In golf’s egalitarian era
Lowest score Henrik Stenson $1m month raises Fox’s confidence Shot of a lifetime still inspires Rose – and Lego fans
Royal Birkdale is where it all began for Justin Rose. Now, there’s a Lego scene to prove it.
Rose was a slight 17-year-old golfer wearing a baggy red sweater and a wide smile when he produced one of the British Open’s iconic moments in 1998, holing out from 45 yards for eagle at the 72nd hole to secure a tie for fourth place.
He was the talk of Birkdale that week. It was a summer that defined him, and still does in many ways.
One of the first places he sought out when arriving for a practice round at the course last week was that piece With a million dollars banked in the past three weeks, his future secure for the next 18 months and feeling that he’s starting to belong, Ryan Fox heads into the British Open tonight (NZ time) in a confident mood.
With finishes of sixth, fourth and fourth at the opens of France, Ireland and Scotland, the Auckland golfer earned €682,282 ($1.07 million). He’s secured his card on the European Tour for next year and can now focus on the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with nothing to lose.
Fox says the arrival of his coach Marcus Wheelhouse made the difference that has propelled him towards the top echelon in Europe, where he sits 14th on the money list.
“When Marcus Wheelhouse came up about four weeks ago, I’d made a couple of cuts, but it was pretty ugly golf and we just tweaked a few things,” Fox said. “Something clicked in the second round in France. I started hitting it really good, got rid of the big miss off the tee, hit my iron shots closer and saw some putts go in. It was just a little bit of everything.”
That result helped Fox secure his playing rights for next season.
“Locking up the card took the pressure off immensely, so I could go out and freewheel it a little bit. It’s a nice position to be in as a golfer, to have the pressure off.”
It’s the same with playing the Open Championship for the second time. After being almost overwhelmed at St Andrews two years ago, he’s more at home playing his second major.
“I feel a bit more comfortable at this level than I did two years ago and the intimidation factor is not there. The last time, it was a nervous week. The mouth was open the whole time and the heart was racing. I’ll be a bit calmer this time and enjoy myself a bit more.”
Fox is prepared for the vagaries of the weather, with a stiff breeze forecast for his opening round.
“It’s links golf and sometimes you can get the bad side of the draw [but] I’ve grown up with quite a bit of wind in New Zealand, so I don’t mind playing in that.” of rough to the left of the fairway on No 18, where he holed the shot of a lifetime.
Days later, the moment was recreated in a video animation in Lego form and got the attention of Rose’s kids and his 3-year-old nephew, Billy.
“You see them watch it and see them so impressed,” Rose said. “It’s a Lego scene, that’s how you know it was a cool achievement.”
Rose looks back at that moment and that Open — his first — and sees someone playing with “freedom” and the “innocence” of youth. He is trying to use that as a model. — AP