US Open: Rose hoping to inspire compatriots

Justin Rose marked his US Open victory by pointing to the sky in tribute to his beloved father, Ken, who passed away in 2002 . Picture: Getty

Tony Jacklin had been the last Englishman to win the US Open in 1970 – ten years before Rose was born – while Nick Faldo was the last to claim a major title in the US Masters in 1996.

Scotland only need return to 1999 and Paul Lawrie’s Open triumph for their last major winner while Northern Ireland have had a raft of them in recent years thanks to Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell.

For England, however, it has been slim pickings. Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Rose himself had all threatened to win one of the game’s four biggest prizes since then, but it was not until Rose carded a superb final round of 70 at Merion on Sunday that the barren streak came to an end.

Rose feels his two-shot triumph over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day could be the beginning of a run for him and his compatriots, comparable to McDowell’s US Open win at Pebble Beach in 2010 being followed by majors for McIlroy and Clarke.

“There’s been a very strong crop of English players for quite some time now, with myself, Westwood and then Poulter as well,” Rose said. “I really hope it does inspire them. I think it was always going to be matter of time before one of us broke through.

“It was just going to be who and I always hoped it was going to be me first, obviously. But I really hope it’s broken the spell and the guys can continue to win some for themselves.” Faldo’s Masters win in 1996 was the last of his six majors and that will be a tough act to follow in an era which saw last year’s US Open champion Webb Simpson became the ninth straight first-time major winner and Ernie Els the 16th different winner in succession at the Open at Lytham.

McIlroy snapped that streak with his second major at the US PGA Championship and Rose now has a taste for more success.

“I think that winning makes you hungry to do it again because it just feels so darn good,” Rose added. “As a professional golfer, most of us lose 90 per cent of the time. Winning just makes you realise and reminds you about why you practice hard and why you play the game.

“It’s not necessarily the trophy that feels so great, it’s knowing that you’ve answered the doubts in your own head, you’ve answered the questions, you’ve taken on the challenge and you’ve risen to it. Those feelings of self-accomplishment are great in the moment and I think that’s what inspires you to try to win more golf tournaments.

“I committed myself to putting a strategy in place that I hoped would work in five to ten years in delivering major championships. And to strike on that feeling the first week out, the first time I tried and tested it, to come out with the silverware feels absolutely amazing.

“The silverware and the history books are phenomenal, but it’s about learning about yourself and how you can handle it. You wonder if you can handle it and when you realise you can, you want to experience that feeling again and again and again.” Until last year, Rose’s best finish in a major had been a share of fourth as an amateur aged 17 in the 1998 Open Championship at Birkdale.

Technically, his third in the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island was better, although he was a distant nine shots behind winner McIlroy and had contended more realistically on several occasions at the Masters.

He was one shot behind eventual winner Zach Johnson in 2007, but double-bogeyed the 17th on the final round to finish fifth, and he was eighth last year.

He added: “This is the pinnacle of the game, winning major championships, and to win the US Open is in a way very fitting of how my game has been the last couple of years.

“Last year I was leading greens in regulation [on the PGA Tour] and this year, being number one in total driving [a combination of distance and accuracy] coming into the week, I felt like this tournament really began to be on my radar as possibly the one major that would suit me most.”