Justin Rose caps off superb Open round with long-range birdie bomb on 18

Englishman Justin Rose is in the mix at Royal Troon as he eyes his second major title.

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, carded a 3-under 68—tied for the lowest round of the day—to climb up the leaderboard to 5-under par for the championship. He sits in a tie for second with fellow countryman Daniel Brown, the 272nd-ranked player in the world at the midway point. Rose will play in the penultimate pairing with American Billy Horschel on Saturday.

But he ended his spectacular round with quite an exclamation point, holing a 41-footer for birdie on the 18th green.

“That was such a fun way to finish,” Rose said.

“Obviously, I celebrated, and there was the realization I didn’t have to hit another shot. I could really let my guard down and enjoy the day because it was a really hardworking, good round of golf. To finish that way was obviously special with the crowds, being a fairly full grandstand Friday afternoon. It was really good to enjoy that one.”

Rose’s birdie on 18 proved to be perhaps the loudest roars of the day, a day that featured countless oohs, sighs, and groans from the crowd as the field struggled with the 30-mile-per-hour gusts all day. Yet Rose only made one bogey on the par-4 12th—the most challenging hole on the course. He countered that with three more birdies besides his par-breaker on the 18th.

“I think today it tipped over the edge where the elements were in control, meaning that you were aiming right of a pin and slicing the ball and seeing the ball hook,” Rose said.

“So, the wind had all the control on the ball. The player couldn’t have control over the wind. I think that’s the tipping point today. Yesterday, I felt like it was playable. I felt like it was a fair fight yesterday. Today was just a bit more survival.”

Rose did more than survive. He soared.

From final qualifying to almost playing in the final pairing on Saturday, Rose has every facet of his game working. He is hitting the ball well from tee to green, ranking third among the field in overall strokes gained. He also ranks 12th in strokes gained putting, as evidenced by his final birdie of the day. Rose has all the intangibles needed to win a major, too.

But can Rose become the first Englishman to hoist the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo did so 30 years ago?

“That would be nice,” Rose said.

“When I won the U.S. Open, it was our first since Tony Jacklin [in 1970], so those are nice moments when it comes together, and you can share the story of what it means, but you’re never thinking of it, and we are pretty selfish from that point of view. Like we want it for us, and obviously, it’s great to share it with everybody that it’s meaningful to, but in the moment, you’re just trying to get the job done.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.