‘Obviously’ McIlroy watched – Rose

It was the ideal outcome following the realisation of a seven-year dream for Rose, who secured Britain’s 12th gold medal in Rio.

After holing out for a birdie four on the 18th, Rose punched the air in celebration and fell into the arms of his wife, Kate, before savouring the medal ceremony.

Last week, Leo received a medal at a soccer camp.

The tournament represented a big step for golf in Brazil. “I’m so proud he got the bronze”. And he got a medal and said to me: “I’ve got my medal, now it’s time for you to get yours.’ He was actually crying on the phone, and that was very, very special”.

Surprisingly, the Swede, who prevailed in one of the sport’s all-time great duels at last month’s Open Championship, cracked first.

“I didn’t really think too much about what happened in the past”, Stenson said.

Rose fired a closing four-under par 67 to finish 72 holes on 16-under 268.

Kuchar, 38, adds a bronze to an impressive resume that includes three seven PGA Tour wins and three appearances in both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.

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

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.

McIlroy opted out of the tournament in Brazil over concerns about the Zika virus and suggested he would not even watch the competition because of a lack of interest in golf’s return to the quadrennial showpiece event.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko is nearly seven points ahead of the second-ranked player in the women’s world golf rankings. So hopefully we can be a little bit more of a part in that this coming week. “It’s a clear victor going forward”.

He bought into the notion that Olympic golf would be more than just a novelty, and on Sunday before a sold out gallery that optimism was rewarded.

“Yeah, I did get one from Rory, absolutely”, Rose said. However, they were reluctant to compare the Olympic tournament to the four major tournaments and their storied histories.

Gold medal victor Justin Rose says the congratulations he received from former football superstar Luis Figo demonstrates the reach made possible by golf’s return to the Olympic Games.

“It was a whole new experience for us as far as participating here and it’s been a fun one”, Stenson said. “If you take the broadcast and then look at what a great showdown to have these two guys battling down the end, I don’t know that it could have gone much better”. “It’s been a nice 10 days”.

She is the top-ranked player in the field and the favourite to win this week’s event. Spectator attendance was larger than expected.

Rose claimed a two-shot success in Rio on Sunday, holding off Sweden’s Henrik Stenson to claim the spoils for Team GB. “We weren’t playing stupid, but we definitely had a plan to play more aggressively”.