Hampshire’s Justin Rose has been awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour in recognition of his US Open victory in June.

Rose, who won his first major when he triumphed at Merion Golf Club, was awarded the special accolade by European Tour chief executive George O’Grady.

“This really is an incredible honour,” said Rose, who is currently second in the Race to Dubai and in contention to be crowned European Tour number one for the second time in his career.

“For a kid who started his career with 21 missed cuts, I guess this means an awful lot really. And the whole journey could not have been done without all the hard work of the European Tour.”

Rose was speaking ahead of the DP World Tour Championship, the final event of the 2013 season.

“It's great to be back here in Dubai and great to have a chance to be playing for the Race to Dubai,” said Rose. “Like I said, this truly does mean a lot to me.

“It's been a great journey. There are many, many fantastic players who have done so much for European golf who have received this honour, so it would be wonderful for me to be able to do the same.

“I've got a lot of great golf ahead of me, I hope, and a lot of great golf on the European Tour ahead of me. So I look forward to living up to this honour.”