Rose is smiling again after years of pain

"I ring him every day. Now he's improving rapidly and his goal is to come to The Belfry this week to watch me in the Benson & Hedges International Open.

"Since he's been ill it's opened my eyes to how many people are affected by cancer. He's incredibly strong and brave. He's been in remission before and then had a relapse. His dedication to fighting this thing puts me to shame. I'm just happy that I can make him proud by winning."

When you meet Rose you are reassured that his father would be justly proud of him if he never picked up a club again. Rose is a great chap, friendly and articulate, and enjoys thinking about what he is being asked rather than trotting out formulaic replies.

He has made a point of keeping in touch with the school friends he had at 16. He goes to the pub with them and talks about cars and girls. It is impossible not to be glad for him in his recent good fortune, both private and professional. It has been a long haul on both counts.

"I seriously hope my troubles are behind me," he said. "I hope the endless hours of hard work will see me through. I've learned you can't take anything for granted with golf.

"I did exactly that for a long time because things came so easily to me. As an amateur, I was the best young player around, winning tournaments easily and then came the Open. You think to yourself, 'This isn't so hard. What's the big deal?'"

The much-criticised decision to turn professional after Birkdale was actually made before the Open. Afterwards life changed beyond recognition.

"It's strange to be suddenly recognised overnight. It's hard to deal with," he said. "I should have taken it a bit easier at the start. I rushed into thinking my tour card was the be all and end all. I played too many tournaments with too little rest.

"I should have been more selfish. But you don't know that stuff when you're on cloud nine. The reality was there was so much going on in my mind that I wasn't going to play well. It turned an incredibly happy time into a nightmare.

"The first missed cut was just a pain, the second made me angry. By the 10th I was getting worried. After that came the panic. You can't focus on doing well in a tournament, all you can think about is making the cut.

"By doing that you limit yourself to playing very average golf. It's a long haul to get your mind back to the point where you believe you can win a tournament.

"I don't regret it because it made me a lot stronger, but at the time I cursed the whole experience. No other players take you under their wing or tell you it will be okay. It's each man for himself. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Golf is all I've ever wanted. I can honestly say I never doubted I would get there."

And get there he did. He made his first cut after almost a year of trying, and then this spring captured the Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg - the city of his birth - followed by the Nashua Masters.

"It was great to back up the first win with another. It's all very well telling people you're improving but if they don't see your name on the silverware they won't believe you.

"I hadn't realised I would enjoy the prize-giving at the Dunhill so much. I could have stayed on that green all day, holding the trophy, kissing it, having my picture taken, answering questions. It made everything worthwhile."

Even though Birkdale was something of an albatross for a while, Rose never wished that it hadn't happened.

"It was such a magical experience, although the memory of what I felt and thought throughout that week is quite vague in my mind now. Even in the darkest times I could never curse it, because it showed me a glimpse of my potential. I nearly won a major at 17. I was only two shots away."

He still watches it on video a couple of times a year. Like all of us, his favourite moment is his very last shot, when he made that improbable pitch in at the 18th and spread his arms and looked to heaven.

"Whenever I get to that last part, I always turn the volume right up," he grinned. "Then I can remember the amazing sound from the gallery, and it's like being there again."