JUSTIN ROSE is ready to embrace the Olympic experience as he heads down to Rio on the back of a superb weekend performance in the USPGA Championship.
Rose scraped through the cut at two over par, but closing rounds of 66-68 saw him finish on four under, and confirmed he has finally overcome the back problems that have made this such a stop-start season.
The 2013 US Open champion’s wife, Kate, was an international gymnast who never managed to fulfil her dream of competing in the Olympics.
But she is just as excited as her husband at the prospect of him representing Great Britain alongside Masters champion Danny Willett.
Rose said: “After missing a few tournaments with the back injury it’s been really pleasing to finish around the top ten both in the Open and here. That should put me just right for Rio.
“That’s always a position where you know you’re close to playing really well. From that point, something can happen. You can build on it.
“This weekend was a case of feeling you got everything out of your game, which as a player, in some ways is more fun. You feel like you’ve ground it out and then scored to the best of your ability. So that’s nice.
“You’re playing under just enough pressure where you sort of you’re interested all the time during a tournament and kind of every round is good practice.
“Yeah, it’s just that one spark now to sort of get into a different gear and to sort of challenge the top end of the leaderboard. It would be great to do that in Rio.
“In my family, Kate was a top grade gymnast and she was always super excited about the Olympics. So it’s something we’ve kind of embraced, just the uniqueness of it.
“I’m looking at it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would hope to play another, but obviously grand old age of 36 now, you can’t count your chickens.
“Rio has had its challenges, obviously with the Zika issue, security concerns, and this and that. But nevertheless, I’ve been pretty steadfast in my excitement for it. It’s going to be one of those things you never forget.
“If you are able to win a gold medal, I think it will be the highlight of your career, or certainly comparable to winning a Major. It’s right there at the top end of the scale.”
Willett has struggled to reproduce the brilliance of his Masters triumph, but at least a birdie-birdie finish for a 70 which kept him on five over par was a good way to sign off a memorable year in the Majors.
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He said: “It’s been a bit disappointing since an unforgettable time at Augusta, It hasn’t quite panned out as I’d panned out, but I’m excited by the prospect of competing in Rio.
“I just need to sort out my putting – I took 35 putts in the second round, 33 yesterday and 32 today. I guess you could say it’s getting better, but not as fast as I’d like!”
Willett’s playing partner, Padraig Harrington, seems to have been energised by his Olympic selection, and the world No 150 showed he will certainly not let Ireland down.
Harrington, 44, was even more impressive in the closing rounds that Rose, with a 65-68 finish taking to six under for the tournament, rounding off one of his best performances in the Majors since he completed the Open-USPGA double in 2008.