Justin Rose inspired by father's memory at Hazeltine this week
Thursday 29 September 2016 07:06, UK
Justin Rose will draw inspiration from the memory of his late father Ken as well as his Olympic gold medal when the Ryder Cup gets up and running on Friday.
The 36-year-old Englishman has been a stalwart for Europe against the Americans in the biennial showdown, boasting a 9-3 record with two halves over three appearances.
Live Ryder Cup Golf
Rose has a photograph of his father from 2002, showing Ken Rose on the back nine at Hazeltine less than a month before he died of cancer at the age of 57.
He said: "It's a picture of my dad under some of those trees on the back nine and it has a title 'Happy Days'. Obviously that was a fond memory and something that actually hit me.
"There's definitely inspiration I can draw from that. I do think about my dad a lot, especially when it comes to moments like this, because these are moments he would have loved to have been a part of. It's a nice source of energy for me this week."
Rose prevailed over team-mate Henrik Stenson to claim Olympic gold in Rio this summer, but the medal has not travelled with him to Minnesota.
He said: "It's not something that I'm touting around, not at all. Danny doesn't have the green jacket in the team room, Rory doesn't have the FedExCup in the team room.
"I think this is about the Ryder Cup and that little gold trophy, and that's enough for us all this week.
"It's nice to have belief in your team-mates that they can stand up to pressure and they can deliver on the big stage and I think that's what the gold medal and the green jacket and the FedExCup and Henrik's Claret Jug, that's what they represent.
"We're guys that can play the best golf when it counts, but we are after that little gold trophy. We are not after anything else this week. We are not about any of the other victories that the team had enjoyed all year long."
Rose did concede there are similarities between the British Olympic team and the atmosphere surrounding the Ryder Cup team.
"When I got to Rio, it really hit me that I was part of something bigger than my individual sport," Rose said.
"The wider goal of the team and the medal tally was very inspiring. It made you want to bring your best. From that point of view, it's very similar to this week. You really want to give 100 per cent."
