Justin Rose admitted he was “gutted” and “choking back tears” after finishing joint runner-up in the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Rose, who turns 44 later this month, collected a fourth second place finish at the game’s highest level since capturing the 2013 US Open.
Not even a brilliant 72nd hole birdie, and that Rose celebrated in proudly raising a punched fist, was good enough for the affable Englishman in losing out by two shots to American Xander Schauffele who emerged from a jam-packed final round leaderboard with a faultless round of 65 to claim the title by two strokes.
“Gutted when I walked off the course and it hit me hard because I was so strong out there today,” said the 43-year-old Rose, a two-time Open runner-up who just missed on several birdie putts Sunday.
“I won second place, I won points, 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, 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.”
Congrats Xander…. A two time major champ and deservedly so. I felt I stood tall and gave it a good go today and all week long. I walked off the 18th hole after each round feeling I got something out of the day. Thanks for the support out there. Means a lot!! The dream of the jug… pic.twitter.com/Hikyt3okzx
— Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) July 21, 2024
Since capturing the 2013 US Open at Pinehurst Rose was runner-up in both the 2015 and 2017 Masters while he second in the 2018 Open Championship and now joint runner-up in 2024, and looking to become the second-oldest winner of the major in the last 100 years.
With six holes to play Rose, tied with Schauffele for second at the time, kneeled for a closer look at his 21-foot par putt and then stepped to the ball. The putt looked good and the crowd was ready to erupt, but the ball caught the left side of the cup and lipped out.
Rose tossed his putter in the air, catching it on the way down. It was his only bogey of the final round.
“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.”
Schauffele birdied the next two holes to seize the lead and pull away. Rose finished tied for second with Billy Horschel at 7 under, two shots behind Schauffele.
“In terms of how I played and the execution of my emotions today, my mindset, I left it all out there,” Rose said. “I’m super proud of how I competed.
“I really played the way I wanted to today. I got off on the front foot. I played my way right into the tournament early doors. Did a lot of the hard things really well on the golf course today.”
Of course, we all remember the emotions of the 1998 Open with as a 17-year-old amateur, Rose finished fourth ahead of turning pro early the following week at the KLM Dutch Open and finally breaking through some 15-years later in becoming a major champion.
Though Rose can also look back on a career that has produced another nine top-5 finishes in the majors.
“I’ll have a few more chances, of course, but you know that this is a great opportunity today,” Rose said. “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, that gives me a lot of heart.”
Well said, Justin