In 2019, Mark Fulcher lay in a hospital bed recovering from heart surgery while Justin Rose walked up the 18th at Torrey Pines with another man’s hand on his bag. Seven years later, Rose rewrote that memory.

The Englishman’s seven-shot victory at the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open set 36-, 54-, and 72-hole scoring records at Torrey Pines, finishing at 23 under par. The dominance was historic. But the moment that mattered most came after the competition was already decided — somewhere between the 18th fairway and the green, when Rose finally turned to his longtime caddie and broke a week of silence.

“I didn’t really bring it up at all during the whole week,” Rose said in Sunday’s winner’s press conference. “In my head all week, wouldn’t it be nice to win with Fooch here. It was totally unsaid until across the water on 18.”

Fulcher underwent mitral valve surgery in January 2019, forcing him to watch Rose’s first Torrey Pines title from a hospital bed while Gareth Lord — a close friend who had previously caddied for Henrik Stenson — stepped onto the bag. Rose cruised to victory that week. The celebration on the 18th green belonged to someone else.

“I think that win was always a tough one for Fooch, not fighting for his life, but he was in a pretty bad way in the hospital and seeing us kind of cruise to victory and, you know, hugging Lordie on the 18th green,” Rose said. “Nearly had to have another procedure after that, I think.”

The humor carried warmth, not deflection. Rose understood what that week cost his caddie — not physically, but in the way certain moments slip through your hands and never quite let you forget.

Their partnership began in 2008 and stretched 11 years before Fulcher’s health intervened. The duo’s initial run far exceeded the typical PGA Tour caddie tenure of 4.5 years, previous reporting noted, creating a bond that even a four-year separation couldn’t dissolve. Together they won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, captured Olympic gold in Rio in 2016, and reached World No. 1 in 2018. Then came the surgery, the separation, and the years spent working with different partners on both sides.

Fulcher caddied for Francesco Molinari and Billy Horschel during the gap. Rose cycled through Gareth Lord, David Clark, and Josh Cassell. Neither arrangement replicated what they had built.

They reunited in September 2023, just before the BMW PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. The 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship followed — their first PGA Tour win since coming back together. Now, Torrey Pines again. This time with the right man beside him. That kind of longevity puts them in rare air among golf’s most enduring partnerships.

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Justin Rose and Mark Fulcher join one of golf’s longest-lasting caddie partnerships

Phil Mickelson and Jim “Bones” Mackay worked together for 25 years before parting in 2017, winning five majors and over 40 PGA Tour titles across that span. Jim Furyk and Mike “Fluff” Cowan had been together since 1999 and parted ways in 2024.  Together, they have won the U.S. Open. Bernhard Langer and Peter Coleman lasted 22 years, claiming two Masters titles and 50 worldwide wins before stepping back in 2003.

Rose and Fulcher’s combined tenure now approaches 15 years, with the gap factored in. The numbers place them among the game’s most enduring partnerships, but the texture of their story — the surgery, the hospital bed, the unspoken week — sets it apart.

On Sunday, walking up the 18th with cameras following, Rose finally said what he had carried all week. The message wasn’t for the broadcast. It was for Gareth Lord, watching from somewhere else.

“Hey, Lordie, I hope you’re watching now because now it’s Fooch’s turn to be walking down the 18th with me here at Torrey.”

No rivalry. No bitterness. Just three men connected by a win that once belonged to two of them and now, finally, included the one who had been missing.

“It was just a nice moment to share with him,” Rose said.

The scoreboard at Torrey Pines will remember the margin. Rose will remember the walk.