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 Since becoming the first Englishman to win the US Open since Tony
Jacklin in 1970, Rose has made the most of the trophy in his
possession, showing it off when he can, and even letting his son eat
ice cream out of it.
"I think it gets FedEx'ed after this week," Rose told reporters on
Wednesday. "It's time to think about winning it now.
"About a week or two ago I put it on the dresser that we have in our
bedroom. I thought, we're getting to the last few weeks I'm going to
really stride and enjoy it now.
"Leo ate some ice cream out of it. He was the first to christen the
trophy. I had not even had a drink but he had some ice cream out of
it and we got some great video, I think will last a lifetime, and
some great memories. It holds five bottles of champagne, just FYI."
With the US Open due to start at Pinehurst on June 12, Rose is aware
that defending his title will be no easy feat having never swung a
club at the re-developed North Carolina course.
But the world number eight, who said his preparation would be
similar to that of Merion a year ago, does not believe his lack of
Pinehurst experience would be a disadvantage as the tournament was
last hosted there in 2005.
"I've never played Pinehurst, and I think guys who played in 2005
won't have as much of an advantage because of the course re-design,"
continued the 33-year-old.
“There was a lot of rough in 2005, fairways were narrow, typically
USPGA-style fairways. But this year, it's going to play I think more
of a running game, almost a mix between U.S. Open and an Open
Championship, I'm led to believe.
“I had not been to Merion at this stage last year so my preparation
is going to be very similar. I'm going to head up to the venue the
week before, spend some time, get to know the golf course, and put a
game-plan in place."
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As a youngster, the South-African born Rose honed his skills on
courses near his Hampshire home, not far from Wentworth, and after
finishing tied fourth at the Players Championship earlier this
month, Rose would like to add the European Tour’s flagship event to
his ever-growing list of accomplishments.
"It's a bucket list tournament for me as I've sort of been saying
the last couple of days,” Rose, who will accompany Lee Westwood and
defending champion Matteo Manassero in a threeball at Wentworth on
Thursday, added.
"It's a tournament I grew up watching as a kid so it's definitely
special to me; the Majors, a World Golf Championships or two
possibly, and I don't see a tournament I wouldn't more like to win."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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