EDDIE Pepperell hailed his appearance at the US Open as a great learning experience and was thrilled to see Justin Rose capture the title at Merion.

The two players share the same management company and have crossed paths several times in Pepperell’s rookie season on the European Tour.

The Frilford Heath golfer, from Abingdon, missed the cut in Pennsylvania, but was cheering on Rose as he became England’s first major champion in 17 years.

He said: “I don’t think it could happen to a better guy.

“I have spent a bit of time with him this year – we had dinner at the Qatar Masters in January.

“He’s just a really good guy and is always asking me how my game is when he sees me. Everyone has a lot of respect for him.”

The US Open is always set up as a severe test, but torrential rain and high winds made Merion treacherous.

Pepperell, in his maiden appearance at a major, carded two rounds of 77 to miss the cut by six shots.

The 22-year-old, pictured saluting the crowd at the 17th, had no complaints about the result.

He said: “I think it was a really good experience. I did everything right, I felt ready but a bit of poor putting on the first round maybe cost me a couple of shots.

“I didn’t play badly, but you don’t need to on that course to run up a score.

“I was expecting it to be the way it was. If you did play well it was fair and you would get rewarded.

“Maybe with a bit more experience I could have made the cut, but I’m not going to be too hard on myself. It was a great week to see what it’s all about.”

Pepperell has withdrawn from this week’s BMW International Open in Germany due to a hectic schedule over the next month.