Team Justin will have a new meaning at this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship when World Number Four Justin Rose tees it up alongside musician and actor Justin Timberlake.
The Pro-Am nature of the event played over three stunning links venues in St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns gives the European Tour a touch of stardust every autumn and this season is no different.
Comedy great Bill Murray is making his sixth appearance in Scotland but for keen golfer Timberlake, this is his first competitive European Tour appearance after playing early in the week in Switzerland last month.
Rose and Timberlake have teamed up on the US PGA Tour before and the 2013 U.S. Open Championship winner believes his team-mate could go well over three of the greatest links courses in the world.
"It's cool to be playing with Justin Timberlake," said Rose. "It's fun to be playing with him. We've done the AT&T a couple of times together and floated the idea of doing this one a couple of years ago.
"He's touring but it worked for both of us that this was the year to come do it. He got into town Saturday. He's played a few practice rounds and really enjoyed it.
"We've done the team building, the team bonding and now we're going to do the team scoring tomorrow, so excited to get out there.
"There's a pretty good advantage in some of the tee boxes, he drove one of the greens early in the round. With the right wind and the right time, he should be able to make a few birdies.
"The thing about Justin is that he's always so competitive as well. He's in entertainment. Typically when his shot comes around he tends to bring his best stuff, which is quite effective."
The swing of a 10-time Grammy award winner.@jtimberlake #DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/qIF99XHz7m
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 24, 2019
Rose currently sits 30th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex but with a host of big events left on the schedule, he is aiming for a repeat of 2017 when he claimed back to back World Golf Championships and Rolex Series glory to surge into contention to be Europe's Number One.
"I've got some big events coming up now, I feel like every event is a big event," he said. "This week and the Italian Open and then China and Turkey and Dubai.
"I'm going to have to play great. I'm going to have to win three of them just to have a chance. It's very much the situation I put myself in in 2017 where I had to win pretty much my last three events and I came close.
"That's a good thing. If you get on a run, it's possible. That's the plan, anyway."
