He tried it. By any means necessary. Even with the driver from the fairway on the 16th to somehow force an eagle and put a bit of pressure on his fellow player and yet seemingly unattainable leader. But Justin Rose lost out in the duel between the Olympic champions and Xander Schauffele, and even the support from the Firth of Clyde didn’t help.
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After all, “Rosey” bid a fitting farewell to this 152nd Open Championship with a birdie on the 18th. At Royal Troon, the now 43-year-old was closer to the Claret Jug than he had ever been since he won the silver medal at the 1998 Open in Royal Birkdale 26 years ago as a 17-year-old amateur.
The Open Championship 2024: Justin Rose’s “magic moment”
He even had to fight for his starting place in the final qualifying round. And after local hero Robert MacIntyre had not been able to repeat his brilliant performances from the Scottish Open – perhaps the hangover had a longer lasting effect than hoped for – and Shane Lowry had withdrawn from the list of title contenders on the rainy Saturday, all patriotic hopes rested on Rose, as little as the English usually suffer in Scotland.
The 2013 US Open winner at Merion and gold medal winner at the 2016 Olympic comeback of golf also played a very solid round of 67, but all too often just a few centimetres were missing around the flag. Could have, could have, bicycle chain: with a few more putts converted, Rose could have made life much more difficult for his playing partner and, after 32 years, could have won another Claret Jug for England after Nick Faldo in 1992.
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In the end, however, Schauffele won in Scotland, and the loser showed greatness in the moment of defeat and a remarkable head-up mentality: “I left it all out there. That’s the deal I made with myself today — to come off with no regrets”, said Rose. “Well, I won second place, I won prizes, FedExCup points, all that stuff too. At that point, you’re being a professional. Then I walk 10 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, 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. You want to walk off the golf course going, ‘Yeah, I didn’t squander that.’ ’’