Sports Personality contender: Golfer Justin Rose

During the countdown to the 60th BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday, 15 December, we will be looking at each of the 10 shortlisted contenders.

Golfer Justin Rose had a memorable 2013 as he clinched his maiden major title in June to become the first Englishman for 43 years to win the US Open.

The 32-year-old also became the first English player to win a major since Nick Faldo in 1996.

Rose led by one shot going up the 18th at Merion and held his nerve for a two-shot victory over Phil Mickelson of the United States - his sixth US Open runner-up finish - and Australian Jason Day.

After tapping in his final putt on Fathers' Day, Rose looked up to the sky with tears in his eyes, and admitted later to thinking of his father and long-time mentor Ken, who died from leukaemia in 2002.

"A lot of us come from great men and we have a responsibility to our children to show what a great man can be," he said.

"For it to all just work out for me, on such an emotional day, I couldn't help but look up to the heavens and think that my old dad Ken had something to do with it.

"Had I not won the tournament, I still felt good about what I had accomplished: how I handled myself, how I handled the pressure and how I handled the tournament."

Rose, who was born in Johannesburg but brought up in Hampshire, burst on to the golf scene as a 17-year-old amateur when he finished in a tie for fourth place in the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale.

He joined the paid ranks soon after but missed his first 21 cuts, before winning his first professional event in 2002. His biggest victory before the US Open was the WGC Cadillac Championship in March 2012.

Rose's previous best major finish was tied third in the US PGA behind Rory McIlroy last year, while he has had six other top 10s in majors during his career.

"You certainly don't want the title of 'best player never to win a major'," said Rose, who became the third UK winner of the US Open in four years after Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy in 2011 and Graeme McDowell in 2010.

"I've felt I've been getting closer to that tag and now I've knocked it off fairly early, which is good.

"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."

The last Englishman to win the US Open before Rose was Tony Jacklin in 1970, and he paid tribute to the way Rose clinched his victory.

"It's all about confidence and I've no reason to believe he couldn't win four or five majors," said Jacklin.

"It takes a lot of courage to win a major championship. You have to stay in the moment, which sounds very easy but when the stakes are high it's very hard.

"To come through it is fantastic and I was proud of him. He's a good guy, he's good for the game."