US Open: Tony Jacklin hailed Justin Rose after the Englishman's Merion win
Tony Jacklin has heaped praise on compatriot Justin Rose after the historic US Open victory at Merion.
Last Updated: 17/06/13 3:01pm
Rose, 32, became the first Englishman to win a major since Nick Faldo's Masters victory in 1996 with a superb display of cool under pressure - ousting home favourite Phil Mickelson by two shots.
Jacklin, who won two major championships himself in The Open in 1969 and the US Open the following year, believes that the key to Rose's first major tournament success was courage.
The 68-year-old said: "He had that audacious chip in at Birkdale when he was 17 and then witnessed the difficult time he had after turning pro and all the struggles that he had, and to fight through that takes a lot of courage and what was shown was exactly that.
"It takes a lot of courage to win a major championship. I was proud of him today and I'm delighted for him.
"He's a good guy and he's good for the game and he hopefully will open the door for more British players to give us some of the same."
Three-time Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher highlighted the struggles Rose has had to overcome - especially the erratic form early on in his professional career
Gallacher added: "He really had all the credentials from the start. He was a great amateur player and played in the Walker Cup.
"He did have a set-back when he first turned pro, he missed 21 cuts in a row when he turned professional so he's come through that and obviously he's a very special player to have come through that.
"He dug deep. He wanted to take his career to another level so he decided to go and live in America, where most of the majors are played and he's done absolutely brilliantly.
"He has done well in recent years in majors. In 2003 he finished fifth at the US Open, he has led the Masters and last year he was third behind Rory (McIlroy) at the US PGA.
"I think you need all this experience so that when you do get yourself in a position like he got yesterday he can grab that experience that he's had in the past and make it so useful and that's what he did yesterday."