TROON, Scotland — Justin Rose loves his position.
The 43-year-old Englishman is bidding for his second major title of his career.
And he did just that, qualifying for the 152nd British Open.
He is at 3 under par, one stroke behind leader Billy Horschel, heading into Sunday’s final round at Royal Troon.
Rose won the US Open in 2013 and will be hoping to further his tennis achievements with the Claret Jug.
“In terms of experience, this is going to be huge,” he said. “Those are the days I’ve dreamed of. Those are the days I’ve worked so hard for. Those are the days I’ve believed I could still make happen. The key for tomorrow is to do everything I can to make the most of it.”
“It’s still my dream. In a few years, it’ll be someone else’s dream. But, yeah, right now it’s still my dream. Tomorrow is a great opportunity to make it happen.”
“I think there will be some guys playing great golf tomorrow in the 3-under group,” Rose predicted.
Five other players are tied with him at 3 under.
“Obviously there are a few other guys who have a chance but I think tomorrow we’ll just give it our all and try to get to the finish line,” he said.
One of the most unlikely winners is 27-year-old South African Thriston Lawrence, one of six players at three under par.
“I teeed it up on Thursday with the goal of winning,” he said. “What happens by Sunday is out of my control, but my game plan won’t change and my mentality won’t change. Hopefully I can get a couple of strokes in tomorrow, but I’m going to do the same thing, play aggressively and try to win golf tournaments.”
Sam Burns was one of the players who took advantage of the weather on Saturday, finishing at six under par to move him to three under par for the week, one stroke behind the leader.
Barnes bounced back from a terrible start on Thursday.
“Seven over par after 11 holes is not how I expected to start the week,” he said. “I was five over par after eight holes at the U.S. Open and played well there to finish ninth. I knew I was still up for the win. I knew it was going to be a tough match, but it just got even tougher for me. I’m proud of how I hung in there until the end.”
Kim Si-woo recorded her first hole-in-one of the week on Saturday with an ace on the par-3 17th hole.
“It was amazing,” Kim said. “I’ve had a lot of holes-in-one in my life, probably over 10, but because this was a major and it was the British Open, I think this is the most memorable one.”
“My caddie told me to hit it hard with the 3-iron, so I did just that. [made] The contact is good and you can see the ball going over the fringe.
“It took off from the ground, went back and people [were] He yelled at me as if he hadn’t even noticed the ball. [went] in.”
Two-time Claret Jug winner Greg Norman was invited to The Open this week on an R&A guest badge.
Two years ago, when the R&A celebrated the 150th Open at St. Andrews, Norman was not invited to the champions dinner, which caused some controversy.
Of course, Norman was instrumental in launching LIV as CEO and commissioner, and the R&A felt his presence would be a distraction from the celebrations.
Three months ago, Norman was a ticketed spectator at the Masters at Augusta National.
The R&A granted Norman the same official privileges enjoyed annually by all former British Open winners.
“It’s good to be back,” Norman told Golf Digest. “The Open has a long history with me. It was the greatest championship of my career. I’m proud to come back and play in the Open.”
“In 1989, I birdied the first six holes of the final round for a 64, then… [four-hole aggregate playoff] “And yet we didn’t win,” Norman said. “We’re still trying to understand this place.”
Mark Calcavecchia won that playoff, beating Norman and another Australian, Wayne Grady.
Norman said he’s “excited to see how things are settling down” between LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, “where everyone is seeing the acceptance of LIV Golf in the ecosystem and that our players deserve to play in these big championships.”
Norman was referring to the special exemption Augusta National gave LIV player Joaquin Niemann into this year’s Masters and, a month later, seven LIV players were granted exemptions by the PGA of America into the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
LIV player Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last month.
