Rose hopes ‘strong crop’ of English talent will follow lead

Tony Jacklin had been the previous Englishman to win the US Open in 1970 – 10 years before Rose was born – while Nick Faldo was the last to claim a major title in the 1996 US Masters.

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 victory over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day could be the start of many for him and his contemporaries, in much the same way Graeme McDowell’s US Open win at Pebble Beach in 2010 was followed by major victories for fellow Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Darren 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. “Paul Casey was up there for a good while and is probably going to make a comeback, I think.

“I really hope it does inspire them. I think it was always going to be a 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 to be the first, obviously.

“But I really hope that it has 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 major titles and that will be a tough act to follow in an era which saw last year’s 
US Open champion Webb Simpson become 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 already 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 practise 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.”