Justin Rose

At the 1998 Open, Rose finished by holing a pitch at the eighteenth. He shared fourth place, two strokes behind Mark O’Meara and Brian Watts, who went into a playoff. A teenager’s final shot had become one of the championship’s lasting images.¹

Professional golf brought a harder beginning. Rose endured a prolonged run of missed cuts, lost and regained his tour card, and did not claim his first professional title until the 2002 Dunhill Championship. His early visibility was followed by years of building a career.²

The 2013 U.S. Open ended on Father’s Day. After completing his final round, Rose looked upward in tribute to his father, Ken, who had died in 2002. The gesture connected the new champion to the parent who had watched his breakthrough at Birkdale.²