Justin Rose championed the self-belief he now has in his own game after a six under par 66 helped the Englishman to another top ten Major finish at the US PGA Championship.
Rose, who made a flying start in his third round only to be pegged back by three bogeys in the last six holes, began with a hat-trick of birdies on Sunday and despite a three-putt bogey at the short fifth, the 34 year old bounced back with two further birdies at the seventh and eighth to turn four under par for the day.
A solid back nine, including three birdies in four holes from the 13th, was only slightly tempered by a bogey after he found the water adjacent to the 17th green and Rose seemed wholly satisfied with a day’s work that saw him climb 21 places into a tie for fourth as the final Major Championship of the year drew to a close in South Carolina.
“It’s obviously a really great way to finish,” said Rose. “I had a great round going yesterday but didn't manage to finish it off, whereas I did today. I know I hit it in the water on 17, but I was kind of happy with that.
“I had my foot on the accelerator; I felt like I had a hot hand and I was really thinking if I could finish two-three, post a number and see what happens. At that point it was worth a try.
“But I’m very happy with my day's golf and made some putts down the stretch which is probably what I haven't been doing of late. If I look at my last two weekends at Firestone and here I'm feeling very good about all the tournaments I have coming up.”
Rose, wearing a gold shirt for the final round in celebration of Team GB’s medal success at the Olympics in London, has already finished in the top ten six times in nine appearances on The European Tour this year, and admitted his confidence level was now as good as it has ever been – a fact he feels can only push him on to greater success in the near future.
“I've got a lot of self belief now,” Rose commented. “I think my game is good enough to win these golf tournaments. At Augusta I was right up there, finished eighth in the end. The US Open I only finished six back – and there's a million shots I wish I could take over that week.
“And obviously this week we’re looking like it's going to be top five or six finish, wherever it ends up at, more evidence that my game is moving in the right direction.”
