Justin Rose’s victory at the US Open proved a profound experience for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominee – but now he is ready to move forward
Justin Rose always believed the major was there; it was just that he thought the special moment was gone. But then the heavens opened.
When he tapped in at Merion, Rose looked and pointed sky-bound and for that second it was just him and his dad. And so Justin and Ken had their time on the green, as the son finally fulfilled the destiny for which his father invested so much before being taken by leukaemia.
“It’s funny because in Rory [McIlroy] and Graeme [McDowell] I’d seen two pals in the years before hugging their fathers on the 18th after winning a US Open and, because dad had passed away in 2002, I thought I would never experience what they felt,” Rose said.
“But I was wrong, I did and I was surprised how wonderful it felt. Honestly, I could feel him there with me that day.”
With that tale the reminiscing stops for Rose. There will be a rocking chair, a pair of slippers perhaps and almost certainly a few grandchildren with whom to share the nostalgia.
“All that’s for the veranda now,” Rose said.
“I don’t want to get too caught up in harking back all the time. For first two months after winning, you’re talking about Merion, you’re in the past, you’re talking about what happened last week, a month ago, two months ago ... I want to win more And I think you can only do that by looking forwards not backwards.”
Except there have been times since when he could not fail to reflect on the achievement. For instance, every time the glint of silver has stopped him in his tracks as he has chased his children or fulfilled his household chores.
“Sometimes, if I pass by the trophy in the house, I catch myself cutting off from what I’m doing and taking a second look. And out of the blue it makes me smile. Not only is it still sinking in, but I’m still in the period where I’m in possession of the real US Open trophy, not just a replica.
"So it is the actual trophy that [Jack] Nicklaus and Hogan and Tiger [Woods] have all held; that’s what make it is very special. Just think, Nicklaus, Hogan and Woods and other great, great names in golf had that trophy in their house. When you win the US Open you realise that you’ll go down in the history books, but that notion just confirms the magnitude of it, the history of it. It’s very surreal.”
Yes, Rose has taken his place with the legends, but he is adamant to continue teeing it up with the boys. In October, he returned to Merion with 11 friends he has known since primary school in what has become the annual “JR Challenge”.
First they played the revered New Jersey track of Pine Valley, then Aronimink, another Pennsylvania course where he tasted glory in the 2010 AT&T National – and then they arrived at the scene of Rose’s breakthrough.
“I was waiting for them all in the foyer of the hotel where we were staying and they came down dressed exactly as I was dressed on that Sunday,” Rose said. “They had the same outfit for me, too.”
When they reached the 18th, Rose was predictably asked to recreate the winning four-iron. When he stood over the ball, he was asked by one of his friends what he recalled about that shot.
“I just remember thinking I’m glad I’ll never have to play this again,” Rose replied. As the group was still united in laughter, Rose hit it long and left. “It’s playing short today!” Rose shouted as whistled over the putting surface.
It did not matter. After all, his mates insisted that he played off a ridiculous handicap of plus-10, so there was little chance of him prevailing. Four months before he had stood in that exact spot, 229 yards out and a few yards ahead of the Ben Hogan plaque – from where the American legend had played his fabled one-iron – and struck one of the greatest shots in British golfing history.
With Phil Mickelson in behind there was no margin for error and so Rose took none, catching the sweet spot and seeing it skirt hole before trickling to the back of the green.
And so, England hailed its first US Open champion in 43 years; maybe not the 77-year wait of a British winner of Wimbledon, but still, enough to earn Rose a berth on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist alongside Andy Murray.
Like Murray, Rose cannot be in Leeds on Sunday as he is playing the Thailand Golf Championship to close out his season. He will then take off four weeks before beginning his 2014 campaign in Abu Dhabi.
Rose is not too concerned about any enduring hangover. The slumps which followed his fourth place at the 1998 Open as a 17-year-old amateur, his four titles in 2002 and his Order of Merit in 2007 were, he believes, somewhere inevitable. “All those successes were in a way, anomalies,” he said. “This year was built on solid foundations.”
Yet while there can be no doubting the greatness of a swing sculptured by Sean Foley, the improvement of a putting stroke fashioned by David Orr, or the strength of a mind chiselled by Gio Valiante, there is always the “what next?” conundrum to overcome.
“Yeah, it’s definitely been a ‘dream-come-true’ type season,” Rose said. “I’d fantasised about winning a major for years. Ever since I’ve started the game that was the benchmark, that was the goal. Obviously there’s been a lot of great players throughout history who have never won a major, so I’m grateful to have that monkey off my back.
“But you never want it to be, ‘OK, that’s my career, I’m done’. I feel I’ve got to the point now where I’ve got a clean slate, where it’s behind me. I have renewed focus and renewed goals. I feel like I’m working my way into the prime of my career. I always thought that my time, if ever, would come between the ages of 30 and 40.
“You take a lot of encouragement from guys like Phil, who didn’t start winning his majors until he was a year older than I was. So you begin to believe that a great career is possible. That has to be the aim.”
In truth, it always was. For son and father.
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