His own form is such that gaining world No.1 ranking for the first time is once again within his reach should he win this weekend, but Justin Rose yesterday acknowledged that, in a Ryder Cup year, there is wider need for him to lead the European challenge at Carnoustie this week.
The USA’s record in the inter-continental competition may have been poor in the 21st century, but even before Brooks Koepka launched his successful defence of the US Open last month, American golfers were in possession of all four major titles at the same time for the first time in 14 years and those rankings only reinforce that impression of a new era of dominance with five of them surrounding third-placed Rose and fifth-placed Spaniard Jon Rahm in the current top seven.
Read more: Russell Knox savouring the "craziness" of a pairing with Tiger Woods at the Open
As he reflected on that, the Olympic champion suggested that at least some of these young Americans seem to be feeding off one another in a way that will translate well to their bid to retain the Ryder Cup for the first time in a quarter of century.
“I don’t know what I’d put it down to other than the American boys in the world rankings and on the golf course are performing really, really well,” Rose observed.
“The top end of American golf right now is incredibly strong. There’s a bit of a camaraderie amongst all of them. Brooks [Koepka] and Dustin [Johnson] are incredibly close and you’ve got Rickie [Fowler] and Justin Thomas and Jordan [Spieth] as a group are all really close. It’s working really well for them. They’re spurring each other on.”
There have, though, been encouraging signs from those representing this side of the Atlantic.
“I think Tommy [Fleetwood] clearly showed how close the Europeans are to challenging that dominance as well,” Rose continued. “So it’s not like we’re a mile behind. It’s just they’re on a great run right now and there’s no reason why a European player shouldn’t come through this week.
“We’ve got to keep the good feeling going. I’m not the only one with a chance to do that, but it would be nice to get some good momentum for the Europeans going into the Ryder Cup in September to start challenging in these biggest tournaments for sure. I’d love it to be me, but, yeah, it would be good to kind of see a change of the tide for sure.”
As to which of his rivals and prospective colleagues are likeliest to do that, he believes there are a number of British contenders.
Read more: Russell Knox savouring the "craziness" of a pairing with Tiger Woods at the Open
“Obviously, Tommy’s got a brilliant chance. Paul Casey’s got a great chance. He’s been knocking on the door many times now too. [Ian] Poulter is dangerous on links golf courses. Darren Clarke won one out of the blue years ago [so] maybe it’s sort of a Westy [Lee Westwood] time as well.
“Rory [McIlroy] clearly is always dangerous. Probably even more dangerous at the minute because he’s been a little quiet. I find that Rory is always quiet for a while and then he’ll kind of kick back into gear. So, there’s lots of great options out there, great opportunities for the boys.”
Two decades having elapsed since he declared his potential when tying for fourth as an amateur at Birkdale, an Open finish he has yet to improve upon, the 2013 US Open champion is well aware of that record being out of kilter with both expectations and the overall quality of performance that has seen him finish in the top seven in the world rankings in every year bar one since 2012 and he believes it is slightly misleading, saying: “I’m kind of comfortable with how bad my record’s been here. It’s nothing new to me and I don’t feel like there’s a reason for it either.
“I feel like I’ve created some better opportunities in the Open than my record suggests. I kind of come in here knowing that I can play links golf really, really well even though maybe I haven’t threatened in this tournament as much as I would have liked, but I’ve won the Scottish Open and played well at Dunhill Links and played well on these type of golf courses, so I’ve come in here as confident as I could be.”
That said, should he win this week it may not be the best of omens for the European team since in doing so he would become the first Englishman to win the Open since Nick Faldo in 1993 which, coincidentally, was the year the USA last retained the Ryder Cup.
However, in those terms, coming into the event in what he believes to be the best form of his career with top-10 finishes in 17 of the last 22 tournaments he has played, Rose knows he can only do what he can to determine his own destiny.
“Obviously, it has been a barren run for sure,” he acknowledged. “I don’t believe in superstition or anything like that, but I just feel like my game is in a good spot. I feel like I’m playing well and creating chances regularly. So, yeah, it’s up to me, really, not stats or not records. It’s just about me and playing this golf course this week and creating my chance to win. I try not to look outside any deeper than that.”
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