Justin Rose says whether he thinks Xander Schauffele is now as good a golfer as Scottie Scheffler

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A brilliant weekend from Justin Rose was not quite enough at The Open but the Englishman still had some top words of kindness towards winner, Xander Schauffele.

Schauffele produced a stunning round himself to shoot six under par and ensure he won out ahead of Rose and Billy Horschel by two shots.

For Rose, it was a welcome return to major form in what has been a fairly positive 2024 overall.

The one-time major winner backed himself to compete this week after going through qualifying and in the end, he simply ran into a player in fine form in Schauffele.

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Of course, Schauffele’s win means he and Scottie Scheffler have snaffled three of the four majors this year and while Scheffler is world number one, Schauffele is closing the gap.

And speaking about the duo after today’s final round at Royal Troon, Rose had a kind comparison for The Open winner.

Justin Rose makes bold claim about Xander Schauffele after his win at The Open

Speaking on Sky Sports after just coming up shy in Scotland, Rose was magnanimous as ever in defeat.

And in doing so, Rose admitted that he feels Schauffele is right up there now in terms of being the very best in the world.

“It just proves that I love the stage, the big time golf and being in the moment. I am at my best when I’m in these situations. I just have to find a way to be more consistent with everything I am doing right now to create more chances,” Rose said.

“But, yeah, it gives me a lot of encouragement to stand up with one of the best players in the world.

“Xander is one of the best players in the world, him, Scottie, Rory. He is right there. He is every bit as good as those other two guys.

“To stand up and take the punches and feel you can go a through more rounds and on the day maybe get the better of someone like that gives me a lot of confidence.”

Schauffele’s win was met with plenty of delight as Phil Mickelson was one of those to immediately congratulate the American on his win.

Meanwhile, it was also a win for America, who made it four wins from four in the majors in a calendar year for the first time since the 80s.

Schauffele, then, goes into the Olympics more than ready to defend his title.