Rose rekindles love affair to make point about future glory
Englishman regains zest for the Open to finish joint second and finally put 1998 in the shade
The curse has been lifted. Not for English golf, which remains without an Open winner since Nick Faldo in 1992, but for Justin Rose, a man who for so long has been dogged by consistent disappointment at British golf ’s showpiece event.
For 20 years, Rose’s best memory of the Open has been his performance at Royal Birkdale as a teenage amateur, when he famously chipped in at the 18th to finish fourth. Was that as good as is it would ever get?
It would surely have been a thought that crossed his mind during the opening two days here, when he was so far down the leaderboard that he would have needed binoculars to see the top.
But then a desperate 18th-hole birdie, late on Friday night, kept Rose in the competition for the weekend and released him from his self-imposed shackles. Ever since, he has made a mockery of Carnoustie’s “nasty” moniker, climbing up the ladder with speed, purpose and no little skill.
A third-round 64 on Saturday equalled the Open record for Carnoustie before a fourth-round 69, delivered despite the wind, propelled him all the way into second place.
“It just proves to me that I can play well in this tournament, that I can win the Open” said Rose, revelling at last in victory over his 17-year-old self. “When I am in the hunt, I enjoy it. I play my best golf, I don’t back away.
“It was great to get the crowd behind me. Like I said, I had not felt the energy of the crowd for a while in the Open. That was a real positive, and it renewed the love of the Open for me.”
There was no greater indication of Rose’s quality here, despite that agonisingly slow start, than his performances on the much-feared 18th. He deconstructed the supposed scariest hole in Open history with such insouciance, shooting birdies there on all four of his rounds, that Rose may have even damaged its mystique for ever.
Is it now his favourite Open hole? “After birdieing all four days, it has to be right up there for me now,” he said. “I feel like I birdied it in differ- ent ways, which makes it special.” Rose was even the clubhouse leader, for a short while. As the rest of the leading pack surrendered shot after shot, he remained steady.
There was just a solitary bogey, at the fifth, before a stunning eagle on the 14th put him into genuine contention for what would have been the most unlikely of triumphs. If only he had not stumbled so carelessly in the tournament’s opening rounds, he could have won this by a distance.
“The leaders started to wobble a little bit towards the end of the front nine, and that is when I knew there was an opportunity,” he said. “I started to play great golf. Making the eagle at 14 was the little boost I needed.”
The Rose revival here has only confirmed his status as England’s premier player, despite an extended challenge from Tommy Fleetwood and a flickering threat from Eddie Pepperell, playing the golf of his life despite suffering from a hangover. Fleetwood slipped out of the mix by surrendering four shots over three holes on the front nine. The 27-yearold had stepped into Rose’s shoes as England’s great hope after carding a six-under-par 65 on Friday, but this three-hole meltdown was enough to sabotage any hopes of winning his first major title. He had also pulled out a double bogey on the 12th hole of his third round.
“I don’t want to be a bit of a baby about it, but I am obviously disappointed,” Fleetwood said. “It just wasn’t my time. I felt like I did so many things right, but just the last couple of days there were two double-bogeys that you can’t have. The putts just did not really drop for the weekend like they did on the first two days. That was it.
“I could have done things better this weekend. But it was a pleasure to play up there with a chance in the last few groups, and to have the atmosphere. I have to wait a year for another chance, but hopefully I can improve before then.”
There was less sorrow for Danny Willett, for whom a 24th-placed finish represents remarkable improvement after two years of anguish since his shock Masters victory in 2016. Willett was two over on the final day, but there can be no denying he is on the way back.
“The game is definitely on a path that is a lot better than where it was,” Willett said. “It is nice to come off disappointed, in 24th position in a major. A year ago that would have been a really nice finish. It just says that the state of where we are at is a lot better.”
There was also a dramatic loss of momentum for Chris Wood, who made four bogeys on the back nine to finish at three over. Further down the leaderboard, Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton tied for 51st-place, and Tom Lewis tied for 47th in his first Open since he was the best-placed amateur in 2011.