Justin Rose says desire to win The Open cost him the Claret Jug but has “no regrets”
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Justin Rose credited Xander Schauffele’s “freedom” during the final round of the British Open as the gutted Englishman came to terms with missing out on his second Major at Royal Troon.
When the fans got to their feet and Justin Rose punched the air after holing a birdie putt on the 18th, you’d have been forgiven for thinking he’d won The 152nd Open. Unfortunately for the Englishman and his hoards of fans, he would be the bridesmaid to Xander Schauffele’s bride. Within minutes that celebration was replaced with tears as the realization dawned that his lifetime dream had slipped away… for now.
Rose headed into the final day just a shot back of Billy Horschel but hit the front after the most composed of three-under outward nines – the only low point being a missed eight-footer for birdie at the 3rd hole. Following from inside the ropes, it seemed unfathomable that Rose would not be lifting the Claret Jug he so desired just a few hours later.
But Xander Schauffele, a man whose ability to close has gone from revolving door to prison door in the space of a few months, is now the king of composure. He’d reached the turn in just a shot less and was riding high having made his first par-5 birdie of the week.
The US PGA Champion then birdied the 11th, which was quickly followed by a disappointing Rose bogey at the 12th, and, in a flash, the tide had turned in the American’s favor.
Rose pressed like a man wanting the accelerator to break through the floor, but the car was stuttering just when it mattered. Meanwhile, Schauffele was steadily moving through the gears, like a man driving the smoothest automatic. Even when things looked like going awry, lane assist kicked in and the X was back on track. To rub salt in Rose’s wounds, his playing partner produced no-fuss birdies at 13 and 14 to accelerate ahead, and, just when it looked like his challenge could stall at the par-5 16th, he produced a stunning up and down to match Rose’s birdie and keep him firmly in the distance.
“Yeah, just a critical moment midway through the back nine just momentum-wise,” Rose said. “Obviously, Xander got it going. I hit a couple of really good putts that didn’t fall, and then suddenly that lead stretched. In terms of how I played and the execution of my emotions today, my mindset, I left it all out there. I’m super proud of how I competed.”
As the pair walked down the 18th, the crowd rose for Schauffele, Rose hanging back to let his counterpart enjoy his moment. He can be forgiven for the pangs of envy he was inevitably feeling as he watched another man live out his very own dream, but Rose is a classy man and a classy player. His birdie that followed, guaranteeing a share of the runners-up spot alongside Horschel, won’t replace the disappointment he felt at missing out on lifting the trophy, but, if this is the closest the 43-year-old’s ever going to get to achieving that dream, it will be a moment he can look back on with fondness. Ultimately, Rose wasn’t even in this tournament three weeks ago, having to come through a grueling day of Final Qualifying at Burnham and Berrow to seal his spot. That might not be much consolation now, but if you’d told him then that he would be walking off the 72nd hole of The Open having been beaten by just one man, he probably would have taken it.
Instead, Rose was questioning whether his desire to win this tournament had ultimately proved decisive.
“No, I don’t think so,” Rose said when asked if playing with freedom at The Open was easy for him. “It’s probably harder because you want it more. It’s the inner battle, right? You want it, but you’ve got to not want it too much in order to not impede your performance. So that’s always a dance that we do.”
Rose, whose best performances of the season have come at the PGA Championship and The Open, said missing out on the main prize had left him gutted and admitted there had been tears as he left the green, but he took plenty of positives and has no regrets.
“Well, I won second place, I won points, I won prizes, FedExCup points, all that stuff too. At that point, you’re being a professional,” he said when asked about his celebrations on 18. “Then I walk ten steps later, and I’m choking back tears. So that’s the shift. Yeah, just personal, and enjoying 18 with the
fans too. I just think it’s such an amazing stage. For me, like that’s the best look in golf, those two long grandstands that you walk down and the big yellow leaderboard. That’s what I associate as a magic moment.”
“I’ve a few more chances, of course, but you know that this is a great opportunity today, You want to walk off the golf course going, yeah, I didn’t squander that. I ran putts at the hole today. I feel like I had opportunities. I felt like I took a lot of them. But I felt super comfortable out there, which the fact that I haven’t really been in contention much this year, gives me a lot of heart.”
Rose was also quick to praise Schauffele when asked what attributes he’d seen in the 30-year-old during their round.
“A guy at the top of his game, a guy that has all the attributes that make him a great player and a great champion,” he said. “He’s obviously now learning that winning is easy. He has a lot of horsepower – in the sense of he’s good with a wedge, he’s great with a putter, he hits the ball a long way, obviously his iron play is strong. So he’s got a lot of weapons out there.
“I think probably one of his most unappreciated ones is his mentality. He’s such a calm guy out there. I don’t know what he’s feeling, but he certainly makes it look very easy. He plays with a freedom, which kind of tells you as a competitor that he’s probably not feeling a tonne of the bad stuff. He’s got a lot
of runway ahead and a lot of exciting stuff ahead, I’m sure.”
There may be less runway for Rose, but after today there can be no doubt that he won’t reach the end anytime soon.
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Justin Rose celebrates his birdie on 18.
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Justin Rose congratulates Xander Schauffele at The Open.
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Justin Rose lines up a putt at The Open.
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Justin Rose puffs out his cheeks during the final round at The Open.
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Justin Rose during the final round of The Open.
