The parched, sun-seared links of Royal Birkdale look and feel like a yellow brick road. There will be a golfing wizard at the end of it come Sunday too.
It’s running so fast, the eventual champion will probably get three points on his licence as well as the Claret Jug.
But forget about crisply struck golf balls thundering along the rock hard fairways. The time hurtles along as well.
Justin Rose is well aware of that. It’s 28 years now since the Englishman propelled himself to prominence when he chipped in on the 72nd hole on his way to a thrilling share of fourth as a teenage amateur in the 1998 Open here at Royal Birkdale.
“It feels like a long, long, long time ago,” smiled Rose with the kind of reflection that could’ve been accompanied by the nostalgic brass band music from the old Hovis bread advert.
“This is the third time I've been back to Birkdale since '98. Obviously, it's always going to be a special place for me.
“It's always going to bring back those memories of that kid chipping in and all the magical feelings I experienced that week of the crowd getting behind me. A true underdog story.
“The fact that it was my last event as an amateur, holing that shot to seal off my amateur career, was as cool a moment as I could have had.”
We all remember what happened next don’t we? During a torrid introduction to the cut-and-thrust of professional life on tour, Rose missed his first 21 cuts in a row.
“I never wanted to regret having holed that shot (In The Open),” added Rose. “But I think that shot made my transition into pro golf a little bit harder just from an expectation point of view.
"A bunch of missed cuts into it, I felt like I had to take stock, and I had to really evaluate who I was, what my goals were and how realistic they might be.
“I had to separate myself from the result at The Open Championship, put a clear head on my shoulders, grind through and realise a career is a long time.
“It wasn't like The Open was the only thing I could hinge my future on. I said to myself, ‘right, you're a talented golfer, you couple that with hard work and just stick at it’.”
And stick at it he did. Here in 2026, Rose remains one of the best in the business as he approaches his 46th birthday.
Almost 30 years on from his Open debut, Rose is still playing in it which is a wonderful testament to his talent, longevity, work ethic and perseverance.
He’s been a world No 1, he’s won a US Open, he’s had numerous close shaves in the other majors, he’s won Olympic gold and he’s become a talisman of many a European Ryder Cup team.
It’s not been a bad old career. “Twenty-eight years later I'm still playing in The Open Championship,” said Rose. “That is still an amazing achievement, to kind of have the will to keep wanting to be here.
“Could I have done more? Could I have won more of what I've already won? Yes. Would I love to be a multiple major champion? Yes.
“Do I feel I could have pushed towards a grand slam? Yes. I've had results that nearly put me in that realm. So, with a little bit of luck here and there, I could be sitting here with a very different career.
“But ultimately, I got to world No. 1. I'm a major champion, Olympic gold medallist, FedExCup winner. I've kind of achieved pretty much everything there is to achieve in the game.
“Would I have wanted more of it? Of course. Everyone's greedy. There's a lot of sideways and backwards moves available out here on tour, though.
“Falling down a set of stairs, doing something stupid, whatever it might be. Circumstances, life, there's a lot of things that can get in your way over a 28-year career.
“I'm not really sure what I'm capable of achieving, but I'm competitive, so I'm going to give it a go. I’m not resting on my laurels.”
Somewhat remarkably, there hasn’t been an English winner of The Open since 1992. England expects?
With the nation’s footballers in the semi-finals of the World Cup, those expectations are building on a variety of fronts.
Rose begins his Claret Jug assault at 9:36am on Thursday morning. What if it’s a prolonged, nail-nibbling fitba game the night before?
“We're looking for a short, sharp match and a reasonable bedtime,” Rose added with a chuckle.
“Obviously, I’m going to be watching but I’ll not get too high or low and I’ll keep my own emotions in check. We've got big things as well to do this week.”
You could say Rose has an Open goal.
