I’m quite happy, I didn’t feel like I played my absolute best throughout the week but I played good enough to put myself in contention and that was my goal.
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“The competition is something I have been focused on, wanted to peak for, and has been at the forefront of my mind for the last few months”. I’ve been so into it.
“I’m in a very good position, but there’s an terrible lot of work to be done”, Rose said who hit a hole-in-one on the first day.
“It was very pleasing, I just didn’t have much in me on the weekend”.
“I just said to him, ‘Great summer, ‘ winning The Open championship, I was so pleased for him”. He was stretching on all fours on the 13th and a physiotherapist worked on him at the 14th, where a poor chip cost him the lead.
However, after Rose’s third shot, an extraordinary pitch from 38 yards that landed within three feet of the pin, it was Stenson who blinked.
Rose pitched the ball 18 inches from the cup on the par-5 18th hole and sank the birdie putt to beat Stenson by two strokes for the greatest triumph of his life.
It’s not almost as valuable as his silver claret jug from Royal Troon, but still special.
Golf’s return to the Olympics was hampered by difficulty constructing the course and then several stars – including the top four in the world – electing to stay away out of health concerns.
Matt Kuchar of the USA took bronze after starting the day seven shots off the lead. Four shots out of third place to start the day, Kuchar raced up the leaderboard with four front-nine birdies and an eagle at the par-5 10th. When Rose dropped a shot at 13 the two were level, with the prospect of a play-off looming large. Even if Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who copped the most flak for failing to make himself available for Rio, was indeed watching the synchronised diving or some of the other Olympics sports “that matter”, it seems inevitable that the food-lines of the athlete’s village exist in his future. He holed a 12-foot putt on his final hole of his last tournament before qualifying ended to secure No. 15 in the world, and then got in when Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth pulled out.
Padraig Harrington referred to them as “sheep” for following each other out of Olympics.
At week’s end, Kuchar led the four Americans, who got off to a slow start on Thursday, making their quest for medals all the more hard.
He missed short putts at the seventh and eighth but hung on tenaciously to finish in a tie for fifth after rounds of 63, 69, 72 and 72, five shots out of a medal. But Sunday afternoon, he stood on the medal stand.
HENRIK STENSON: “You play for your country and I think I did that pretty well today”. “To get the bronze medal around my neck is such a thrill”.
Silver: The reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, Stenson kept pace with Rose for 71 holes before faltering on 18. And there was Rose at the end, pumping his fists as the fans waved the Union Jack around the 18th green.
Winning by three for the second consecutive game, the US improved to 5-0 and clinched first place in Group A. The Americans open quarterfinal play Wednesday.
During the week Rose said: “The atmosphere is more like a Ryder Cup than a major but it’s more unique than either of those two”.
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“It’s just an fantastic week, ” said Kuchar, 38, who has seven PGA Tour victories, the biggest coming at the 2012 Players Championship. “It’s a very, very proud moment when you are able to share it with people back home”.
