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Rampant Rose Sublime at Scottish Open

By: Golf Shake | Sun 13 Jul 2014


Post by Sports writer Derek Clements


Justin Rose heads for Hoylake and The Open Championship, desperately hoping that history will repeat itself.

The 2013 US Open champion won the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen in splendid style, seeing off the home challenge of Mark Warren and a stunning effort by Kristoffer Broberg of Sweden, and moves up to third in the world rankings.

The 33-year-old English golfer also won his last tournament, the Quicken Loans National played at the fearsome Congressional. He is in the form of his life and it seems that the tougher the test, the better he plays

https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/488404510822236160/photo/1

Tied with Warren going into the final round, Rose holed long putts at the second, third and fifth as he birdied four of the first six holes and never looked like being caught. He picked up further birdies at the ninth and 12th holes and posted a 65 and a four round total of 268, 16 under par. It gave the Englishman a two-shot victory over Broberg, who gained the considerable bonus of qualifying for The Open.  Scott Jamieson and Tyrrell Hatton, the 22-year-old rookie who hardly ever stops smiling, gained the other two qualifying slots.

Phil Mickelson won the Scottish Open 12 months ago after a heartbreaking loss in the US Open to Rose. The left-hander then went on to win The Open at Muirfield the following week - and Rose wants to emulate him.

Royal Aberdeen proved to be a great test for everybody heading for Hoylake. A true links course, it provided the field with a tough enough challenge but didn't knock the stuffing out of them.

There was bitter disappointment for Warren, whose final round of 70 saw him finish 11 under par in third place. But unlike his collapse at Castle Stuart, when he dropped four shots in the last five holes when leading the Scottish Open, this time he will go away with the knowledge that he was simply beaten by the better man on the day.

“This is my first professional win in Scotland so it means lot,” said Rose. “This a great tournament - there’s definitely something special about playing golf up here and the golfing crowd are so knowledgeable and I’ve really got to love this golf course.

“It was exactly the start I was looking for, and the  16th hole was the key. I looked at the leaderboard and I was only two ahead and felt that I was bound to make bogey there. Getting it up-and-down was the key to the win.

“I couldn’t have scripted it better – I’ve never won two in a row and I’ve certainly never won three in a row so I’m in unchartered territory.”

It was his seventh European Tour win and his 15th as a professional.

There were other notable performances. Matteo Manassero, the young Italian who has endured a miserable season, finished with a 65 and a tie for fourth, alongside Stephen Gallacher, who thrilled the home fans with a fabulous round of 63. Yet again, Rory McIlroy had another great 54-hole tournament - a 64 to start, a 68 on Saturday and 67 in the final round. Shame about that 78 on Friday though. What a thrill it would have been to see McIlroy and Rose going head to head. 

Mickelson, Paul Casey and Luke Donald also had final rounds that will take them to Royal Liverpool in good heart. In fact, 16 of the top 20 finishers closed out the tournament with rounds in the sixties.

As is his wont, Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, managed to get in on the act. With the vote on Scottish independence barely two months away, Mr Salmond ensured that he was seen with the great and the good of Scottish and European golf as Rose marched down the 18th fairway. If a Scot has any chance of winning The Open, we can be sure that he will put in another appearance, just as he did when Andy Murray won the Wimbledon men's singles title last year.

Image Credit: via European Tour Twitter (@EuropeanTour)


Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]

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