Justin Rose was 22-years-old when his father, Ken, died from leukemia in 2002. Rose won twice on the European Tour that year, and gave the trophies to his dad in the hospital.

Sunday at Merion, a teary-eyed Rose gave his dad one more, lifting the 113^th U.S Open trophy toward the heavens as a first time major champion, dedicating his Merion victory to dad on Father’s Day.

“I think a lot of us came from great men and we have the responsibility to show them what great men can be,” Rose said afterwards. “For it to all work out for me on such an emotional day, I couldn’t help but look up and think my old dad Ken had something to do with it.”

Rose’s dad did have something to do with it. But that began long before Rose was the last man standing at the 2013 Merion bloodbath. Ken and Annie Rose (Justin’s mom) taught Rose very early in life the virtues of patience and discipline. And Rose was put to the test right away.

The day after holing out a wedge on the 72nd hole of the 1998 British Open to finish in a tie for fourth, the 17-year-old amateur prodigy turned pro. He was unceremoniously baptized by missing the cut in his first 21 professional events.

“When I was missing 21 cuts in a row, I was just trying not to fade away, really,” Rose said.  “My learning curve has been steep from that point. I sort of announced myself on the golfing scene probably before I was able to handle it. And golf can be a cruel game.”

Only a few years later, Rose learned life can be a cruel game as well when his father passed away at the young age of 57. Rose struggled through four winless years after his father’s death, but he never stopped believing in himself. He knew he had the talent and drive needed to succeed. And most importantly, Rose refused to quit.

“Definitely I have had the ups and downs,” Rose said. “But I think that ultimately it has made me stronger and able to handle the situations like today.”

And did Rose ever handle it at Merion. On a day when World No. 1 Tiger Woods posted his career-worst U.S Open round score, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy bent his iron into a walking cane after two consecutive shots found water, and now six-time U.S. Open runner-up Phil Mickelson came unhinged by uncharacteristically poor wedge play, Rose wrote a new chapter in Merion’s storied wicker basket history.

On his way to becoming the first Englishman to win the U.S Open in 43 years, Rose played all four days at Merion without a single double bogey, and was tied with fellow Englishman Luke Donald and Australian Jason Day for the most birdies in the field, including five on Sunday.

But perhaps no where was Rose’s mental toughness on display more than the last hole. Knowing there was a good possibility he needed par on No. 18 for victory, Rose split the fairway with his driver, setting the stage for the shot of the tournament.

“When I walked over the hill and saw my drive sitting perfectly in the middle of the fairway, with the sun coming out, it was almost fitting,” Rose said. “And I just felt like at that point it was a good iron shot on to the green, two putts, like Hogan did, and possibly win this championship.”

Just five yards away from the iconic plaque that commemorates Hogan’s immortalized 1-iron approach in 1950, Rose took out his 4-iron and envisioned hitting the shot that Hogan did. He succeeded.

Rose hit a spectacular shot that rolled just past the pin and off the green. Rose then used a 3 wood to bump the ball to within an inch of the cup for a tap in par that ultimately secured his first major championship.

The outpouring of congratulations all over social media since Rose won is unprecedented this season. One of the first to congratulate Rose was the English Prime Minister David Cameron, who tweeted:

I’m proud of @JustinRose99 – winning #USOpen. Let’s hope it heralds the start of another spectacular sporting summer

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 17, 2013

Rose would later say he just wanted to conduct himself in a way that would have made his father proud of him, win or lose. And while the U.S. Open win puts Rose now on hallowed ground, I have no doubt Ken Rose has been proud of his son since the day he was born.