Players Looking to Carry Momentum into The Open Championship
May 2, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rickie Fowler tees off on the twelfth hole during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Rose, who like many players watched Phil Mickelson last season win the Scottish Open and The Open Championship in back-to-back weeks, took a page from his book and did the same this season, teeing it up the week prior to The Open.
After carding a final round 6-under, 65 — Rose capped off an event that saw the players get every sort of condition thrown at them to capture the 2014 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen, with a total of 16-under par, seemingly getting better and better with each round (69, 68, 66, 65; 268).
This victory marked the first in Rose’s career in Scotland.
He now turns his attention to Royal Liverpool and the 2014 Open Championship in a mere three days. An event he has not played particularly well in up until this point, having no top-10 finishes in 12 tries (including five missed cuts) since he was low amateur as a teenager in 1998.
With momentum on his side after his victory in Scotland. Rose, along with many other players look to carry the momentum they captured at Royal Aberdeen into The Open Championship next week.
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Among those players of course is defending Open Champion, Mickelson.
The five time major winner may have finished eight shots (-8 overall) off of the lead of Rose. However, his final round 6-under, 65 did match the winners score during the final round and he can take those final good swing thoughts along with a birdie on the 18th into The Open Championship next week.
When asked how he felt about his performance this week in Scotland and the state of his game, Mickelson of course was ready to explain how he felt going into the Open Championship as defending champion.
“I’m able to go there as a past champion, as opposed to a foreign player who has never been able to conquer links golf,” Mickelson said. “I just go there with a whole different confidence level.
“There’s a fraction of the pressure that I felt before Open Championships from years prior, because once you’ve already won it, once you have held the claret jug and have won, it just feels different. You don’t feel like you have to fight it. You don’t have to force it.”
“I feel a lot better than I did a week ago,” he continued. “I feel like I have direction in my ball striking and direction in my short game and putting, and I feel good with those areas.
“I would love to have had a higher finish than I did this week, but it was still a really good week for me.”
Rickie Fowler, who has also been using Mickelon’s approach to preparing for The Open Championship playing the week prior is also hoping to take his momentum into Royal Liverpool after another strong performance the week before a major.
The 25-year old is finding his way to the tops of leader boards in major championships as of late, with a top-10 at The Masters and the U.S. Open so far this season.
Fowler went on to card a 6-under, 65 in the final round of the Scottish Open and racked up another strong finish (T8) the week prior to a major championship.
The Scottish Open may get a huge boost from some of the world’s top players in years to come looking to cash in on the same results Mickelson had in 2013. Looking to prepare both their games and acclimate them selves to the ever changing conditions the UK weather can throw at them
Can Rose become the second player to pull off the now known ‘UK Double’ as Mickelson did in 2013?
Will Mickelson successfully defend his Open Championship title to grab his sixth major of his Hall of Fame career?
Or, can the youngster Fowler have his moment in the sun and finish even stronger at a Royal Liverpool to win his first carer major?
All eyes are now firmly focused on Royal Liverpool and the 2014 Open Championship.