married to his longtime girlfriend and fiance, Kate Philips. Now, almost two decades after their marriage, it seems the bond is stronger than ever, especially with the new additions to the Rose family just three years after their marriage.
Rose and his wife welcome their two children
Justin Rose’s wife became pregnant and gave birth to their first child, Leo, in 2009. Three years later, in 2012, the couple and their son welcomed a baby girl to their family, Charlotte. One would think that their children would want to follow in their father’s footsteps and become golfers, but that wasn’t the case with Leo, who had his own unique aspirations.
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“Initially, when Leo was two or three, I was keen for him to play golf,” confessed Justin Rose, before adding how he had planned to help him if he was good at it. The boy, however, wasn’t too interested: “He’s shown no aptitude for golf whatsoever, he finds it tedious beyond belief. In a way, it’s good, because I see with Leo that he is already trying to forge his own way in the world.”
While it is true that the affection they have for their children knows no bounds, the two soulmates have also extended their love towards other children, especially those in need. The professional and his wife, thus, set up the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation in order to achieve their goal.
The Kate and Justin Rose Foundation
The couple founded the charity organization to help the local children in need. They feed them on every school weekend, provide books for them each month, pay for their after-school tutoring, and create field trip experiences that are educational in nature. Moreover, The Foundation had teamed up with Blessings in a Backpack in Orlando back in 2009, which helped them increase the number of students to more than 1800 from a figure of 400.
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“This program is very close to our hearts because Kate and I know Blessings in a Backpack fills a crucial void for children who might otherwise go hungry,” divulged Rose on the website of the charity organization. “I can’t expect to play good golf if I’m not properly nourished so how can we expect kids to go a full weekend without enough to eat and then be able to focus on learning the next school week.”
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Aside from the helping hand that they have extended to the children, Justin Rose’s wife also plays a major role in the Rose Ladies Series, a tour founded in 2020. It was done as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and has staged many events across the golf courses in the United Kingdom.
The love the two have for each other and their children is going strong. The golfer had even gifted a horse, later named ‘Master Merion’, to his wife as a birthday present and a symbol of their love. The affection and love that they have for each other have truly changed each other to be a better version of themselves as well as help others in need!