TROON, Scotland (Reuters) – The teasing winds, deep bunkers and gorse bushes of Royal Troon left many of the world’s best golfers with furrowed brows on Friday, but England’s Justin Rose loved every minute.
Twenty six years after captivating Royal Birkdale as an amateur on his Open debut, the 43-year-old showed his class with a magnificent round of three-under 68 to move joint second.
Considering the average scoring for the afternoon starters was 73, Rose described his round, which featured his only bogey in 36 holes, as one of his best at the Open.
The secret, said the 2013 U.S. Open champion, was embracing the challenge and grinding it out.
“Today was good. I think today was the perfect balance. Yesterday was a pretty smooth plain sailing, 16 greens, a lot of tap-in pars,” Rose, who sparked huge roars from the grandstand as he drained a 40-foot birdie on the 18th to move two shots behind leader Shane Lowry on five under, told reporters.
“For me I think what was good about it was I had to grind. It was a perfect mix of playing well and fighting well. I had to up-and-down the ball a few more times today, had to hole those horrible five-six-footers where you’re over the ball and you’re sort of being buffeted by the wind.
“You’re fighting through every moment like that on the course, and I think that was what I did a good job of today as well as playing well.”
Rose won the amateur’s silver medal in 1998 and was second in 2018. He had to qualify this year after a rankings slide but has put himself in the perfect position to become the first English player to lift the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992.
“That would be nice. When I won the U.S. Open it was our first since Tony Jacklin, so those are nice moments when it comes together and you can share the story of what it means,” Rose said. “But you’re never thinking of it, and we are pretty selfish from that point of view.
“Like we want it for us, and obviously it’s great to share it with everybody that it’s meaningful to, but in the moment you’re just trying to get the job done.”
While having to suffer the indignity of having to take his chances in the Open qualifying event at Burnham and Berrow, he said that experience was perfect preparation.
“You’ve got to be in it to win it, and the first big part of the journey was getting in the tournament,” he said.
“I look back at Burnham and Berrow, we played in a really, really tough westerly breeze. That golf course is incredibly difficult in a westerly and I think even that little bit of experience of get back playing some tough links golf has probably help me a little bit these last two days.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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