FOLLOWING on from the Olympics, the US Open tennis and the start of cricket's ICC Champions' Trophy, the focus for sports fans across the world this week turns to golf.

The Ryder Cup should be as keenly-contested as it ever has been with a strong European side looking to retain the trophy in the back yard of their more illustrious American opponents.

It should be some showdown at Oakland Hills in Michigan, where heroes are sure to be born - but a breakthrough of similar magnitute could happen for another European golfer some 1,500 miles south in Texas.

This is a huge week for Justin Rose.

A change of putting style sparked an incredible rise in fortunes at the Canadian Open at the weekend as Rose posted a final round 63 - the best of the tournament - to finish tied fourth in the PGA Tour event.

Rose put his right hand below his left, instead of the other way round, and took just 24 strokes on the greens to card nine birdies, setting the clubhouse pace on six under par before Vijay Singh edged Mike Weir in a play-off.

The round could have been better had Rose converted an eight-foot eagle chance at the final hole but he beamed: "I'm pumped - I suppose a 63 does that to you! It's amazing what making a few putts can do!

"I went out for the final round with the goal of just having a great attitude and staying calm and enjoying it.

"Sounds easy, I know, but this has been the hardest thing for me this year - at last, I managed it and it sparked some pure golf."

Now, with a depleted field in this week's Texas Open in San Antonio, the door could be open for Rose to score a first victory in America - and so set the stage perfectly for an assault on the majors in 2005.

Victory would not just boost Rose's all-important confidence level, it would overshadow the several disappointments he has suffered this year from promising positions.

At 24, Rose knows he must shrug off a potential "choker" tag quickly if he is ever to become a major force in the game.

The Ryder Cup should have been a realistic target for the man from Fleet but, having played much of the season in the States, his best chance of qualifying was to win a major or reach the top 25 in the world rankings.

Both could have been achieved at Augusta in The Masters in April, when Rose led the way before shooting a disastrous third-round 81. He subsequently did not even qualify for The Open and missed the cut at both the US Open and USPGA and his Ryder Cup chance was lost.

But he said: "I'll put all that to the back of my mind this week in Texas - I'm at the stage of my career when I've got to concentrate on myself and get something going.

"My immediate aim is to get in the top 50 of the world, which will enable me to play wherever I want, but, until I do that, I'll probably continue to play mostly in America."

"I'm hitting my driver really solidly at the moment, which gives me the opportunity to go for flags.

"A great final round always provides lots of encouragement going into the following week, so, if I can keep out of my own way and let myself play, things are bound to start happening."

Hold on to your Texan hats!