The title came after a day of great shots and near-misses for both Rose and Stenson, who played in the final group.
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Newly-crowned Olympic champion Justin Rose wouldn’t have been the only person delighted with how golf’s return to the Games after more than a century’s absence unfolded over the last few days.
Spieth and the other three men in the world’s top four – Jason Day of Australia, American Dustin Johnson and Ireland’s Rory McIlroy – withdrew from the Olympics, some of them citing concerns over the Zika virus. Fully embracing every part of the experience made his win on Sunday just a bit sweeter. I’ve been just so determined, I suppose, to represent team GB as best as I could.
“I’ve never seen my little boy in tears, might start crying myself”, Rose said.
There was nothing to separate Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson through 71 holes with the former Ryder Cup partners both 15-under par as they stepped on to the 18th green at the Olympic Golf Course on Sunday afternoon. “My phone has been on fire the last 24 hours and it seems to resonate with a much wider audience, and that’s what I’ve taken away from this week, it’s not necessarily just golf fans that are interested, it’s just sports fans, and a nation as a whole that seems to get behind you”. I’ve been so into it.
The showdown between Rose and Stenson, who went head to head with neither extending their advantage to more than one shot the entire round, offered a storybook ending to a week that began in doubt – with numerous sport’s top stars having withdrawn.
“Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about”.
“I think any guys that have been here will also now view the Olympics very differently”.
Their duel, though not living up to the crescendo of The Open recently, have the game the grandstand finish it needed to leave a mark on the Olympic community.
He said he drew inspiration from the United States’ performance in the tennis bronze medal match in men’s doubles that he attended on Friday. Playing in the final group with Rose and Stenson, Fraser started Sunday alone in third, three shots clear of the field in the race for bronze.
And to think he wasn’t even booked for Rio until a peculiar set of circumstances.
“This is a dream come true”.
The bogey wasn’t enough to take the silver away from Stenson.
“I love competition at the highest level and for me, that’s what the Olympics is all about – the best of the best, going head to head”.
Shot of the day: Rose’s gorgeous pitch to the 18th green that secured the gold.
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Golf’s presence at the Olympics is only guaranteed until the 2020 Games in Tokyo, although Rose hopes the sport can follow the example of tennis, which returned to the stage as a full medal sport in 1988, with gold now highly prized by the game’s biggest stars.
