Rose seeks to recapture magic at Birkdale
london — It was at Royal Birkdale, scene of this week’s British Open Championship, that in 1998 Englishman Justin Rose first grabbed the attention of the golfing public in astonishing fashion.
On the 18th hole, in the final round, the then 17-year-old amateur, playing in his first major championship, chipped his wedge shot, from thick rough, into the hole for a birdie, producing what was described as one of the loudest roars ever heard on a course.
It also left him with a final round 69 and a tie for fourth in his first ever appearance in a major championship — although the scorecard that most impressed was arguably his second round of 66, the lowest in a day of extremely testing conditions which produced an average score of 74.7.
The skinny teenager was expected to be the next great star of British golf but it did not work quite like that.
After turning professional, Rose missed the cut in his first 21 events and although he gradually built up his form, reputation and ranking, it was not until the 2013 U.S. Open that he finally won a major.
Curiously, though, in the British event he has yet to better that finish from 19 years ago, something he admits he finds puzzling.
“There’s no real reason for it. It’s disappointing. I think maybe the expectation for a number of years afterwards took its toll coming back, trying to live up to it,” he said on Tuesday after practice at the links course.
“I feel now, though, at this stage of my career I’ve somewhat proved that wasn’t a flash in the pan, so I can come back to the Open a little freer than I could for a number of years,” he added.—