Rose, who scored a hole in one on his first day, carded a final round four-under-par 67 to beat Henrik Stenson by two strokes in a competition that went all the way to the final putts.
Advertisement
Stenson closed with a bogey to take the silver on 270, one stroke ahead of USA bronze medalist Matt Kuchar.
Claiming his first win of 2016, Rose was elated to be the first Olympic golf champion in over a century.
Some said they had scheduling issues and others cited concerns over the Zika virus, including world number one Jason Day of Australia and American number three Jordan Spieth.
Gold: Rose is now the only player in history to win both a major championship and an Olympic gold medal for golf.
“I’ve never seen my little boy in tears”, said Rose early Monday in Rio. It’s a shame that some of the other world class players didn’t feel the same, but Rose had the flawless attitude. I’ve been so up for it. “I think I missed too many putts”.
Rose toasted his late father Ken, his first golf coach, and emotionally recalled them watching past Olympics together.
Kuchar seemed as excited about his bronze as Rose was for his gold.
Many have criticised golf’s reinstatement to the Olympics, arguing that it does not deserve to be there given that it already has four events – the majors – that are already widely acknowledged as the pinnacle of the sport. “I might start crying myself”, said the 36-year-old Englishman.
As for McIlroy’s message, the man who last month didn’t rank golf as a “real” Olympic sport was happy for Rose.
I think deep down there will be that element of regret by many of those who decided not to play a part. “Obviously a lot of golfers didn’t have that so maybe it was a little slower for some of the golfers, but I think certainly the next generation of golfers will probably grow up thinking of the Olympics as a pinnacle of golf”. Golf was assured to being part of the Tokyo Games in 2020, but this was seen more as an audition ahead of the International Olympic Committee vote next year to determine which sports stayed beyond that.
After Kuchar got an eagle on the 570-yard 10th hole by putting his second shot to within 13 feet, Wood said, “That’s when it got real”. But at the same time we said that all along in the Olympics you’ve got some pretty good consolation prizes.
Stenson said he struggled with back problems over the last few holes and had to have treatment soon after the turn, but he did not make excuses for his silver medal performance that included an opening round of 66 followed by three 68s.
With the men’s team coming up short in their quest for a medal, Team Korea now looks to the women’s golf team, whose tournament starts at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Advertisement
With his own bronze finish, Kuchar said his main response was “I get to wear the jacket” – a reference to the podium gear players don especially for medal ceremonies.
