“It’s an honour to have Sara here,” Rose said. “She’s a bubbly character and plays golf unbelievably well. I think she was eight under in her singles match around the Old.

“I played Sunningdale Old on the Monday after the Curtis Cup – and we played off the same tee markers as they played the day before – and that was no mean feat, playing that well around that golf course.”

Rose and his wife Kate have been firm supporters of the women’s game after launching the Rose Ladies Series in the wake of the Covid shutdown in 2021, which severely limited playing opportunities for many of the country’s leading female players.

“It has always been very important for me and Kate to promote women’s golf, to get the narrative around talent that is around here,” Rose said. “And more importantly to lead by example and push things as far forward as we can.”

Rose says that the prize fund differential between the cash-rich men’s game and female counterparts should be narrowed. “I think that’s a fair assessment,” he said.

“I understand there are commercial dynamics. There are a lot of measurables that dictate prize funds, sponsorship and TV viewership.”

But Rose estimates that female players are often playing for around a tenth of the value of purses on the men’s tours. “I think it’s not good enough,” the 44-year-old said.

“The talent deserves more than that. That’s my view on it; the sacrifice, the talent, the stories, the personalities that are out there on the LET tour deserve to have that.”