CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – This was a no-brainer. The kid was destined for greatness.
Not only, at age 17, did his star shine at one of the most prestigious major golf championships, but he did it with a grace, innocence and flair for drama that lends itself usually to only the great ones.
Justin Rose was not only the darling of the 1998 British Open, he nearly ran away with the Auld Claret Jug as a baby-faced amateur who’d merely qualified the week before.
What would happen after Rose, holing out a chip on the 72nd hole, finished in a tie for fourth at Royal Birkdale, was a stunning free-fall that would leave most golfers groveling for mercy.
The day after last year’s British Open, Rose turned professional with promise to become one of Great Britain’s finest players.
He then went on to miss the cut at every tournament he entered in 1998 after The Open. Then he missed his first 10 cuts in 1999 before finally breaking through at the European Grand Prix, where he finished 74th several weeks ago.
“It is tough; I’ve found it difficult,” Rose said yesterday. “You know there were a lot of emotions – to be on such a high and then such a low. It is tough to take it all in. The way I’ve dealt with it is to shut it out, have very little sort of conscious thoughts of how I have felt.
“I’ve just tried to keep focusing on where I want to be and what I have to do to get there. It sounds like it may be a story, but I have very vague memories of any tournaments I have played since [last year’s Open].”
His memories of Open week, though, are crisp and indelible.
“Seeing the big yellow scoreboards and the tournament becoming a village for the week with the enormity of it all beings back exciting memories definitely,” Rose said. “My memories of last year’s Open are special. And that last shot was fantastic to sign off like that.”
Rose said things since the Open “have become a bit of a blur.”
“I don’t regret anything I’ve done,” he said of those who second-guessed him turning pro so quickly after the Open. “Timing didn’t quite happen, momentum didn’t quite get going, but I never regret it.
“As for turning professional, I’d like to lay this ghost to rest. I was turning pro after the British Open no matter what happened that week. I may have missed the cut by 10 shots that week, but I had invitations to play the Dutch Open and Scandinavian Masters the two following weeks.”
Rose has basically stepped back to the Challenge Tour, the European version of the U.S. Nike Tour in hopes of developing into the player he wants to be. That’s where he made his first cut since the ’98 Open, finishing fourth at the Challenge event in Austria several weeks ago.
“That was my first check,” Rose said. “The first check is special. I would have liked to be in a position where I could just frame it.”
Problem is, when you make one check in nearly a year, you need the money and must bank it or cash it.
Rose hasn’t made a lot of deposits. He won 2,681 pounds for the Austria performance and 1,397 pounds for his 74th-place finish at the Grand Prix.
“I feel a better player due to everything that has gone on,” Rose said. “I feel a lot tougher, there’s no doubt about it. I can take anything that anyone throws at me every again, hopefully.”
It’s amazing how Rose has been able to maintain his friendly, innocent boyish personality through the turmoil when so many others would go the other way, hiding from answering the questions, becoming rude and reclusive from the adoring and inquiring public eye.
“Hopefully, I haven’t gone through this for nothing,” Rose said. “I’ve had a lot of general encouragement [from fans and fellow players]. A lot of them say, ‘You have got the game. Come on and just play.’ It’s as simple as just letting yourself play, not letting anything else get in the way of that.
“It sounds simple, but … “