Rose and Stenson know each other well from the European tour and the Ryder Cup, where it played one of the most scintillating rounds in that competition’s history in 2014, together carding 12 birdies in 16 holes in a four-ball win over Kuchar and Bubba Watson, the two US golfers who finished third and eighth on Sunday.
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Stenson left his third shot well short before sending a long birdie attempt past the hole, missing the par putt on the way back to settle for a disappointing bogey.
It is his 21st win worldwide and sits behind only his 2013 U.S. Open Championship title as the most significant. It’s pleasing. I just didn’t have much with me on the weekend. “I’m so proud he got the bronze”. “I stayed focused. I was hungry for it”. “It was the best tournament I’ve ever done”. Honestly this is just a dream come true, I have been thinking about Rio for a long, long time. “If he had been bigger I would have had to use a bigger club”. The medal ceremony was surreal. “To come out with a medal is incredible, to come out of it with gold, unbelievable”. Did the fact that Rose, Stenson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett, amongst others, competed on the Gil Hanse designed golf course in front of mediocre crowds, although there were more watching yesterday, help the sport become more appealing to youngsters? He shot a one-over 72 on Saturday but was still in contention for a medal as he was featured in the final pairing with Stenson and Rose.
It looked like a play-off would be needed to separate them but Rose held his nerve on the par-five last, chipping his approach to two feet from the hole, while Stenson’s spun away to around 20 feet.
However, Stenson was in no mood to go quietly and birdies in four of his first 10 holes kept him within touching distance of the leader, and when Rose dropped a shot on the 13th they were level.
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.
The England ace celebrated golf’s return to the Olympics after 112 years with an ice-cool finale against his Ryder Cup team-mate to end 16-under overall with a four-under par 67. But deep in the round, the Swede’s said his spine locked up on him. I can’t say it was purely down to that but it was not helping, put it that way. Though eventual bronze medallist Matt Kuchar of the United States of America staked a compelling claim for gold by carding a stunning 63, the last day came down to a thrilling two-way duel between the two Europeans. With the door open, Rose stepped up and hit his shot from 30 metres to the shadow of the flag, a certain birdie.
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Kuchar, who earned a spot in the tournament following the withdrawals of top-ranked Americans Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, said the exclusivity of the 60-man field in an event scheduled once every four years inspired him to join the Americans’ four-man team this week.
