Justin Rose once said Olympics golf ‘can't be compared’ to major championships after his historic gold medal win in 2016

Justin Rose won the gold medal for Great Britain in the men’s golf at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Englishman finished with a five-under 67 to beat Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and take the first Olympic gold medal in golf since 1904.

The then 36-year-old golfer etched his name in the competition’s history as the sport marked its return to the international event. Rose’s win at the Olympic Golf Course was dubbed iconic by many.

Following the win, Briton called it a ‘dream come true.’ He further noted that the Olympic gold win ‘couldn’t be compared’ to golf’s major championships. Dismissing the comparisons between the different competitions, the 2013 US Open winner said the gold medal ‘ranks at the very top of anything’ he’s ever won.

Speaking after his win, Justin Rose told CCTV News (at 2:32):

“I'm getting asked major championships or Olympic gold. They can't be compared to one another. But this achievement right here ranks at the very top of anything I've achieved as well. So, it's just soaking it all in right now. But absolutely thrilled and it's been a sort of it like I said since golf was announced back into the Olympics it's been a dream.”

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Justin Rose on having golf back in the Olympics

Justin Rose explained the importance of having golf at the Olympics. The PGA Tour star said he wished the young crowd watched the sport and found interest in it. He said that playing the sport on the global stage alongside other sports made it a ‘very special’ experience.

He added in the interview held at the 2016 Olympics:

“I hope the lads watched it. I hope the lads think ‘they look like a lot of fun’... All the guys who did turn up in Rio have all had an incredible week.

Golf itself has been great fun, but just the fact of competing for your country, competing to become an Olympian, having the ability to take in all the other sports and meet all the other athletes too has just made this week very special.”

Rose said the sport’s return to the Olympics might bring ‘broader scope’ for it in the global stage. The 11-time PGA Tour winner expressed his wish to see more golfers drawn to the ‘Tokyo and beyond.’

Notably, golf returned to the summer games in Tokyo four years later and Xander Schauffele won the gold medal in the men’s event. He beat Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini and Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan. Nelly Korda won the gold at the women’s event.