Justin Rose is certain long time caddie Mark Fulcher will be cheering him on as he looks for a second U.S. Open Championship title this week at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Fulcher is currently recovering from undergoing heart surgery in January and Henrik Stenson's former caddie Gareth Lord will be on the bag for Rose this week.
Rose and Fulcher have been a team since 2008, with Rose's win at this event in 2013 and most of the great moments in his incredible career coming with his fellow Englishman on the bag.
Fulcher returned to caddying duties at the Masters Tournament in April but is now taking more time to recover and, although it is more as friend than golf adviser at the moment, Rose revealed he is very much still part of the team.
"I stay in constant contact with Fooch," he said. "Obviously he's one of my best friends and I'm just checking in on him, he's okay.
"There's no doubt he's going to be watching and seeing me over the back of greens and short of greens and probably laughing or sniggering to himself. He's obviously wishing us well. He'll be keeping a keen, close eye on it, no doubt. I think for the time being we're in constant communication as friends rather than talking about golf.
"He's great friends with Lordy who's now caddying for me. Between the three of us, we'll be staying in contact. No one knows what the future holds but all options are in play going forward.
"It's obviously different right now, it freshens things up and that's how I'm trying to see it. What Fooch does brilliantly, Gareth will do a couple of other things brilliantly. No one is the full package. There's going to be things that I'll miss and things that can be brought to the table. We'll see how it plays out."
Entering 2019 off the back of a season where he had ascended to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking, successfully defended a Rolex Series title and won the FedEx Cup on the US PGA Tour, Rose was hotly tipped to win his second Major this campaign.
He's obviously wishing us well. He'll be keeping a keen, close eye on it, no doubt - Justin Rose
A missed cut at the Masters and tie for 29th at the US PGA Championship will not have been the results the 38-year-old was hoping for but he is still confident he can become a multiple Major winner.
"We're not done yet," he said. "Some of the decisions I've made this year have been around playing well in the Majors and it hasn't paid off yet but the Majors come thick and fast, four in four months. Hopefully I'm in the cycle now where I'm heading towards the good golf on the back end.
"The Masters was a disappointment, I definitely felt like I got my preparation wrong running into that. PGA Championship, I played decent stuff there, I just didn't play my best but it wasn't far off and here we are.
"I feel like I'm trending in a much better direction now than I was maybe in April. I'm more positive for sure."
