ROSE CAN AIM FOR THE MOON
Olympic hero leads England’s glory bid
THE last time the nation was over the moon at an English golfer winning The Open in England, Neil Armstrong was just eight days away from taking his giant leap for mankind on to the lunar surface.
Yes, that’s how long it has been. Forty-eight years since Tony Jacklin belted the ball miles down the middle of the narrow 18th fairway at Royal Lytham to seal a memorable two-stroke victory. ‘Forty-eight years, are you serious?’ said a disbelieving Chris Wood, one of 28 Englishmen who will try to end the drought at Royal Birkdale this week. ‘That’s nearly half a century.’
It’s not been all heartache, of course. Nick Faldo won three Claret Jugs in Scotland and, at this year’s venue, Justin Rose and Wood himself won the silver medal that goes to the leading amateur in 1998 and 2008 respectively.
Now it has come around to Birkdale again, and the man who will head what looks to be an immensely promising English challenge is none other than Rose, who finished just two shots off the lead as a 17-year-old all those years ago.
Since then he has won a US Open, been a rock at several Ryder Cups, won titles around the world and, of course, the Olympic Gold medal in Rio last year. Yet he has never had a higher Open finish than his joint fourth in 1998.
‘What do I think about that? It surprises me, to be honest,’ said Rose, who will turn 37 at the end of this month and has undoubtedly been one of the world’s top 10 golfers over the past 20 years.
‘Even before I finished fourth I got to final qualifying at the age of 14 and created a bit of a story, so it’s been a championship I’ve had great moments in. To win would close the book in a way on my Open Championship story.’
Now that he has acquired a taste for the thing, perhaps the fact that a gold medal is given out alongside the Claret Jug will act as inspiration. ‘There’s definitely a sense of unfinished business,’ he admitted.
One thing Rose has not had so far is luck. Time and again it has been his wretched fate to be in the half of the draw that gets the worst of the weather. He also admitted he got in his own way for a few years, which goes for many of Englishmen capable of winning The Open, such as Lee Westwood.
‘As a player you can’t afford to dwell too much on whether you’ve had the best of the draw, but, looking back, trying to live up to what happened in 1998 took its toll for a few years,’ Rose admitted. ‘Thankfully, I feel now that I’ve proved it wasn’t a flash in the pan, so I can come back to The Open a little freer these days.’
Even after all Rose has achieved, the shot of his that remains the defining one for the public is the 80-yard pitch shot he played at the 18th hole in 1998 that dropped gently into the hole for a birdie.
Sir Michael Bonallack, then secretary of the R&A, said it produced the loudest cheer he had ever heard on a golf course. It also earned the ultimate tribute, at least as far as Rose’s two children are concerned — it was immortalised in Lego.
‘When your final shot is made into a Lego scene as it was by somebody very creative, that’s the moment you show your children,’ he said. ‘My kids, Charlotte and Leo, are five and eight and my nephew Billy is three. You see them watch it — that’s how you know it was a cool achievement.’
Rose will go into this event on the back of a strong tied fourthplace finish at the Irish Open a fortnight ago. ‘I love coming back here, I think this is the fairest course on the Open rota,’ he said. Now what he needs is a fair wind.
There are plenty more Englishmen who could challenge over the next few days as well. Ian Poulter, runner- up to Padraig Harrington at Birkdale in 2008, is playing well again. Westwood is back for yet
another tilt. Then there’s the multitude of Englishmen, all in their twenties, who are making this such a golden era for the sport in this country.
Their number is headed by the local hero Tommy Fleetwood, who appears to be taking the considerable burden of expectation in his stride.
The runaway leader of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, who has risen from 100th last December to 14th in the world, Fleetwood, 26, will receive able backing from the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Wood, and the irrepressible Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, to name but four.
All are capable of being in the mix come Sunday. England has every right to expect, therefore, leaving just two questions left to answer.
Who is the man who will make a giant leap for English golf? Who will create a Lego moment?