Justin Rose shot 66-68 on Tuesday at Burnham and Berrow in England, tying amateur Dominic Clemons for medalist at that location to punch his ticket into the 21st Open Championship of his career.
Rose, who is ranked No. 66 in the Official World Golf Rankings, had no other exemption into this year's Open Championship at Royal Troon. So, he went out and did it the old-fashioned way by digging it out of the dirt across 36 holes of play.
Justin Rose is met by warm applause as he arrives at the 18th green at Burnham and Berrow. He gets in with a par to finish at -8, tied for the best score of the day. He has qualified for #TheOpen at Royal Troon and he celebrated with a fist pump as he acknowledge a healthy crowd. pic.twitter.com/RoSqR0Q3um
— Sam Frost (@frosty920) July 2, 2024
For Rose, his Open journey started back in 1998 at Royal Birkdale where he holed out on the final hole to finish T4 and win low amateur honors. He has played in 20 since that famous one and did not miss an Open from 2007-2021.
"There was obviously huge motivation," Rose told TheOpen.com. "The Open has been a bit of a fairytale and love story for me since I was 14, to be honest with you (when he first played in final qualifying).
"The Open has always been super special, and you can kind of take it for granted. As you get a little older, things get harder, and in a way I think it's a good thing to happen (having to qualify) as it makes you appreciate how special it is."
Interestingly, that T4 remains his second-best finish ever at the Open. He finished T2 in 2018 at Carnoustie when Francesco Molinari went on to win. At that event, Rose narrowly made the cut before shooting 64-69 on the weekend to finish two shots behind Ryder Cup buddy Molinari.
Rose is not the only golfer who qualified on Tuesday. Across four different sites, 16 players in all played their way into this Open Championship. While big names like Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell fell short, here are the 16 qualifiers, including Angel Hidalgo, who qualified at Dundonald after holing out for eagle on his 36th hole of the day.
Royal Cinque Ports
1. Matthew Southgate (-6)
T2. Elvis Smylie (-3)
T2. Jaime Fernandez Montojo (a) (-3)
T4. Luis Masaveu (a) (-2)
West Lancashire
T1. Matthew Dodd-Berry (-6)
T1. Sam Horsfield (-6)
T3. Daniel Brown (-5)
T3. Masahiro Kawamura (-5)
Dundonald Links
1. Sam Hutsby (-8)
T2. Angel Hidalgo (-5)
T2. Liam Nolan (a) (-5)
T4. Jack McDonald (-4)
Burnham and Berrow
T1. Justin Rose (-8)
T1. Dominic Clemons (a) (-8)
T3. Abraham Ancer (-5)
T3. Charlie Lindh (-5)
