Justin Rose more than justified his captain's pick at this week's Ryder Cup, despite losing his Sunday singles match to Patrick Cantlay, who was one of the few bright sparks for Team USA.
The 43-year-old veteran was competing in his sixth Ryder Cup, and finished with one win, one draw, and the 2&1 loss to Cantlay.
Cantlay was involved in a touch of controversy during the week, with a rumour that he was not wearing a hat as a form of protest at Ryder Cup players not getting paid.
The rumours were denied, and Team USA turned it into a source of celebration by taking off their hats and waving them as a show of support to their teammates.
Speaking after their match, Rose couldn't resist a sly joke over the hat controversy, at Cantlay's expense:
It's cliché but hats off to Patrick.
He's tough. Great player. Early in the round, I played pretty nicely but didn't get the putter going. I didn't get the math I can going. He was strong, solid.
Gave me nothing. I knew it was the type of match I was going to have to turn something on really special on the back nine and I got 70 percent of the way there. I did make some putts. I made it interesting. I fought as hard as I could.
Zach Johnson Discusses Loss Of Ryder Cup
🗣️ "Still fresh. Still raw."
US Team Captain Zach Johnson reacts to Europe winning the Ryder Cup. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/gTadPWpnPt
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) October 1, 2023
READ HERE: Rory McIlroy Broke Down In Tears During Incredibly Emotional Ryder Cup Interview
"But yeah, he's a tough competitor.
"And obviously he's dealt with a lot this week. But it's been a great week from a personal point of view but Sunday singles, the leaderboard is a little tight for my liking, so if you don't win your match, you're looking at -- you don't want to look at it with any regrets here.
"Hopefully it's inconsequential and it's about winning, getting to 14 1/2 now and rallying the rest of the troops."
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