Justin Rose back in love with The Open after finishing joint-second
Last Updated: 22/07/18 8:11pm
Justin Rose felt he had proved a point to himself and renewed his love of The Open as he claimed a share of second place at Carnoustie.
The 37-year-old Englishman's previous best performance in 16 appearances in the major was his joint-fourth finish as an amateur on his debut back in 1998.
But, after just making the cut thanks to a birdie at the 18th on Friday, he stormed through the field over the weekend to end up on six under alongside Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner.
Rose held the clubhouse lead after birdieing the final hole for the fourth day running for a two-under 69, and even though Francesco Molinari's flawless golf eventually saw him finish two shots behind the Italian, he was delighted to finally better that 1998 performance.
"It just proves to me that I can play well in this tournament," he said. "That I can win The Open. When I'm in the hunt, I enjoy it. I play my best golf. I don't back away. I really enjoy it.
"It was great to get the crowd behind me. Like I said, I hadn't felt the energy of the crowd for a while in The Open. That was a real positive for me, and it renewed the love of The Open for me."
Rose played the first 13 holes at one-over par before igniting his round with a tap-in eagle after hitting the pin at the 14th and then closing with a birdie after a brilliant approach shot.
However, he admitted he always felt he was just short of a winning score.
"I set myself the lofty goal to shoot five under on the back nine to get to eight [under]. I thought that was going to be the number," he said.
"The leaders started to wobble a little bit towards the end of the front nine, and that's when I knew there was an opportunity. I started to play great golf.
"Making the eagle at 14 was the little kind of boost I needed. Although looking at the leaders, I'm pretty much expecting all of those guys to make that birdie. When I got it to five under, even though I was one behind, I said to my caddie, 'I feel like I'm two back the way the golf course is playing'. So I kept urging myself to try and make birdies."
The 18th is rated as one of the toughest closing holes in golf, but it now has a special place in Rose's heart following his four birdies.
"It has to be right up there for me now," he said. "I birdied it in different ways, too. Today it wasn't really playing that bear of a hole that it can.
"Yesterday I hit driver, five iron, which is more the Carnoustie 18th hole that we know. I feel like I birdied it all ways, which makes it special."
