The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
■ Runners-up just couldn’t steer clear of trouble the way Molinari did Sunday,
Four who finished second experience a range of emotions.
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND — Rory McIlroy spun around and let out a roar after making a 35-foot eagle putt. Justin Rose clenched his fist after taming the 18th hole for a fourth straight day. Xander Schauffele kept his compo- sure amid the chaos of an ever-changing leaderboard.
Kevin Kisner? He stuck around like he has done all week.
In a wild finish to the Brit- ish Open, what all four ended up needing was a mistake or two from Francesco Molinari down one of the toughest closing stretches in golf. It didn’t happen. McIlroy, Rose, Schauffele and Kisner finished in a tie for second place as the world’s oldest major championship avoided a fourth straight playoff at Carnoustie to determine the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Ultimately, Molinari’s tech- nique held up amid the fierc- est pressure. He enjoyed a two-shot victory Sunday, with a 6-foot birdie at the last hole earning him separation from the pack chas- ing him.
“One guy out of 156 is going to win,” McIlroy said, “and 155 other guys are going to leave a little disappointed.”
There were contrasting emotions for the four guys who finished closest to Molinari.
For Rose, there was pride at getting so near after need- ing a birdie on No. 18 on Friday to even make it to the weekend. He followed up a 64 on Saturday — the lowest round of the week — with a 69 on Sunday to post the first realistic clubhouse target at 6 under par.
“I hadn’t felt the energy of the crowd for a while in the Open,” said Rose, who had his best finish at his home major. “That was a real positive for me, and it renewed the love of the Open for me.”
Rose birdied the fearsome 18th hole in all four rounds, one of the more impressive feats of the week.
For McIlroy, the only regret was that he started his charge too late. He bogeyed two of his first five holes to leave him six shots off the lead, only for the long eagle putt at No. 14, which elicited one of the most striking celebrations of the tournament, to put him in a five-way share of the lead about 1½ hours later.
He parred his way home for a 70.
“I didn’t get off to a great start, but I hung in there and I battled back,” said McIl- roy, who remained without a major since winning his fourth at the PGA Championship in 2014. “Just sort of ran out of holes at the end.”
With Jordan Spieth failing to make a birdie all round, the best chance of the United States having a sixth straight major champion fell to the two players with whom he shared the third-round lead — Schauffele and Kisner.
Schauffele was playing in the final pairing at a major for the first time.
“It’s just going to go in the memory bank as a positive,” said Schauffele, who was playing only his second Brit- ish Open. “I had a chance to win a major championship. I had to face a little bit of adversity early in the round, and I still gave myself a chance.”