Golf world stunned by unexpected Justin Rose announcement

Justin Rose has pulled off one of the shock stories of 2025 – and it didn’t even happen on the golf course. The 45-year-old Englishman has cracked Google’s top 10 most-searched athletes in the United States, released earlier this week.

Yes, you read that right. Not Tiger. Not Rory. Not Scottie. Not Tommy. Not even a breakout PGA Tour or LIV superstar. But Justin Rose.

Rose is the only golfer to appear on the list for 2025, a list that is topped by Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. 

It’s a shock update considering the sheer star power in today’s game and the fact Rose didn’t even win a major this season.

Nevertheless, Rose’s résumé is stacked. He's a 12-time PGA Tour winner, former World No.1, US Open champion (2013), Olympic gold medallist (2016), FedEx Cup champion (2018), and a five-time Ryder Cup victor. 

Rose is very much a fan favourite around the world, and here at GolfMagic we would go as far to say he's one of the nicest guys in the game  — yet even then, you wouldn’t expect him to be the lone golfer mixing it with the NFL’s biggest names in Google’s top 10.

But Rose’s '25 season was anything but quiet. 

He nearly denied Rory McIlroy the career grand slam at The Masters in April, only to be pipped to a Green Jacket when his European Ryder Cup teammate birdied the first extra hole — Rose’s second playoff heartbreak at Augusta National after losing to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

Rose also snapped a two-and-a-half-year win drought by claiming the FedEx St. Jude Championship in the playoffs, then helped Luke Donald's Europe to a dramatic 15–13 Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black in New York. 

Still, if you polled golf fans and asked who’d be the sport’s most searched player in the United States, Rose, who turned professional in 1998, probably wouldn’t top many lists. 

You’d expect the likes of Scheffler, McIlroy, Fleetwood, or the ever-immortal Tiger Woods. 

Runaway World No.1 Scheffler was the only golfer to crack the same top 10 list in 2024 when ranking fourth. 

But 2025 clearly had other ideas. 

The rest of the list, dominated by NFL stars, is less surprising — scroll down to check it out...

Alongside Sanders sit big names like Micah Parsons, Jalen Carter and breakout athletes like Cooper Flagg and Sophie Cunningham. 

Rose rounds out the top 10 at in 10th position — an unlikely but brilliant cameo among America’s hottest sporting figures.

One person who definitely didn’t contribute to Rose’s search numbers? 

Popular American Actress Sydney Sweeney, who admitted this week that golf is her least favourite sport to watch. 

The PGA Tour’s team promptly fired back with one of her own memes — naturally.

Here’s Google’s US top 10 most searched athletes of 2025:

1. Shedeur Sanders (NFL)
2. Terence Crawford (Boxing)
3. Cooper Flagg (NBA)
4. Cam Skattebo (NFL)
5. Micah Parsons (NFL)
6. Jaxson Dart (NFL)
7. Sophie Cunningham (WNBA)
8. Shilo Sanders (NFL)
9. Jalen Carter (NFL)
10. Justin Rose (Golf)

In comparison, here's the rankings for 2024:

1. Mike Tyson (Boxing)
2. Imane Khelif (Boxing)
3. Simone Biles (Gymnastics)
4. Scottie Scheffler (Golf)
5. Jake Paul (Boxing)
6. Anthony Edwards (NBA)
7. Cailtin Clark (WNBA)
8. Harrison Butker (NFL)
9. Jordan Chiles (Gymnastics)
10. Brandon Aiyuk (NFL)

What do you make of Google's latest top-10?

Which golfer / athlete do you search most? 

Share your thoughts and comments below or join the debate on GolfMagic Facebook.