From January, Rosenmüller, number 165 in the world rankings, will compete on the PGA Tour. In the elite circle of golf, he is following in the footsteps of players such as Bernhard Langer, Martin Kaymer, Alex Cejka – and Eichenrieder Stephan Jäger. Time to talk about memories of his youth back home, the challenges of being a young golfer and the anticipation of Hawaii. Rosenmüller speaks on the phone from the off-season in his adopted home of Dallas, Texas, in still excellent Upper Bavarian.
Mr. Rosenmüller, congratulations on the PGA Tour card. In technical jargon we always talk about a card, maybe you can clarify this: Do you really get a physical card that entitles you to take part in the tournaments?
Thomas Rosenmüller: We actually got a real metal card after the final tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour, so I have physical proof too.
And where is this map?
Unfortunately, it’s too heavy for your wallet. But it’s currently on my nightstand and is looked at again and again. To be honest: right now, for example, I’m holding it in my hand. It’s hard to understand when you hold it in your hand for the first time – that you are now one of the best in the world and can play on the PGA Tour.
It was a long journey for you and an intense year. You’ve played 24 tournaments since January, won once in July, reached new sporting heights – do you actually have the opportunity to take a break in late autumn?
I wouldn’t go that far. It’s more of a break from work – right after the season finale a few weeks ago, I put the clubs away completely for a while. But now I’m on the move again and no longer just carry them from one room to the other at home, but also back to the golf course. And I’m actually in the gym every day.
Golfers spend significantly more time there today than before. How important has physical preparation become in addition to mental preparation?
This has become enormously important over the past ten years. For example, two years ago, when I started on the Korn Ferry Tour, I hardly felt ready to play at a high level for an entire season. That always sounds a little strange in golf because we aren’t seen as athletes like others – but if we don’t trust our bodies, we can’t swing the same way every week. But that is the basis for success.
Of course, golf requires more than just physical fitness. You felt this yourself at the start of the season, right?
I felt so fit and perfectly prepared in January, I’ve never felt like that before. Then I flew to the Bahamas for the first tournament, didn’t play well – and then it went on like that for weeks, which really bothered me.
What do you do in a crisis like this?
I questioned a lot of things and flew to California to a special fitting center where all of my club material was checked. And we discovered that my clubs were still aimed at the old Thomas from last season. In reality, I was much stronger now. So I changed that – and from then on it worked fantastically.
The changes resulted in a win in July at the NV5 Invitational in Illinois that ultimately earned them a PGA Tour card.
I felt better and better from week to week and then it’s really just a question of until you get an opportunity to win. In the week of July everything was perfect, especially my putting was great. And from then on everything was more or less settled for the rest of the season.
One win can change an entire career. Within just a few years you managed to rise from Eichenried to the best tour in the world, even if it didn’t always look like it at times – how present are the hard times still?
This is all still in my head every week. There are situations in almost every round where things don’t work out – it’s really like in life: sometimes it’s easy to get the momentum going, other times it’s difficult. There were years like 2022 when things didn’t go well at all, but you fought your way out of them. These are the lessons and experiences you gain.
Now the goal of all dreams awaits with the PGA Tour. What are you most looking forward to?
The first tournament of the new year will take place in Hawaii, which will certainly be special. I’ve never been there before, but it’s a total childhood dream of mine: I used to always watch the tournament on TV, now I can play. It’s almost a bit like the feeling I had when I used to watch the BMW International Open in Eichenried until I eventually played. And I’m experiencing the same thing now on the PGA Tour.
Apart from the prize money and the attention: What is actually different there compared to the lower-class tournaments?
I’m expecting a lot of little things, things like the audience. On the PGA Tour there are cameras on the course, a lot more stands and spectators, it’s louder. When we played with the Korn Ferry Tour in the Bahamas, it felt more like playing with friends.
There are those too: a really nice German-speaking group awaits you. Stephan Jäger from Eichenried plays on the PGA Tour, Matti Schmid and Jeremy Paul are there as well as the Austrian Sepp Straka. Have you already had contact with your colleagues?
I’m always in contact with Stephan, but as a young father he’s in a bit of a different phase of life. For me, the clique with Matti and Jeremy is more important. Matti, for example, I have known for 15 years; we played together in the German Golf Association squad. We’ll be traveling a lot together and maybe share a house together.
Like her, Matti Schmid has made a remarkable rise. It is anything but natural to take this path – do you often think back to your beginnings in the Munich area?
I still have a lot of memories there. Endless rounds of golf in Eichenried with my parents and my brother – but also many training afternoons with my long-time trainer Ken Williams. I remember when I was eleven years old, we were working in the indoor hall in the winter, there’s a video of me, my goodness! I swing around on it completely uncoordinated, but back then I grew a lot in a short time, so at first you have no feeling for your body at all.
After Stephan Jäger, Ken Williams has now coached you to the highest level. What significance did it have for you?
As far as I know, Ken is the only coach in Germany, maybe even in Europe, who has practically brought two players from diapers to the PGA Tour. I have to thank him for all of this, there are so many memories: how we stood at the green at the German Boys Tournament (one of the largest youth competitions in Europe, editor’s note) very emotionally when I won it. That was my first really big success. And later, when I qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour with Ken as a caddy on the golf bag. But there are also people like Uli Eckert at the German Golf Association who always believed in me. This knowledge that they give you the time and have the patience has helped me extremely, especially this year.
The family has had to watch you from afar for several years; you left when you were 18 to go to the USA.
Going to college at such a young age was definitely the biggest challenge of my life. I had to grow up quickly back then, here in the USA, where I didn’t know anyone. But that’s just the story of a little boy from Ismaning: My dad is a master electrician, my mom is a tax assistant, I now have a college degree in the USA and play on the PGA Tour.
Was there actually an alternative to being a golf professional?
My parents never put any pressure on me to become a professional – they always said that I should try it and that they would support me in everything. I went down this path very quickly, I made it here within five years of being a professional.
But you’ve still retained your connection to your homeland, right? In any case, you can still hear the dialect loud and clear.
The dialect should not become less, but if so, it should become more intense! Here in the USA I always say that I am German, but above all Bavarian – and a bit Texan now. It’s very hospitable here, the way of life isn’t all that different from back home, which is why I feel so comfortable here.
