Rose first achieved significant media attention when he finished fourth place at the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur.

In the ensuing years, Rose focused primarily on the United States, winning a number of notable tournaments, culminating with a victory at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Rose has continued with success since then, earning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing runner-up at the 2017 Masters, and reaching number one in the world for the first time in 2018.

Rose was born in Johannesburg, South Africa,[3] to English parents, Annie, and Ken (who died of cancer in 2003).

Later in the year, Rose burst to worldwide prominence at the 1998 Open Championship held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

He did not have a great year and slipped out of the top 50 in the world rankings; however, he kept his tour card after earning in excess of a million dollars.

Later the same week he had his best result of the year, leading the Buick Championship in Connecticut after three rounds before slipping to a third-place finish.

In September 2006 at the Canadian Open, Rose led a PGA Tour tournament going into the final round for the first time.

His renewed consistency, including a top 5 finish at the 2007 Masters, saw him surpass his previous best world ranking, by reaching number 26 on 8 April 2007.

[8] Rose lost in a playoff at the 2007 BMW PGA Championship but moved into the top twenty of the World Rankings for the first time.

[11][12] In 2010, Rose had a third place at the Honda Classic in Florida, and then he broke through with a victory at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio with a final round 66 to win by three strokes over Rickie Fowler.

[14] In his first tournament start since the Memorial, at the Travelers Championship (Connecticut) two weeks later, Rose led by three shots entering the final round but fell away to a tie for ninth.

In September 2011, Rose played the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Illinois), the third of the four FedEx Cup playoff events.

Watson hit an iron shot from the right hand rough to within ten feet but could not make the birdie putt giving Rose the biggest win of his career.

At the 2012 Ryder Cup, Rose played a major part in Team Europe's comeback against the United States.

In June 2014, Rose won the Quicken Loans National defeating Shawn Stefani on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

At the 2014 Ryder Cup, Rose emerged as the leading points-getter, amassing four points in a 3-0-2 performance, as Europe won.

[22] In October, he won the UBS Hong Kong Open on the European Tour defeating Lucas Bjerregaard by one stroke.

[24] Described as having an inspiring effect on the rest of the Great Britain team, Rose later gave the golf ball from that hole-in-one to gymnast Nile Wilson, who would go on to win a bronze medal in the horizontal bar.

Rose then produced a backspin pitch that left him with a short birdie putt which he converted while Stenson underhit his approach and eventually three-putted for bogey.

[26] Shortly thereafter, Rose brought his Olympic gold medal to The Barclays at Bethpage Black and wore it around his neck, on the suggestion of playing partner Phil Mickelson's caddy Jim "Bones" McKay and to cheers from the gallery, during his final putt.

[27] In April 2017, Rose shot opening rounds of 71-72 at the Masters to enter the weekend as one of only a handful of players under par.

[31] Rose was part of the winning European team at the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National outside of Paris, France.

[34] On 4 November 2018, Rose successfully defended his title at the Turkish Airlines Open with a playoff victory over Li Haotong.

[38] In September 2023, Rose played on the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy.

The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Rose went 1–1–1 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Patrick Cantlay.

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play NT = No tournament "T" = tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.