Justin Rose has renewed belief that he can win the Open Championship after surging through the field over the weekend to finish tied for second at Carnoustie.
Rose had to hole a 15 foot birdie putt at the 18th on Friday just to make the cut on three over par.
But from a share of 65th at the halfway stage, the Olympic champion surged into contention with a best-of-the-week 64 on Saturday.
A single bogey across his opening 13 holes looked to have snuffed out the Englishman’s chances, but his second to the par-five 14th struck the pin to leave a tap-in eagle and a fourth successive gain down the last gave Rose a 69 and six under par total.
That clubhouse target held until Francesco Molinari’s fantastic finish secured victory for the Italian, with Rose tying for second with Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele – bettering his previous best Open performance of tied for fourth as an amateur at Royal Birkdale 20 years ago.
That was a real positive for me, and it renews the love of the Open for me - Justin Rose
“It just proves to me that I can play well in this tournament,” Rose said. “That I can win the Open.
“When I'm in the hunt, I enjoy it. I play my best golf. I don't back away. I really enjoy it.
“It was great to get the crowd behind me. Like I said, I hadn't felt the energy of the crowd for a while in the Open. That was a real positive for me, and it renews the love of the Open for me.”
McIlroy began the day four off the lead and endured the frustration of dropped shots on the second and fifth before saving par from 20 feet at the sixth.
Birdies at the ninth and 11th sparked a challenge before a bogey on the 12th, with the Northern Irishman claiming a share of the lead when he matched Rose’s eagle on the 14th.
However, the four-time Major Champion could not find a birdie down the closing stretch to improve on Rose’s six under total.
“I played well,” he said. “I could have squeezed one more out of the round today.
“When I made the eagle on 14, it was tough to get close on 15, 16, and 17. The only real chance was at the last.
“I think anything under par out there today was a good score. I'm happy with how I played. I didn't get off to a great start, but I hung in there, and I battled back. Just sort of ran out of holes at the end.
“It was great, just to be a part of it and hear the roars. Tiger being back in the mix. There's a lot of big names up there. It was nice to be a part of it. For a while, I thought Tiger was going to win. My mindset was go and spoil the party here.
“It was cool. It was really cool. I have no regrets. I played the way I wanted to play this week. It gives me a lot of encouragement going into the final Major of the year.”
