The Open: Justin Rose confident of first English win since 1992
By Keith Jackson at Carnoustie
Last Updated: 17/07/18 3:14pm
Justin Rose insists he is "comfortable" with his record in The Open as he bids to become the first Englishman to win the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992.
Rose burst onto the scene as a teenage amateur at Royal Birkdale six years after Faldo's third victory, and his spectacular hole-out at the 72nd hole earned him a tie for fourth place and the Silver Medal as leading amateur.
But that remains his best finish in the tournament, and his sixth place at St Andrews in 2015 is Rose's only other top-10 at The Open, while he has also missed the cut five times in his 16 appearances.
"I'm kind of comfortable with how bad my record has been here," said Rose, who has enjoyed success on a links course with his victory in the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen in 2014.
"It's nothing new to me, and I don't feel like there's a reason for it either. I feel like I've created some better opportunities in The Open than my record suggests.
"So I kind of come in here knowing that I can play links golf really, really well even though maybe I haven't threatened in this tournament as much as I would have liked, but I've won the Scottish Open and played well at the Dunhill Links and played well on these type of golf courses. So I've come in here as confident as I could be."
Rose also insisted he was not intimidated by expectation ahead of the third major of the year at Carnoustie, where a victory would elevate him to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career.
He added: "I don't believe in superstition or anything like that, but I just feel like my game is in a good spot and I feel like I'm playing well and creating chances regularly.
"So it's up to me, really. Not stats or not records. It's just about me and playing this golf course this week and creating my chance to win. I try not to look outside any deeper than that.
"I don't mind expectation. I feel like you've got to be a big boy, and you've got to be able to handle that. If you want to play at the top level, that's what you've got to live with, and I've got no problem with that.
"To win a tournament, you want to stay as free as possible, as loose as possible. You want to try to keep it as simple as possible as well because that's when your best golf tends to come out. So Thursday halfway through Sunday, that's kind of the mindset, then it's about finishing it off.
"So for me, these next few days, it's about trying to get as comfortable with my game as possible. I don't feel it needs to be perfect by any means. I think that's what I've learned over the years, many years where you're preparing for majors, I felt like everything had to be absolutely spot on to do well.
"The US Open was a good example of that. I wasn't really on my best form but teed off on Sunday with a chance. So, I need to be patient with myself this week as well.
"But I expect to create an opportunity at some point this week. I guess that's the self-belief that I have at the moment, and I'm happy with that. I feel comfortable with that."