2013 U.S Open: Justin Rose shoots 1-over par to survive Merion and win first major title

Merion is smelling like a Rose.

Justin Rose, playing consistently all afternoon, shot an even-70 to pass and then hold off Phil Mickelson to win the 113th U.S. Open at Merion.

Rose trailed third-round leader Mickelson by two shots at the start of the day, but erased five bogeys in the round with five birdies. Playing two groups ahead of Mickelson, he was forced to wait and watch Mickelson struggle to claim his first major.

"It feels fantastic," Rose said after hoisting the trophy. "I committed myself to the process this week. I committed myself to putting a strategy in place that I hoped would work in five to ten years in delivering major championships. And I tried to strike on that feeling the first week out, first time I tried and tested it to come out with the silver. And it feels absolutely amazing."

Rose, who became the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970, finished plus-1 for the tournament, as Merion proved to be more than up to the task of hosting the world's best golfers.

"Going forward gives me a lot of confidence," Rose said. "I don't know if it takes pressure off, but it's a moment where you can look back and think childhood dreams have come true."

Mickelson, the crowd favorite, entered the day with a one-stroke lead, but his putter abandoned him, and he finished at plus-3 to tie for second with Aussie Jason Day.

"I came so close to getting the ball in the hole," Mickelson said. "I had come so close. I felt like I hit good putt after good putt and just couldn't get it to go in the hole."

It was Mickelson's sixth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.

"This is my best chance of all of them," Mickelson said. "I really liked this golf course. I felt this was as good as opportunity as all of them and to not get it done really hurts."

The victory was Rose's first in a major. His previous high was a tie for third at the 2012 PGA Championship. It was also his second in the Philadelphia area, after winning the AT&T National at Aroniminik in 2010.

"Philadelphia has been my town," Rose said. "It's unbelievable. The Philly crowd remembered that. I felt like I had a lot of goodwill the whole week. There was a lot of 'Go Justins!' 'Congratulations!' 'This is your town!' 'Repeat!' I tried to feed off that energy as best I can.

"Obviously Phil Mickelson is a crowd favorite, very popular with everybody. But definitely I felt very, very supported by the crowd for sure."

EndFragment