THE BEST OPEN COVERAGE
Justin Rose only made the weekend at Carnoustie by the skin of his teeth.
But the Englishman took advantage of his second chance to fire a seven-under-par 64 yesterday to equal the lowest-ever score here in an Open Championship.
World No. 3 Rose is the highest-ranked player left at The Open after the two men above him, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas both missed the cut.
Rose had so nearly gone the same way in having the weekend off, but he made a gutsy 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th on Friday night to sneak in on the mark.
That palpable sense of relief allowed him to attack a golf course that was more generous and he shot up the leaderboard with a bogey-free score.
His bold approach of taking a driver on the first hole was rewarded with a birdie and he added another on the par-5 sixth to turn in 34.
But the 37-year-old reserved his best golf for the homeward half, starting at the tenth where he made an impressive birdie. Two more followed at 13 and 14, but he kept it going over Carnoustie’s notoriously difficult last four holes.
He sank a teasing 20-footer for a birdie on 17 before playing the final hole in exemplary fashion. He split the fairway with his drive before arrowing his iron to within eight feet.
As the putt was holed, Rose clenched his fist to acknowledge his best ever score in an Open Championship, 20 years since making his debut.
And the Olympic Champion and former US Open winner was happy to reflect on an excellent day’s work that got him right back into the tournament.
“It was a beautiful morning to play golf,” he said. “There was an opportunity to score well out there.
“The pins weren’t as tough as the first couple of days and it was a typical set-up for moving day. So it was nice to make that move.
“Four or five-under was going to be a good round but nothing special. But those late couple of birdies will at least make the final round interesting.
“It was lovely to get the crowd going and hear them support me. I got momentum from the crowd and it was very enjoyable.”
At one point, it looked like Rose’s 64 was going to be equalled or even bettered by fellow Englishman Chris Wood.
He birdied seven of his first 13 holes, but dropped shots at the 14th and 17th saw him sign for a 66, one behind Rose at three-under.
“The way I played the first two days was terrible,” said Wood. “So there was no way I expected to be seven-under on the day.
“So to shoot in the mid-60s, regardless of how I finished, would have been a good effort.”