2014 Scottish Open results: Justin Rose rolls into British Open with 2nd straight win

For the first time in his career, Justin Rose went back-to-back to win his second consecutive event. The Englishman rolled on the weekend at the Scottish Open, firing rounds of 65 and 66 over the final 36 holes to cruise to a two-shot lead at Royal Aberdeen.

The Scottish Open boasts one of the deeper fields all season on the Euro Tour, with players from both sides of the Atlantic teeing it up for a week of links prep prior to the Open Championship. This year’s field included defending champ Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, and Luke Donald, among others. Mickelson’s back-to-back streak at the Scottish and British last year was said to influence more players to enter the Scottish this year, including Rose.

It was just two weeks ago at Congressional that Rose navigated his way through U.S. Open conditions to win the Quicken Loans National. That Sunday, he just held on and made steady pars and avoided big blow-up holes while the leaders, namely Patrick Reed, gave shots away and came back to the chasers. The scoring conditions weren’t nearly as tough at Royal Aberdeen, but given the field, Rose’s performance was just as impressive. He opened with four birdies in his first six holes on Sunday, and the rout was on at that point. It was not a matter of if he would win, but just by how much. After and early season injury pushed him off the map a bit, it’s clear he is now in top form heading into his country’s Open Championship.

Unlike Phil last year, Rose was able to keep a handle on the trophy in Scotland.

Obviously, Rose would love the Scottish Open win to have the same effect it did on Mickelson last year, and take his third straight start for a second major title in as many years.

After winning at Congressional, Rose said he was totally unfamiliar with Hoylake and that he had never played Royal Liverpool before. He also doesn’t have a very good track record at the British either, missing the cut in three of his last four Opens. His lowest finish came in that 1998 Open when he burst onto the scene with a top 5 result and ignited the English crowds as their next great prospect. Since then, he’s not been a factor at the Open. The intervening struggles from that breakout and the success in recent years are well-documented, but this will probably be his best form and best chance at the Open since that first appearance.

Here are the final results from Royal Aberdeen, where both Phil and Rory finished inside the top 15: