Third place spot is best yet for Rose (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Third place spot is best yet for Rose

8:00am Thursday 16th August 2012 in Sport By John Boyman

JUSTIN Rose recorded his best ever performance at one of golf’s major championships by finishing in a tie for third place at the PGA Championship.

The north Hampshire golfer ended the tournament at Kiawah Island, in South Carolina, on -4, just one shot behind surprise second-placed man David Lynn.

Rose got off to a solid start at the final major of the year, an opening round of 69 (-3) leaving him three shots off the lead. However, he struggled in wet and windy conditions on day two, carding a seven-over-par round of 79 to fall eight shots off the pace.

The former Robert May’s School pupil made a fine start on day three and was four-under-par after the front nine, but bogeys at the final two holes led to a round of 70 (-2), leaving him nine shots off the lead going into the last round.

From that position, a run to glory was always unlikely but Rose did charge up the leaderboard on the final day. He birdied the first three holes and made eight overall on the way to a six-under-par round of 66.

His card was somewhat spoilt as he found the water at the par-three 17th and could only make bogey, a dropped shot that cost Rose second place – but he was still delighted with his final round.

“It was a really great way to finish,” the 32-year-old said. “I’m very happy with my day’s golf and I made some putts down the stretch, which is probably what I haven’t been doing of late. “If I look at my last two weekends, Firestone and here, I’m feeling very good about all of the tournaments I have coming up.”

Apart from missing the cut at The Open, Rose has performed well in this year’s majors and he feels confident that he can one day claim one of golf’s biggest and most prestigious tournaments. “I’ve got a bit of self-belief now,” he said. “I think my game is good enough to win these golf tournaments. This week there is more evidence that my game is moving in the right direction.”

The result leaves Rose ranked seventh in the world, moved him up three places to 12th on the American Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and means he is almost certain to qualify for an automatic spot in the European Ryder Cup team.

The Hook man now has a week off before competing in The Barclays, the opening event of the season-ending FedEx Cup play-offs.