Justin Rose Follows Up US Open Championship Win With A Talk About His Dad

Justin Rose not only won the US Open Championship at Merion this past weekend; he also ended a drought that had watched British golfers fail to win the majors championship for 17 years in a row.

After claiming his victory over the weekend, Rose dedicated his victory to his father who passed away in 2002 after facing a bout of leukemia.

Speaking to The Guardian, Rose revealed the pain he felt at the loss of his father:

“I was 21 when my dad passed away and I always think about it, as the time together we had was quality not quantity. I would rather have had 21 fantastic years with my dad than 40 years of a relationship that was so-so. I have very fond memories of the way I grew up. My dad and I were lucky enough to spend a lot of quality time together learning to play the game, after school on the driving range, so I can look back at our life together with a lot of fondness.”

The loss of his father was immediately realized after Rose’s game continued to suffer and he missed 21 cuts in a row. Justin Rose for all intensive purposes simply struggled to regain the hyper-focus he had experienced on the golf course before his father’s passing.

Rose says of his struggled during his worst play in his own history:

“When I was missing 21 cuts in a row, I mean I was just trying to not fade away, really. I just didn’t want to be known as a one-hit wonder, a flash in the pan. I believed in myself inherently. Deep down I always knew that I had a talent to play the game. And I simply thought that, if I put talent and hard work together, surely it will work out in the end, in the long run.”

While he has struggled in the past, the future is once again looking bright for Justin Rose.