Jacklin and Gallacher hail Rose’s effort and courage
Rose’s win at Merion on Sunday night was the first English triumph in a major since Nick Faldo won the Masters in 1996 and the first in the US Open since Jacklin himself claimed the crown in 1970.
It was the 32-year-old’s first major win at the 37th time of asking and capped a remarkable resurgence after a difficult start to his professional career.
Rose burst on to the scene with a fourth-placed finish in The Open at Birkdale in 1998, but missed his first 21 cuts after turning professional.
He has since climbed the world rankings, winning tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic, and Jacklin believes those initial struggles only made him stronger.
Jacklin said yesterday: “He had that audacious chip in at Birkdale at the Open in 1998 when he was 17 and then witnessed the difficult time he had after turning pro and all the struggles that he had, and to fight through that takes a lot of courage, and what was shown was exactly that.
“It takes a lot of courage to win a major championship.
“I was proud of him today and I’m delighted for him.
“He’s a good guy and he’s good for the game and he hopefully will open the door for more British players to give us some of the same.”
Three-time Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher echoed Jacklin’s sentiments and thinks that Rose is now reaping the rewards of his commitment to his craft.
“He had really all the credentials from he start,” he said.
“He was a great amateur player and played in the Walker Cup.
“He did have a setback when he first turned pro, he missed 21 cuts in a row when he turned professional so he’s come through that and obviously he’s a very special player to have come through that.
“He dug deep. He wanted to take his career to another level so he decided to go and live in America, where most of the majors are played and he’s done absolutely brilliantly.
“He has done well in recent years in majors. In 2003 he finished fifth at the US Open, he has led the Masters and last year he was third behind Rory (McIlroy) at the US PGA.
“I think you need all this experience so that when you do get yourself in a position, like he got yesterday, he can grab that experience that he’s had in the past and make it so useful and that’s what he did yesterday.”
A final-round level-par 70 was enough to give Rose the title by two shots from Phil Mickelson and Jason Day on a day when the lead changed hands several times.
Rose, Mickelson, Day and Hunter Mahan were all in the hunt on the back nine, but a sensational par on the last, reminiscent of Ben Hogan’s fabled one-iron from 1950, was enough to secure the title.
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