Justin Rose Wins the U.S. Open!

For the majority of the U.S. Open, it was Phil Mickelson’s to lose, it seemed. Tiger Woods was out of it pretty quickly, and finished at an astonishing 13 over par – nearly unheard of for the golfing powerhouse. But Mickelson was on top of his game, and had the crowd roaring in support, on Sunday as he conquered hole after hole. But when Justin Rose finished with a score of 70 in the final round, he watched Mickelson’s fate once again come crumbling down around him; and went on to become the first Englishman in 43 years to win the Open.

It was in 1970 that Englishman Tony Jacklin won the Open, and although Europeans have won since that time, none of them have hailed from Britain. And it’s been since 1996 that an Englishman has even been able to claim a title. It was, in fine U.S. Open fashion, one for the books. But it wasn’t the history of golf or the Open that was on Rose’s mind yesterday after his win. Instead he was thinking about his own personal history.

“You saw me look to the heavens with it being Father’s Day,” he said, speaking of when he looked towards the sky after sinking his winning putt. “I was just trying to remember my dad.”

It was Justin’s father, Ken, who got him into golfing before passing away in 2002 of leukemia.

Also during his acceptance speech, Rose pointed to another father that was out on the course with him – runner-up Phil Mickelson. Mickelson had flown home on Wednesday to attend his daughter’s graduation, before flying back in on Thursday for the tournament.

“Being Father’s Day, I think Phil needs a big shout-out for how he handled himself as a father this week,” Rose said. “His daughter’s graduation, and coming back to play the tournament, and doing such a fantastic job.”

Categorized in: PGA