England's golfers look for British Open success to lift gloom amid a woeful summer of sport

Published September 19, 2015

Lee Westwood of England and his son Sam look along the 4th fairway during a practice round ahead of the British Open Golf championship at the Royal Liverpool golf club, Hoylake, England, Tuesday July 15, 2014. The British Open Golf championship starts Thursday July 17. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell) (The Associated Press)

Justin Rose and 18 other Englishmen have a two-fold mission at the British Open this week: end their country's 22-year wait for an Open champion and lift the gloom hanging over England's woeful sporting summer.

In the past two months, England's football team has made its earliest exit from a World Cup since 1958, Chris Froome's defense of his Tour de France title lasted five stages before crashing out and the winless run of England's cricket team extended to nine tests — its worst sequence in 21 years.

Throw in a whitewash of England's rugby team in three tests against New Zealand and England's sport-loving public has had nothing to cheer.

Maybe England's golfers can end the misery.

Rose says "there's great English players that have an opportunity to win."

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/englands-golfers-look-for-british-open-success-to-lift-gloom-amid-a-woeful-summer-of-sport