Rolex and golf are basically as married as peanut butter and jelly. You can hardly tune into a televised professional golf event without being served an ad for the iconic Swiss watchmaker.
The brand’s connection with the game began back in 1967, when the big three — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player — all became brand Testimonees (what they call sponsored athletes.)
Rolex now backs not just players, but every major championship in both the men’s and women’s game, the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup, the Presidents Cup, the FedEx Cup Playoffs as well as the Rolex Series on the DP World Tour. It’s a rather staggering commitment to the game. They’ve also expanded the number of players they count as Testimonees. The list now includes greats of the game like Tiger Woods, Anika Sorenstam and Bernhard Langer, as well as stars of today, ala Hideki Matsuyama, Lydia Ko and Adam Scott.
So it’s no shock that players and coaches on both sides of the Ryder Cup were rocking Rollies. These stars have the means and the access to curate serious collections — we got to ask six Ryder Cup participants to tell us about their favorite and what makes it so special.
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Jon Rahm – Daytona “Rainbow”
The watch that holds the most significance for me is probably the one that I got after my U.S. Open win in 2021. After winning the title, I got the Daytona Rainbow. It is my most prized watch because of its value, but my favorite to wear is the Sky- Dweller, by far. I’m wearing a Yacht-Master with the Falcon’s Eye dial right now.
Justin Thomas – GMT-Master II in Everose Rolesor
The one that holds the most significance and special meaning is probably the ‘Root Beer’ GMT-Master II. Something that I’ve always liked to do is to reward myself after I accomplish something, whether that’s winning a tournament, winning a Major championship or something as little as a Top 10 finish. I try to have different levels but I told myself that whenever I got to World No. 1 that I was going to reward myself with something. When I achieved that, I felt that a gold Rolex watch was a pretty special and cool way to mark that so I ended up ordering that watch and got the date engraved on the back of it.
Luke Donald – Day-Date 40mm in white gold
Especially with my job right now as Ryder Cup Captain I would have to say the Rolex that we got presented with as part of the Ryder Cup and how fortunate we are to have that relationship. That was always one of the highlights that I remember as a player and as a Vice Captain is the Rolex presentation in the build up to the tournament.
Jordan Speith – GMT Master II in white gold
When I won The Open in 2017, Rolex gifted me the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II in white gold. It is really special and holds great significance to me because there is also “2015 Masters and U.S. Open Champion” engraved on the back of it. I was not expecting this to be gifted and it came as an incredible surprise. The watch itself has an understated elegance which I love. It is definitely my favorite watch to wear.
Matt Fitzpatrick – Daytona in platinum
I love every single Rolex watch that I have and I am incredibly fortunate to have the collection that I do. The first one that I received was the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in Platinum – this watch is probably my favorite one. I always said that when I signed with Rolex, I wanted my first watch to be my most special. My Submariner is my staple one; the one that I can wear anywhere and every day. I actually ordered one before the U.S. Open this year — the GMT-Master II with the meteorite dial, which is basically red, white and blue and coincides with my victory at the U.S. Open shortly after. I’d say those are my top three!
Zach Johnson – GMT-Master II or Rolex Yacht-Master in platinum
I’m wearing the GMT-Master II which I was gifted and it’s red, white and blue. It’s a beautiful Rolex GMT and I love it. My first Rolex was a gift from my wife which was a Rolex Yacht-Master Platinum and the one I’ll never part with.
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