JUSTIN Rose, leader of the European Ryder Cup table when he won the Volvo Masters in November, is no longer in the top ten after his dismal Open showing.
Last season's Order of Merit winner returned to Birkdale, scene of his stupendous fourth place finish as a 17-year-old amateur a decade ago, fifth on the table.
But a Saturday 82, his worst ever Open round, was followed by a three-over par 73 yes
terday to leave him down in 70th spot on 21 over.
Because of the cup system – five off a world ranking list, five off a European money list – he will now need a wild card from captain Nick Faldo unless he gets back in the top ten in the next month.
"You never know if it's £1,000 or £100,000 you get in by, so you've just got to dig in deep," he said.
Rose finished his Birkdale comeback not with a pitch into the hole and a huge roar from a packed grandstand like 1998, but with a sense of bitter disappointment amid hundreds of empty seats.
His 82 had put him into the second group of the day at 7.20am and the leaders had not even arrived at the course as he departed.
What Rose wanted on returning was not to walk down memory lane, but to march to his first major title and it did not happen.
"I had a magical week last time, but it's not a magical place for me and it's been disappointing," he said.
"I didn't feel a sense of burden and I felt in good shape mentally, but with the conditions it was easy for the week to get away from you and that's what happened on Saturday.
"I knew coming into this week it's not a fairytale, not a magical place for me," Rose said. "It was a magical week last time but it's still a golf course in a major championship and you have to go out and put in a good performance.
"It's really disappointing. I would have probably liked it to have been a test but not quite as blowing."
He started the final round 16 behind leader Greg Norman.
From the second hole, Rose went bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey to reach the turn in 35, one over for the day, and then bogeyed three in a row from the 12th to slide to 22 over par with four to play. But he didn't drop any more shots and a birdie four at the 15th made it a respectable finish.
While Rose was left to ponder his Ryder Cup participation, another Briton, David Howell boosted his slim Ryder Cup hopes with a rousing finish yesterday. The 33-year-old Englishman, 79th in the Ryder Cup world points list, shrugged off strong winds to fire a three-under-par 67 in his final round at Royal Birkdale, matching the second lowest score of the week.
"I am greatly encouraged by finishing so strongly," Howell said after covering the back nine in two-under 34 as stiff winds whipped across the links layout.
"On Thursday I said to my caddie: 'What are we doing here?', I was playing so badly. But you don't give up, this is the Open.
"I've not written off my Ryder Cup hopes but I have to have a good result in the World Golf Championship in two weeks' time," he said of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. Howell, who eagled the par-five 17th on his way to a 12-over tally of 292, was frustrated by his putting form during a wind-buffeted week.
"Putting is normally the strongest part of my game but I have struggled with it in these conditions and I had three three-putts in the final round," he added.
"That was very strange. I had three three-putts and shot 67 so it goes to show what can be done. But I holed a bunker shot as well so things didn't go against me."
The 37th Ryder Cup takes place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky from 19-21 September. Europe captain Faldo was at Birkdale all week assessing his potential squad and has admitted that his team could contain up to half-a-dozen debutants.
The full article contains 730 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
