Rose relives his Birkdale magic

Justin Rose has begun his preparations for The Open with a visit to Royal Birkdale, the venue at which he first found himself under the glare of golf's brightest spotlight. The world number 11 played a couple of rounds at the course, in the process reliving a few memories of his extraordinary championship debut back in 1998.

Then just 17 years old and still an amateur, Rose came through qualifying and played superb golf all week - including a second round 66 - to find himself high up the leaderboard alongside the likes of Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara.

As he came up the final hole, however, it looked as if he was heading for an anti-climactic finish: he was faced with a fearsome 40-yard pitch over a bunker to the hole, and looked destined to score no better than five. Yet the pitch found the green and ran straight into the cup for a birdie three, bringing the grandstands roaring to their feet. The shot secured fourth place for Rose, the best performance by an amateur in the Open since Frank Stranahan tied for second at Carnoustie in 1953.

Last week's visit marked the first time that Rose had returned to Birkdale since his 1998 exploits. For years he had resisted going back, but with the event returning to the site and his entry officially submitted he felt that the time was finally right to indulge in a little nostalgia. "I wanted to go back and re-live the memories," he said. "I gained a lot of information as well, and I was certainly having a good look around. It was fun."