Rose's Open hopes wilt

14 April 2012

The Open Championship dream of Justin Rose today turned into a nightmare as the British golf star looked like returning one of the worst rounds of his career in the £ 2.2million Barclays Scottish Open.

Rose had been touted as a potential winner of next week's 133rd Open at Royal Troon with leading golf magazines headlining interviews with him on the covers of their preview issues and equipment sponsors preparing advertising campaigns around his appearance on the Scottish links.

But to win it you've got to be in it and halfway through a disappointing year Rose's last chance of teeing it up at Troon was to be the highest finisher in the Scottish Open who was not already guaranteed an entry to the season's third major.

He effectively blew that chance with a dreadful opening round of 79 at Loch Lomond, littered with dropped shots.

At eight over - 12 behind clubhouse leader Marcus Fraser of Australia - Rose was set to miss tomorrow's halfway cut.

While others will be preparing to make the short trip to Troon on the west coast of Scotland he could already be at home in London reflecting on the devastating effect a wild swing is having on a career that began with such unexpected glory.

As a fresh-faced teenage amateur he became the darling of Open galleries when he chipped in at the last to finish tied for fourth at the 1998 Royal Birkdale Open.

He turned professional immediately and then endured a run of 21 missed cuts before his latent talent came to the fore with tournament victories in South Africa, Japan and at home.

It seemed inevitable that Rose, 23, would make his Ryder Cup debut in September. But he is now set to miss out on scoring vital qualifying points at Troon.

Such is the concern over his form, European captain Bernhard Langer is unlikely to make him one of his two wild card picks.

Rose was in trouble as early as his third hole, the 415-yard par-four 12th, where he dropped his first shot. He bounced back at the next by chipping in for an eagle three and it seemed Rose might bloom as the bonny banks were bathed in glorious sunshine.

But a wild drive from the 14th tee found marshland and he was forced to take a penalty drop, then three-putted for a double-bogey six.

He was a picture of despair at the beautiful 15th as he carved his drive away from the fairway, then chipped into a bunker for a second successive double-bogey six. He dropped his fifth shot in three holes at the 16th, then made a miserable march up the 18th to find his ball on the edge of the loch.

Rose had no option but to hit out sideways and carded a bogey five for a nine-hole total of five over 40.

Coming home he dropped another shot at the fourth and carded his third double bogey of the round at the 190-yard par-three fifth.

Rose said: "Unless I score 64s in the next three rounds I will probably be on holiday next week.

"I was just hitting it all over the place. It's just the fact that I'm playing terribly at the moment."

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