TROON, Scotland — England’s Justin Rose admitted he was “gutted” and “choking back tears” when he walked off Royal Troon’s 18th green Sunday after a birdie, having narrowly missed out on winning the Open Championship for the first time.
He topped the leaderboard at various times in Sunday’s final round, but the birdie on the 18th was in vain as American Xander Schauffele produced 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 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, FedEx Cup 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.”
Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, wasn’t considered a favorite coming into the week. In fact, he had dropped out of the top 50 in the world ranking and went through a qualification tournament to earn his spot at the Open, where he also had a share of second place at Carnoustie in 2018 when Francesco Molinari won.
By Sunday, he was a serious contender to become the second-oldest winner of the major in the past 100 years.
On No. 12, 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.”
Rose, who burst into the spotlight in 1998 when he finished fourth at the Open as a 17-year-old amateur, had plenty of support from the home fans. There was even a man braving the Firth of Clyde supporting Rose.
“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.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.