On Monday, the new golf venture from the automotive and Formula 1 company unveiled world No. 5 Justin Rose as its first Tour staffer and investor. Rose will debut the clubs along with the McLaren papaya staff bag and logo mark on his chest at the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship this week.
Rose will be putting the new clubs in play amid a resurgent stretch of his career. The 45-year-old former world No. 1 has won twice on the PGA Tour since August and finished in the top-3 in the last two Masters. He leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation this season and ranks seventh in Strokes Gained: Approach.
“From the beginning, this has been a passion project,” Rose said in a release. “I’ve had the opportunity to be involved from the outset — working with the team, testing the clubs and helping shape what they’ve become. That level of involvement, combined with the standards McLaren brings to everything they do, made this an easy decision for me. I’m excited to put the clubs in play and watch the brand flourish.”
Part of what drew Rose to partner with the upstart brand was a long-standing relationship with Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. Rose also regularly plays golf with Lando Norris, the McLaren Mastercard F1 driver and reigning world champion.
Rose is expected to game a set of McLaren Series 1 irons 5-P with a Series 3 4-iron this week at Trump Doral.
The official launch of the McLaren brand is set for Wednesday, April 29, at the Cadillac Championship and is being conducted concurrently with Formula 1’s Miami Championship.
