Justin Rose believes he still has a match to add to his major tally after overcoming difficult scoring conditions to make a bogey-free start to The 152nd Open at Royal Troon.
The 43-year-old, looking to become the first British champion of The Open since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992, bounced back from three missed cuts in his last four starts to card a two-under 69 on a wet and windy opening morning.
Rose has only posted two top-10s at The Open since her fourth debut as an amateur in 1998, with the former world No 1 having to come through the Final Qualifying to secure a place in this year’s contest.
The former US Open champion sits atop the early clubhouse leader Justin Thomas, who posted an opening round 68, with Rose looking to make the most of his chances to claim his second major victory.
“It’s a low hour,” Rose admitted. “Obvious, right? (I) soon and history would suggest (winning is less likely) but I think The Open offers that opportunity more than some other majors.
Justin Rose returned the year with a bogey-free 69 during the opening round at Royal Troon
“I’m still very confident that I can improve tomorrow more than today. As long as that’s the case, I’ll keep believing, that’s for sure.
“Will I compete week in and week out at the highest level at 44? Who knows, but I still feel like I’m a good enough golfer to find places and find angles and my week where it all comes together.
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Justin Rose faced a lineup of five random golfers – one of them current or former professional, and four of them imposters. Can he find out who the real pros are?
“What I have really done hard for the last two, three years is to have the last chance in my career to have a couple of special, amazing opportunities. That’s what keeps me going.”
On his performance, Rose added: “I’m so disappointed today, I feel like today could be a special touch. Chances on the front and back nine. A lot of things could have been done the other day. , so generally very happy.”
Thomas is ‘heading in the right direction’ after a strong start
Thomas set the pace early, having led after the opening day of the Scottish Open last week, with the two-time PGA champion bouncing back from dropping three shots on the board two holes from the 11th by making a birdie-birdie finish.
“I played really solid, got it,” said Thomas, who missed five of his last seven majors and finished the round 14 shots better than his opening round of 82 during last year’s contest. “I think I can control the ball.
Justin Thomas is looking for the first top-10 at The Open of his career
“I hit a lot of fairways, which is the key I would say for any major, but definitely in the Open. A little bit of a hiccup at the beginning of the back nine, but stay patient and keep plugging away.
“I can’t even say what I was thinking (last year) or how it was then. I’m just worried about how I am now, and I really like the game and know that it’s going in the right direction, I have to keep trying to play well. “
England’s Matt Wallace also briefly topped the leaderboard in the opening morning after sitting four under after eight holes, after holed out for an eagle on the fourth, only to triple-bogey the par-four ninth on the way to open-round 70.
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Matt Wallace eagles the fourth hole at Royal Troon after finding the hole from 85 yards!
“Obviously a triple bogey on nine doesn’t help your scorecard, but I handled it well,” Wallace said. “A lot of the talk this week was about having to deal with things that we didn’t want to do and I’ve dealt with it well.
“It’s a real one, and I didn’t play the way I wanted to off the tee, so that’s what it takes, but when it’s in that position, it goes into the clubhouse really well.
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“I think I have my own way sometimes mentally, so I stop myself from letting my game go because. I know it’s good enough and I’ve shown it – I think everyone can see it.
“I think everyone will also agree that they see me not getting the full potential of my game, so I have to understand. I think I can compete for big tournaments. That’s what I think I can do. I didn’t finish in a long time, so if I can start the competition, I will be very happy.
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