Express & Star

Rejuvenated Rose back from the brink and back in contention

Rose fired seven birdies in a flawless 64.

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England’s Justin Rose made the most of his last-hole heroics to post a record-equalling score in the third round of the 147th Open Championship.

Rose, who finished fourth in the Open as a 17-year-old amateur 20 years ago, birdied the 18th hole on Friday evening to make the halfway cut with nothing to spare on three over par.

And the Olympic champion carried on where he left off on Saturday, taking advantage of benign conditions to fire seven more birdies in a flawless 64, equalling the lowest score in an Open at Carnoustie achieved by Steve Stricker and Richard Green in rounds three and four respectively in 2007.

“It was massive to take advantage today,” Rose said after the lowest round of his career in any major. “I was very excited last night not to be down the road, ruing another Open opportunity gone. I picked up where I left off and it was a great day’s work.”

At four under par Rose was just two shots off the lead when he signed his card, but the 37-year-old former US Open champion was well aware of what possibly lay ahead.

“I thought the pins were easier than they have been and if the wind doesn’t
pick up you are going to see some low scores,” he added. “Hopefully the wind picks up and the leaders don’t get too far away.”

Ryder Cup team-mate Chris Wood, who was fifth in the Open as an amateur in 2008 and third a year later, had been the first player to threaten a historic score after racing to the turn in 31 and picking up further shots on the 10th and 13th.

However, he then needed two attempts to escape a bunker on the par-five 14th and also bogeyed the 17th before completing an eventful 66 by holing from long range for par on the 18th, where his approach had finished underneath the out-of-bounds fence.

Former champion Zach Johnson and fellow American Kevin Kisner shared the lead on six under, with England’s Tommy Fleetwood a shot behind alongside Americans Pat Perez and Xander Schauffele.

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