'The pinnacle of the game'

It might be 28 years since he first graced Royal Birkdale but Justin Rose’s dream of one day holding the Claret Jug burns as bright as the sun that is scorching its fairways.

Much has changed since the then-17-year-old, decked out in a maroon jumper, holed a chip on the 18th to finish tied-fourth and won the Silver Medal.

Rose has won 27 professional tournaments, including the US Open, an Olympic gold medal, been part of five victorious Ryder Cup teams and spent 13 weeks as world number one.

The Claret Jug may have eluded him but the chase is far from over – with his latest bid beginning at 9.36am on Thursday alongside Russell Henley and Viktor Hovland.

“The ⁠Open for a British player is the pinnacle of the game," he said. "It's the one that I would love to win the most, for sure.

"The Open offers you the longest runway of an opportunity to win one, so there's plenty of time left.”

When Rose arrived at Royal Birkdale for The 127th Open, hardly anyone had heard of him. When he left, he was one of the most famous players on the planet.

His moment of fame came on Royal Birkdale’s final hole. At the end of a breakthrough week, where he hovered around the top of the leaderboard as an amateur, he went in search of a birdie on the last.

In a spot of bother after finding rough short of the greenside bunker on the par-4, Rose lofted a chip high into the Merseyside sky, to cries from the crowd. ‘Get in,' they bayed.

And his ball duly obliged, destined for the cup from the moment it left his club, its arrival greeted by a raucous eruption as the youngster flung his arms skyward, scarcely able to process what had just happened.

Stardom beckoned and Rose’s career since has brought 24 top-10 finishes in majors in addition to the 2013 US Open triumph, and 13 top-fives.

But he has lost twice in a Masters play-off, finished lone second on one other occasion, and also finished as the runner-up twice at The Open.

“Would I want to do it again and think I could do better? I think I'd probably pass. I'd probably say I'll stick,” he said.

“I've had a very good career, 28 years later I'm playing in The Open. If I think about that, that is still an amazing achievement. To have the will to keep wanting to be here, more than anything.

“I'm still very happy with where I'm at. Could I have done more? Could I have won more of what I've already won? Yes. Would I love to be a multiple major champion? Yes.

“Do I feel I could have pushed towards close to a Grand Slam? Yes. I've had results that nearly put me in that realm. So, a little bit of luck here and there, I could be sitting here with a very different career.

“But ultimately, if I look at it, I got to world number one, I'm a major champion, Olympic gold medallist, FedExCup winner.

“I've achieved pretty much what there is to achieve in the game, albeit once only. But the highlights are great. Would I have just wanted more of it? Of course. Everyone's greedy.”

Rose’s relationship with golf’s original championship has been a curious one.

It took him 17 years to reach the top-10 again and he has gone close to winning just twice, at Carnoustie in 2018 and Royal Troon two years ago. Many would gladly take that record but Rose admits he has at times under-performed.

At 45, he has plenty of opportunities ahead but in The Open’s illustrious 166-year history, only Old Tom Morris – as if to emphasise the point – has won the Championship as an older man than Rose is now.

And that was in 1867, when just 14 players entered and the winner took home £7.

Golf, it is fair to say, has changed. Even if Rose has not. He is ranked 10th in the world and starts The 154th Open among the favourites.

“I am enjoying a little resurgence for sure,” he said.

“I'm really enjoying the challenge of staying elite with my game. I'm really enjoying the opportunities and the moments I'm creating and the memories I'm creating through those moments.

“That's what drives me, whether that be holing a putt on a Friday at the Ryder Cup or having chances to win major championships.

“It does come down to results but also in the moment really, a result is fantastic.

“Scottie Scheffler might have said this last year, maybe at this tournament, that you do look at yourself a week or two later, and you're suddenly into the next stretch of tournaments, and you can't be defined or live and die by the result.

“So I'm trying to see it as moments. Am I playing golf for the right moments? Am I creating memories?

“And are those memories worth the sacrifice? Because as I get older, I think it's taking more of me.

“I'm having to be more disciplined than I've ever been to stay at the level of golf I want to be at, and I'm enjoying that challenge.

“I feel like I can keep pushing. I feel like I can keep going with that narrative as long as possible.

"Certainly in the moment I feel inspired, and, I'm enjoying that challenge.”

The rest of golf is enjoying it too.