8:00am Thursday 2nd September 2010
By John Boyman
JUSTIN Rose says he has only himself to blame after missing out on a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
The north Hampshire golfer was overlooked by captain Colin Montgomerie, who named Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and Edoardo Molinari as his three wildcard selections.
That left Rose and Paul Casey out of the team that will take on America at Celtic Manor next month.
Rose, who grew up in Hook, has won two titles on the PGA Tour this season and was ninth on the European World Points list. However, he needed to be in the top four in order to qualify automatically – and the 30-year-old accepts that concentrating on the American tour, rather than playing more events in Europe, proved his downfall.
“I’m very disappointed,” Rose said. “I figured I had as good a shot as anybody but ultimately it’s our own fault.
“If you put yourself in that precarious position of looking for a wildcard this is what happens.”
The former Robert May’s School pupil made his Ryder Cup debut in Europe’s defeat at Valhalla two years ago, winning three of the four matches he played in.
“When you play one you never want to miss another,” Rose added. “I have and I only have myself to blame for that.”
Rose, the world number 23, must now turn his attention to the lucrative FedEx Cup play-offs, which are currently taking place in America.
The first tournament of the four events that make up the play-offs was The Barclays, which was played at Ridgewood Country Club, in New Jersey, last weekend.
Rose was in contention going into the final day, lying fifth – but a last round of 72 (+1) saw him drop 10 places to 15th.
He remains in the running for the overall title though, moving up one place to fourth in the standings. The second event of the play-offs, the Deutsche Bank Championship, begins tomorrow at TPC Boston.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/trade_directory/