AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose not only took over as the No. 1-ranked player in the world this week, but he’s whole again.
At this week’s Masters, Rose will have his regular caddie, Mark “Fooch’’ Fulcher, back on his bag for the first time since January, when Fulcher underwent a surgical procedure on his heart.
“Yeah, Fooch is back this week, which has been sort of a long-awaited arrival for him,’’ Rose said. “I know time has been going very slowly for him and he’s been champing at the bit to get back, but he’s stayed very much integrated and engaged in my game, one of his best mates out here on Tour is [fill-in caddie] Gareth Lord; and they have been communicating a lot with what has been going on.
“Fooch has come down to see me on my weeks off on a couple of occasions. Once he knew he was looking good to caddie this week, which was his ultimate goal, he came out to Austin, Texas, to kind of get some of the back-slapping out of the way so he could focus on business this week, which was smart of him.
“I’m excited. Fooch said to Lordy, ‘You’ve got one job; just give him back to me as world No. 1.’ The fact that the ranking switched this week was kind of a nice touch.’’
Rose played well without Fulcher, with three top-10 finishes, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open, his second event without Fulcher on the bag.
Rose is seeking his first Masters win this week after previously finishing as high as the runner-up in 2015 and 2017.
Keith Mitchell is one of the first-timers playing the Masters this week. He qualified with his first career PGA Tour win at the Honda Classic in March.
“This week is something that anyone as a golfer dreams about,’’ Mitchell said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the tournament before [as a spectator] and to play here in college when I was at the University of Georgia. But it was very different [Monday] walking out on the range and being on the other side.
“I thought I was prepared for that moment, but I wasn’t. I was nervous just simply walking across the range, and then I started hitting some putts and some balls and I started feeling better. But this place is just magical for anyone and everyone.
“Out there on the range this morning, it was 9 in the morning and it was foggy and the whole stands were full. There was probably more people watching me warm up on a Monday here than a lot of tournaments I’ve played in my life. I’ve seen that range from the other side of the ropes before and I’ve always watched people and admired how they hit the shots and hit their wedges and the shapes of the drivers, and then I was the guy that people were watching. It’s just kind of neat seeing it from the other side.’’
A heavy electrical storm suspended practice-round play Monday afternoon and more issues are expected Tuesday. The forecast is for an 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with highest chances through 9 a.m and then from 2 to 7 p.m. An half-inch of rain is expected to fall.
The weather for the tournament portion of the week, though, looks calmer. Thursday is supposed to be sunny with a high of 82, Friday partly cloudy with a high of 83, Saturday partly cloudy with a high of 84. Sunday could be interesting with a 40 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms with gusts of 20 mph.