Open Championship
British Open 2022: Justin Rose, Erik van Rooyen WD at St. Andrews
Andrew Redington
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland—Justin Rose has dropped out of the 150th Open Championship.
Rose notified tournament officials shortly before his Thursday morning pairing with former Ryder Cup teammates Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood that he would be unable to play. The 2013 U.S. Open champ citied a back injury as the reason for his WD.
"On the 4th hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started to feel pain in my lower back," Rose said. "I’ve been getting around the clock treatment but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious championship."
Rose, who entered St. Andrews ranked 50th in the world, famously finished T-4 as an amateur at the 1998 Open Championship. However, in 18 appearances since that debut Rose had just three other top-10 finishes, highlighted by a T-2 at the 2018 Open Championship.
Alex Noren was initially listed as the first alternate and was at the Old Course earlier this week. However, Noren decided to play in the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship and flew to California instead.
Taking Rose’s place is Rikuya Hoshino. The 26-year-old from Japan is making his second Open appearance.
Later in the morning Erik van Rooyen also withdrew. According to the R&A, van Rooyen cited a neck injury as the reason for dropping out. Aaron Rai will take van Rooyen's place in the field.
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