Rio 2016: Rose beats Stenson in golf gold final

Rose carded a closing 67 at Reserva de Marapendi to finish 16 under par and two shots ahead of Ryder Cup partner Stenson, with American Matt Kuchar securing bronze after a superb 63.

North Hampshire golfer Justin Rose held off the challenge of Open victor Henrik Stenson to win Olympic gold in Rio yesterday.

Ko chose not to be part of the opening ceremony and didn’t arrive until Saturday because she thought a week in Rio would be too much. The plan was to take his son, Leo, to a Chelsea game on Monday night, except that Rose missed his flight to England.

“He (McIlroy) said he was very, very proud”, said Rose. He’s seven, he’s just beginning to understand what sport’s all about. He received a medal for a football camp this past week.

In the end, the packed grandstand which turned the 18th arena into a noisy sporting amphitheatre, watched spellbound as Rose got up-and-down from the side of the green for the birdie which sealed a worthy gold medal performance.

“I think they are going to sit back and realize this was a great event”, Rose said. That was very special.

“And the Olympic experience as a whole has exceeded all of my expectations”.

“Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about”, Rose said. “But I’m not sure golf will be one of the events I watch”, definitely watched some Olympic golf.

Several other high-profile golfers had decided not to compete at the Olympics, but Rose had relished the prospect of becoming an Olympian.

It helped that the podium featured three players easily recognized in the world of golf.

With nothing on offer to anyone outside of the top three, Rose and Stenson’s breakaway meant that dozens of players teed off on Sunday knowing that they didn’t have a hope in hell of winning anything.

International Golf Federation (IGF) officials said before the tournament that the sport’s inclusion had sparked a huge interest in nations that have little tradition or history in the sport.

“I can assure you it is the happiest I have ever been finishing third”, the 38-year old Floridian said. That could’ve easily just been a random Titleist sitting in the rough, right? But it was deeper than just the guys on the podium.

And to think he wasn’t even booked for Rio until a peculiar set of circumstances. It was also Father’s Day in the United States when Rose won the US Open at Merion in 2013.

The Rio Games were critical.

After golf was added to the Olympics in 2009, it had always been on her mind. “But the Olympics was probably the biggest goal of mine this year”.

Rio native Willian Cardoso, 33, said he was inspired by Tiger Woods to take up golf as a teenager, but had put his clubs down in recent years as Woods’ dominance and the sport’s popularity had declined.

“Just to be in that area and meet some of the other athletes, it has been great and it’s only going to get better every day”, she said.

“I barely qualified”, Kuchar said. “I didn’t think that it would have great support, and it really did”.