Rose’s US Open victory deserves its place in history

Justin is not likely to win SPOTY but his achievements this year have been spectacular.

I’d be very happy to see Andy Murray win Sports Personality of the Year tonight. I liken his victory at Wimbledon to Tony Jacklin winning The Open in 1969.

Tony was the first British winner for a long time, too, and, like Andy, the whole nation joined in and rejoiced.

But if Andy hadn’t won Wimbledon, my vote would have definitely gone to Justin Rose. To my mind, he is by far the outstanding contender outside of Andy.

I believe Justin’s victory in the US Open was one of the greatest-ever achievements by a British sportsman.

To win any big tournament in America is tough enough. To win their Open under pressure from Phil Mickelson one of America’s greatest-ever players in front of his home fans is truly remarkable.

As a result he became the first Englishman to win the tournament since Tony won it in 1970.

Of course, Rory McIlroy won at Congressional by a record aggregate score two years ago, but that was different somehow.

Rory is a very special player, but he’s such a natural that until recently everything seemed to come very easily to him.

Justin had a very difficult start to his professional career. After his fourth place finish as an amateur at The Open in 1998, he was expected to make an immediate impact in the paid ranks but missed his first 21 cuts.

In some ways Justin had been forgotten as Rory, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter took all the headlines.

But to my mind, Justin is the most complete player of the four. He’s long and straight, can hit every type of shot and has a very even temperament.

I’ve known Justin since he was a boy. I knew his dad, Ken, who tragically died from leukaemia in 2002.

That was a real body blow for Justin. Ken wasn’t just a father, but his son’s best friend. Appropriately he won at Merion on Father’s Day.

For Justin, I hope it’s just the start of Major victories.

Andy followed his win at the US Open with Wimbledon the following year, so let’s hope Justin can do something similar.

Majors are what distinguish the great golfers from the rest. Most of them earn a great deal of money these days but I agree with Jack Nicklaus when he says that it’s victories in the Majors that define you as a player.

Henrik Stenson has had a terrific year, banking massive amounts for winning the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup.

But I bet he’d swap them both for Justin’s US Open victory!