Lifting Claret Jug will be no joke for Rose
JOKER Justin Rose no longer brags about striking gold.
But he is desperate to crow about taking home silverware in the shape of the Claret Jug.
English ace Rose used to take his gold medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics with him on tour until the stick he got from mates convinced him to stop milking the moment when he topped the podium for Great Britain.
On the eve of this year’s Open Championship, mickey-taking impressionist Conor Moore has filmed a brilliant sketch featuring Rose for his Twitter followers – which shows the star waving about his gold medal to anyone who will watch.
But the 37-year-old says those days are gone and his eyes are firmly on a new prize.
Fun
He said with a laugh: “It was fun for a bit. I got a sense the boys were getting irritated after two or three months of doing it, and I thought, ‘That’s enough’.
“But when you win a tournament like that, you have four years of bragging rights. It’s been a fun deal but it’s resting nice and quietly at home.
“Now I’m excited about this week and how I’m playing.”
No Englishman has held the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992 but Rose feels he can be in full bloom come Sunday.
The world No.3 added: “I feel like I’m playing well and creating chances regularly. So, yeah, it’s up to me, really.
“I don’t mind expectation. I feel like you’ve got to be a big boy and you’ve got to be able to handle that.”
The man from Hampshire can make a convincing case for being the most consistent golfer on the planet.
In his past 22 tournaments he has finished in the top 10 on no fewer than 17 occasions.
A win this week would see him overtake Dustin Johnson and become world No.1.
“I want to get to world No.1 by winning golf tournaments,” said Rose.
“There could be opportunities in the next six months.
“I could get there by finishing seventh somewhere, because there are always permutations, but I want to get to world No.1 by winning and that keeps my goal simple.
“And I want to win The Open, no doubt about it.”
Rose will celebrate his 20th anniversary as a pro on Friday and reckons that two decades on from being the top amateur at Birkdale, it would be fitting to claim the main prize.
He added: “I couldn’t think of a better time to turn it around and to sort of bring everything full circle, if you like, and lift the Claret Jug.
“I’d take it any year, but 20 years has a nice ring to it.”