Four-over par after his first 10 holes in the tournament, Justin Rose felt he did well to finish tied for second in the DP World Tour Championship yesterday.
The world No7 made five birdies in his last eight holes on Thursday, and kept improving his position thereafter before finishing the week at 14-under par, two behind champion Henrik Stenson and tied with world No1 Rory McIlroy and Victor Dubuisson.
-Henrik Stenson pips Ryder Cup team-mate to win DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
And Rose, who closed with a round of 69 yesterday that included three birdies in three holes late in the day, reflected on the week, saying: “I mean, all week I was clawing my way back, clawing my way back right from the start on Thursday. Today, I got off to a good start, did everything I needed to do early in my round but made a few poor mistakes in the middle.
“I felt good about the way I finished. I would have loved to have made a birdie on the 18th, but at the end of the day, I’m very proud of the way I kept hanging in and kept coming back.”
Rose, who came close in the end, said he wasn’t even thinking of getting anyway near Stenson when he made the turn at 11-under, while the Swede was way ahead at 16-under.
“Playing 18, I knew I had a good chance. My drive got somewhat lucky and stayed out of the hazard by a couple yards. I had a good 3‑wood into the green but it is just a very difficult shot in there.
“But when I made the turn, I wasn’t optimistic at all. At that point I was trying to redeem myself and just have a decent finish. The wind really picked up on the back nine and made it tricky.
“What was really important for me this week was how I carried myself and how I reacted to adversity and how I managed myself and my game. No matter what the result was, I was proud of the way I played this week.”