Justin Rose’s hopes of playing in The Open at Royal Troon are on the line at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club, but he showed his class when playing partner Chris Wood’s qualification hopes died.
Justin Rose was visibly distraught when his playing partner Chris Wood encountered a setback that hindered his chances of qualifying for The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Rose and Wood were both vying for a spot in the top four as they entered their second rounds at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club in Somerset on Tuesday. Wood, who was the runner-up at the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale, achieved a tied third finish in his debut year as a professional at St Andrews twelve months later.
The golfer from Bristol had not participated in his country’s open tournament for five years, but he seemed poised to break that streak until he encountered trouble on the par-five eighth hole during his second round. His tee shot veered to the right, prompting numerous spectators to rush over and assist in the search for his ball.
When Wood showed up to update the search team that he was searching for a Titlest 1, his playing partners Rose and Jovan Rebula from South Africa joined him. Rose quickly took charge, guiding the search and calling out to onlookers, “You’re looking in the wrong spot, it’s right over here in this area.”
Even though the fans were doing their best to assist a hometown player in his quest to get back to the big stage, the search turned up empty-handed. Several other balls were discovered in the dense rough, but not the specific one they were seeking.
Rose, a former US Open champion, displayed his sportsmanship and composure when three minutes passed without Wood’s ball being found, leading to a referee declaring it lost. Rose expressed his disappointment, muttering “F*** sake,” clearly feeling for his fellow countryman whose hopes of returning to golf’s biggest stage were dashed.
Adding to the challenge, Wood’s provisional tee shot ended up in a bunker, forcing him to chop out into the fairway. Despite needing to make a long-range putt to salvage a bogey and stay in contention, he ended up with a double-bogey seven as his putt narrowly missed the cup.
The three-time European Tour winner’s momentum was halted by the wind, leading to bogeys at 11 and 14, ultimately dashing his chances of making it to Royal Troon on July 18.
On the other hand, Rose is making good progress towards securing a spot in Scotland later this month. Following an impressive five-under in the first round on Tuesday, he demonstrated his resilience as the wind intensified in the afternoon. Currently at eight-under with three holes remaining, he is poised to finish in a tie for first place alongside Cambridge amateur Dominic Clemons.
Abraham Ancer and Anirban Lahiri, two prominent LIV Golf stars, are currently in a state of anticipation as they await the outcome of their performance. Both are currently tied for third place and are eagerly anticipating the possibility of participating in a playoff later today. However, they face competition from Charlie Lindh of Sweden and Justin Walters of South Africa, who are also at five-under and could potentially secure the remaining qualification spots ahead of the LIV Golf pair with a strong finish.
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