One of the people Rose talked to about his decision to turn pro was the England captain who almost put him in the senior international team at the age of 14. Peter McEvoy, who will be the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain next summer, was one of the few urge Rose to continue as an amateur. You should turn pro when you have achieved everything as an amateur. It is nothing to do with golf. He is too young to be a doctor, an architect, a policeman.
Golf is probably closer to a profession than any other sports.
Rose in his professional debut at the Dutch Open. While Rose, now 18, is too young to be a doctor, he is not too young to start training or educating himself as a medic. While I believe it was right for Rose to turn professional when he did, his aim should have been to get himself an education on the Challenge Tour. It should be seen as a vital grounding in his career. Over the last four years, Bennett has been unable to get on the European Tour and has suffered from a persistent neck injury, now happily cleared up.