Golf-Rose gutted as Open bid ends in gallant failure

TROON, Scotland (Reuters) - England's Justin Rose admitted he was "gutted" when he walked off Royal Troon's 18th green on Sunday having narrowly missed out on winning the British Open for the first time.

The 43-year-old barely put a foot wrong over the four days as he was buffeted by the worst of the Ayrshire coast elements.

He topped the leaderboard at various times in Sunday's final round but a birdie on the 18th was in vain as ice-cool American playing partner Xander Schauffele produced a faultless round of 65 to claim the title by two strokes.

Former U.S. Open champion Rose dropped only five shots all weekend as he showed that despite having to qualify this year, he remains a force capable of challenging for majors.

"Gutted when I walked off the course and it hit me hard because I was so strong out there today," Rose, who was laser-focused throughout the day but saw several birdie putts fail to drop, told reporters after his second Open runner-up finish.

"I won second place, I won points, I won prizes, FedExCup points, all that stuff too. At that point, you're being a professional. Then I walk 10 steps later and I'm choking back tears. So that's the shift."

Rose burst into the spotlight in 1998 when he finished fourth at the Open as a 17-year-old amateur.

He won the 2013 U.S. Open and looked on the brink of becoming the first Englishman to win the Open since Nick Faldo in 1992.

"I really played the way I wanted to today. I got off on the front foot. I played my way right into the tournament early doors," Rose said. "Did a lot of the hard things really well on the golf course today.

"Just a critical moment midway through the back nine just momentum-wise. Obviously, Xander got it going. I hit a couple of really good putts that didn't fall, then suddenly that lead stretched. I left it all out there. I'm super proud of how I competed."

Rose, a stalwart of Europe's Ryder Cup team with six appearances, paid tribute to the 30-year-old Schauffele's mentality after he added the Open crown to the PGA Championship title he won in May.

"He's obviously now learning that the winning is easy. He has a lot of horsepower, in the sense of he's good with a wedge, he's great with a putter, he hits the ball a long way, obviously his iron play is strong," Rose said.

"He's got a lot of weapons out there and I think probably one of his most unappreciated ones is his mentality. He's such a calm guy out there. He certainly makes it look very easy."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)