OF THE 156 golfers who tee up at Royal Birkdale today, none is likely to have been more exhilarated by the great Merseyside links than Justin Rose. Not even Mark O'Meara, who took temporary possession of the Claret Jug when the tournament was last played here ten years ago.
Back in 1998, after all, the American was already a 41-year-old veteran and, just three months earlier, had won his first major by lifting the US Masters at Augusta. That experience would induce a sensation of ecstasy that no subsequent triumph,
not even one in the Open, could match.
Rose was a 17-year-old amateur, who capped an extraordinary four days with an unforgettable chip at the 72nd hole to give him a share of fourth – one strike behind third-placed Tiger Woods – in an event that featured all of the most formidable competitors in the game.
Unsurprisingly, Rose admitted on the eve of his return to what he described as "a magical wonderland" that nothing he has experienced in the decade since – including four European Tour victories – has given him the "buzz" of that moment in Birkdale.
More specifically, he asserted the view that the only thing that could better how he felt then would be to win the title.
Ten years on, the odds against his improving by three places to No1 on Sunday have shortened from around 5,000/1 to a top-priced 33/1, putting him in the top seven in the betting and in the company of such former major winners as Jim Furyk (US Open) and Geoff Ogilvy (US Open) and the present holder.
As he revealed yesterday, Rose is convinced that, despite the passage of a decade and the changes made to the course, the venue gives him his best chance of winning the title he craves above all others. He is, however, not so romantically inclined as to believe that his triumph here is pre-ordained.
Asked if he believed in things like destiny or karma, he replied with a smile: "This week maybe I do, but for 51 other weeks of the year I don't. But, no, I'm not putting my chances of winning this tournament in the hands of fate. I want just to go out there and prepare hard, play hard and, hopefully, that does it for me.
"I won't just be thinking this place is a magical wonderland for me and it's going to happen anyway. That's obviously the wrong way to prepare. I have to come in here as a professional who has been working towards this moment and trust that that's what's going to pay off.
"Having said that, I do think Birkdale gives me my best chance of winning the tournament. I've always felt I tend to play well on the tougher courses and this is certainly one. This is a fair test and whenever you play a course like that, you can't argue with it. I have to think it gives me a great chance to play the golf I want to play.
"And, of course, I very much hope that one day I'll experience again the buzz I got here in 1998. I've always thought that what I achieved then was the next best thing to winning the Open championship. To experience something even bigger than that would mean to win this golf tournament. That's the way I've always had it in my mind."
Rose's recollection of that astonishing day when he achieved instant fame – and assumed a burden of expectation that would prove hard to bear – makes his yearning for a return to Birkdale inevitable.
"You have to realise what happened to me in that tournament," he said. "I had decided to turn professional immediately after the Open, not because I felt I had done everything in the amateur game, but I had achieved much of what I wanted and I was just keen to become a pro and get the career going.
"But I thought I'd turn pro quietly and get some experience under my belt before going to the European Tour qualifying school at the end of that year. That was the grand plan, but it didn't quite work out that way. I think everybody's expectations of me changed – as well as my own expectations of myself – after Birkdale and that turned out to be a bit of a burden.
"But, at the same time, a lot of doors opened for me and I was able to gain a lot of very valuable experience and learn a lot of tough lessons.
"Everyone knows I missed the cut in each of my first 21 pro tournaments, but I feel like I've come through it a stronger person and, I think, a better player. Obviously, 1998 here was a magical week. I was a young amateur, and underdog and got the crowd behind me.
"And there's no bigger buzz I've experienced than that moment on the 18th green on the Sunday when that pitch shot went in.
"If I top that, it will mean I will have won the Open."
The full article contains 862 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
