Justin Rose hoping history can repeat itself at The Open

It’s no secret that English golfers are in something of a rut when it comes to the game’s oldest major.

If an Englishman doesn’t lift the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool, it will be the longest the country has gone without an Open champion since its inception in 1860.

Amateur John Ball, in the competition’s 30th edition at Prestwick, ended a 29-year run of Scottish winners, and since then the honours board has featured a number of big-name English winners, from JH Taylor to Harry Vardon, Ted Ray and Tony Jacklin.

But we have to go back to Sir Nick Faldo in 1992 for England’s last Champion Golfer, and back to Tony Jacklin at Lytham in 1969 for the last English winner on English soil.

And when Faldo was asked about it during his first week as the British Masters host, he joked that he quite likes being the last English Open winner, before picking out three names he expects to arrest the drought at Hoylake.

“[Matt] Fitzpatrick and [Tyrrell] Hatton are probably the top two,” he said. “Tommy [Fleetwood] is coming alive, isn’t he? So we have three guys there who have a genuine shot.

“Hoylake is a nice golf course for English golfers, and they have probably played it quite a bit over the years, so there’s a distinct possibility one of those three could do it. It’d be worth a flutter!”

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One name the three-time Open champion didn’t mention, though, was Justin Rose – who led after 18 holes at The Belfry before going on to finish three back of champion Daniel Hillier.

Rose, who had to wait until 2018 to better that famous fourth-place finish at Birkdale as an amateur 20 years previous, says his planning is well underway – beginning with the British Masters.

“In terms of having a goal in mind and rallying to form, my build-up starts this week,” he explained. “I’m starting to work on all the nuances that go into links golf – including talking to equipment manufacturers to get some long irons built up and get them a little easier to hit.

“I’m in the UK all the way through the Open Championship, so I’ll make a trip up to Hoylake prior to the Scottish Open. If you play the Scottish then straight into the Open then it becomes a tight 14 days to try and learn a golf course and still stay mentally fresh for the challenge ahead.

“So I’m very much trying to do all the right things to put myself in the position at Hoylake to try and give myself the opportunity to represent and to do it for the English boys.”

Rose, of course, has previous when it comes to ending years of hurt for English golfers. His 2013 US Open victory was the first by his countrymen in that particular tournament since Jacklin in 1970.

“If you believe in the theory of large numbers, we’re due,” he smiled. “So I see it as a good thing, not a bad thing.”

And while he didn’t see out the victory so many had hoped for at the British Masters, Rose has bigger things on his mind. “This week has been a good test of everyone’s game and it’s a good benchmark on where you’re at,” he said as he looks ahead to the Scottish Open. “Normally you say that about a US Open, but the parameters, the fairways, how tight you had to hit the ball – I thought it was a really good week to get a read on your game.

“So I’m happy with the test and the way I passed that test. Hopefully [I can] build on that in the next few weeks.”

Remember to pick up a copy of the latest issue of bunkered for our full preview ahead of the 151st Open Championship!

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor