Rose returns to his dreamland

The 131st Open: The prodigy who won over the nation is now a serious contender, but the childhood vision remains a driving force

Bethpage, scene of last month's US Open, may have been the loudest Major championship most people have experienced, but one of the loudest single cheers ever heard in golf remains that in response to Justin Rose at the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale. Those who were around the 18th green when Rose, then a 17-year-old amateur, chipped in will always remember it. Those in the vicinity watching on television will never forget the shock.

The BBC were away showing others on the leaderboard so the sudden explosion of sound came with no warning. Perhaps only the roars produced by Jack Nicklaus during his back-nine charge to win the 1986 Masters can compare. And yet the man at the centre of the drama cannot remember the scale of the sound. "Some people have said that it was the biggest roar in golf," Rose said last week. "I wish I could remember how loud it was. I have no recollection of what it sounded like."

Rose sometimes watches the video of that afternoon, when he ended up fourth in his first appearance in The Open, but only occasionally when friends request to see it or with his father, Ken. "Mainly you are looking at it from a technical standpoint, what my putting stroke was like, the way I played. What it doesn't give you is the feeling walking down the fairways and a sense of the reaction from the gallery and the atmosphere."

Fortunately, those are things that Rose will never forget. "I don't think it could be any bigger if I won a Major," he said. "It might be more, I don't know, but it felt like there could not be any more attention on me." It was Rosemania. Suddenly golf was cool, even for school kids who knew nothing of the game. "It was the support from the galleries that really made it a special week. I could finish fourth in a Major again and it would never be as special for that reason. Even if I won it might not be received as well as that, it was so special."

Rose rode the tide of euphoria but soon landed with a bump. Turning professional immediately after Birkdale, he missed his first 21 cuts on Tour. With the help of David Leadbetter and the constant support of his family, particularly his father, who worked tirelessly on Justin's game before being diagnosed as suffering from leukaemia, from which he is currently recovering well.

Though it took until last year for Rose to establish himself on Tour, he has not looked back since everything started to come together. Take away those four unbelievable days at Birkdale and his progression is still above average for a 21-year-old. He finished 33rd on the Order of Merit last year but won the Dunhill Championship in the city of his birth, Johannesburg – the family moved to Hampshire when he was five – in January.

He won again at the Nashua Masters and finished second on the South African Order of Merit which brought an exemption into The Open at Muirfield. In May, he won the Chunichi Crowns tournament in Japan, which always attracts an international field, and then in June he defeated his friend and host for the week, Ian Poulter, in a thrilling duel in the final round of the British Masters at Woburn.

Still there is only one thing Rose is known for around the world. "I said at the beginning of the year that my first win would be the thing that would stop people talking to me about Royal Birkdale, but it still hasn't subsided. Four wins later and we are still talking about it," he said at Loch Lomond where he has been playing in the Scottish Open as part of his preparation for Muirfield next week.

"It might be frustrating if people were not taking any notice of my wins but that's not the case, so it doesn't worry me. I am becoming known for my other achievements, which is good." Indeed, in one sense Rose himself puts his Birkdale performance on the same level as his four victories. "The silver medal is the only souvenir from my amateur days which is out with my professional trophies. All the rest are in the loft.

"That medal deserves to have pride of place along with my wins, which have all been special in their own way. The first is always very special. The second they say is the hardest. The third I won wire to wire and the fourth I won on home soil in front of my parents, so they have all been very different."

Rose missed the cut when he returned to The Open at Carnoustie in 1999 and then failed to qualify the following year. Last year at Royal Lytham he was 30th. "Last year was the first season on Tour when I felt I belonged and so I went to The Open feeling very comfortable," he said. "There was a big difference from Carnoustie when I felt very awkward because I was playing so badly.

"If you look at the textbooks it is probably a bit early to be thinking about winning this week. It's all a progression. But golf is a funny game and you have to take your chances when they come along. If I do get my name on the leaderboard and get the support behind me, it's possible and I am not going to not win it because I think it may be too early. Technically, a Major throws up a bigger challenge but I enjoy links golf.

"We don't get the chance to play it very often. It's different and throws up different challenges. You have to use your brain. The Open has always been a special tournament for me, even from the age of 14 when I was at final qualifying. It created a bit of a stir and even Michael Bonallack [then secretary of the Royal & Ancient] turned up to watch me tee up.

"Ten years ago I would definitely have been watching but I don't remember too much. I was a five-handicap then so I knew what was going on. I remember Mark Calcavecchia slam-dunking that shot off the bank in 1989 but the first time I went was at Royal St George's in 1993 so that is my most vivid memory."

Rose takes suggestions from more senior players that he could be contending with the likes of Tiger Woods in a couple of years with modesty. "That makes me feel as though I had better start practising harder. It's a huge compliment. That's where I'd like to see myself going, ideally, but I do believe I am a long way from that right now. That said, I do think I have the ability to get there. Realising the potential is the hardest thing."

Recapturing the feeling of Birkdale, however, may be hard now he plays the game for his living. "It is different as an amateur. You are playing with no rewards and you are just playing purely for the love of the game. That's not to say as a pro you don't play for those reasons but I think you do sense the importance of it more as a professional. There are more things that go through your head, like world rankings and things, which don't enter your mind when you're an amateur.

"But it can be more enjoyable in one way. When you are an amateur you dream of being a pro, so to be fulfilling all your dreams makes it all the more satisfying."