"Every morning, I woke up and I would see it," cooed Justin Rose as he reflected on the shimmering vision of the US Open trophy which greeted his dozing eyes while he blinked himself awake from his slumbers each morning.
It's alright for some. Most mere mortals have to contend with the snores, snorks and violent twitchings of their better half during those yawning creaks into the cold light of day.
Rose has clearly enjoyed having this cherished piece of silverware as a lodger in the family home over the past year. He has to make the most of it, of course. "It's getting FedEx'ed back after this week and I'm not sure I'll get my hands on it again," said the Englishman, as he prepares to defend the title at Pinehurst in the middle of June. "It's time to start thinking about winning it again now."
The US Open will forever have a place in Rose's heart. It was his first major victory, after all, and it was a triumph that has been savoured and cherished. "The best place it has been has been in my house because I enjoy it every day," said the 33-year-old ahead of the BMW PGA Championship, in which he has twice finished second down the years.
"It sits on the piano in the living room so every day I walk back and forth, back and forth. About a week ago, I put it on the dresser in our bedroom. There are some fun facts about it. Leo [his son] ate some ice cream out of it. He christened it. It also holds five bottles of champagne. We have some great memories that will last a lifetime."
Rose's sporting life still has plenty of targets to reach. The major breakthrough at Merion last summer was a fulfilment of all the promise he had shown and adding to that haul remains his driving force. A stint at the top of the world rankings would be a nice perk of the job, too.
"It's one of my career goals," admitted the player, ranked No.8 in the world. "I have no timeline on that but I think it's more achievable now than it ever has been. I don't think it necessarily means the world but I just think it's nice to tell people that, at some point, you were the No.1 player in the world."
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