Honma Golf and Justin Rose have parted ways, the Japanese club maker announced Friday afternoon. Rose signed an endorsement deal with Honma in January 2019 to become the company’s first PGA Tour staff player.
Rose was a TaylorMade endorser before joining Honma in 2019. Despite still being signed with Honma at the time, he used a TaylorMade SIM driver at the Honda Classic in February. He then used a set of TaylorMade P730 irons and sampled wedges from several manufacturers at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March before the PGA Tour came to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s no word yet if Rose is working on a deal with another company as the PGA Tour prepares to resume play in June.
“For over a year, Justin worked closely with our team to help develop innovative and top-performing lines of Honma woods and irons,” John Kawaja, president of Honma Golf North America, said in a news release. “His pursuit of perfection, approach to product testing and feedback has produced great value to Honma. Justin’s expert input and desire for maximum ball speed inspired our team to make the Honma TR20 460 and 440 drivers among the fastest drivers in the game. Consistently, and excitingly, our nationwide team of fitters are seeing the new TR20 460 and TR20 440 drivers produce some of the fastest speeds on the market. We wish him the very best in his pursuit of more majors and career success.
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Rose is a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour, with his most-recent victory at the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open. He also has seven European Tour wins, has competed in five Ryder Cups and reached No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking in 2018. He is currently No. 14 in world.
“I have enjoyed working with the Honma team and collaborating closely with them to design and develop excellent golf equipment,” Rose said in the news release. “I was able to see firsthand the innovations that the craftsmen at Honma bring to their clubs. I am hopeful that during our time of partnership, we have laid the groundwork for Honma to continue to expand their brand. We both feel it is the right time to pursue our own paths.”
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