The Masters: Justin Rose fuelled by major heartache after flying start

Such is the nature of the condensed major season, Justin Rose had 263 days to dwell on his Open heartache before his next go at a big one. 

Rose choked back the tears walking off the 18th green at Royal Troon last July after Xander Schauffele pipped him to a Claret Jug. But what a start he has made to the Masters as he launched into a first round lead here at Augusta for the fifth time in his illustrious career.

The former US Open and Olympic champion fired a sublime seven-under 65 to lead by three over Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners in perfect Thursday conditions. The only blemish came after he found tree trouble on his final hole.

And for Rose, patience has always been key when plotting between the towering Georgia pines.

“I chunked the golf course in my mind, little mini targets, mini goals,” he said, dissecting a round that started with three straight birdies. “That’s the way I approached the day, and that’s going to be the approach tomorrow and the approach on Saturday and the approach on Sunday.

“I know my way around this golf course. I have a straight strategy around here. It’s about making it count and stepping up and hitting the shots.”

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Crucially, however, it is also Rose’s ability to turn that near miss at Troon into fuel as motivation that has put him in good stead to get right back in the mix at Augusta.

“At Royal Troon, I had a great game plan,” he said. “Felt very comfortable on the golf course. Felt like I had a great strategy of how to play it, even though the wind did shift around during different days, and I feel like I locked into how best to approach the golf course. I did a lot of good things that week.

“I felt like in hindsight, I played good enough to win the tournament, 100 percent. So I took a lot of confidence from it. So when I look back, yeah, I came off the golf course, and, yeah, I was kind of emotional, as well, because I knew how close it was and I knew what great opportunity to win it was. And to not do it for sure really hurt.

“But to feel that was actually really motivating as well. I don’t look back it with any regret. I actually look back at it with a lot of confidence knowing that opportunity still exists for me.”

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Rose, however, also acknowledges that chances to contend like this won’t keep coming forever.

“Of course, I’m 44,” he said. “Golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, ten years, whatever it’s going to be. So your opportunity is less going forward, so you have to make the most of it.”

He added: “I do feel that I could make a statement with how well I played the back end of my career. That’s a great opportunity, though, for me, not pressure.”

The sceptics will argue that Rose has been here before and failed to convert. The other four times he has set the pace at Augusta, he has finished T22 (2007), T5 (2008), T36 (2021) and of course, runner-up in that dramatic playoff with Sergio Garcia in 2017.

In fact, Rose has topped the leaderboard more than any other player without going on to slip into a Green Jacket. Naturally, he was asked whether such a distinction was a compliment or an insult.

“You know what, I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament,” said Rose. “I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it. I feel like, no, it’s a compliment. I’ve obviously played, I’ve played a lot of good rounds of golf here. Got a lot of crystal, which is obviously always nice.

“A little bit of Lady Luck here and there is always the difference here at times. But I’ve had my luck on occasion and been a champion. You’ve got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and obviously the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard.

“I definitely don’t shy away from it.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.