Justin Rose left the grounds of Augusta National final yr with a case of deja vu.
For the second time in eight years, nobody had overwhelmed Rose over 72 holes at the Masters. And, for the second time in eight years, the then-44-year-old left golf’s hallowed grounds as a tough-luck loser. Rose’s stirring final-round 66 ended with what he thought was his Masters second, a 20-foot, curling birdie putt on the 18th inexperienced that despatched roars by means of Augusta National and finally landed him in a playoff with Rory McIlroy.
But after McIlroy bested him on the first playoff hole to vanquish his personal Masters demons, Rose left Augusta National dissatisfied that after once more destiny had not referred to as his title. But one other near-miss, and third profession runner-up on the Masters, didn’t depart Rose sullen.
“I won’t ever think why me?” Rose stated on Monday forward of the 2026 Masters. “I’ll be like maybe I could have done that better or done this differently, but not sort of looking up to the golfing gods giving it. ‘Why me?’ No. … When you realize you’re that close, you can taste the victory. You know what it would feel like had it been the other way around. I could see what it felt like. I can see the celebrations. It all played out right in front of me. So I kind of lived it as if I’d have won it, but obviously without any of the real positive emotion that goes with that, but I kind of sensed everything.
“It is the way it is. Kind of walked away on Sunday feeling like I gave it everything.”
Augusta National is a haven for many who triumph on the Masters. Once you don the inexperienced jacket, each nook of the property is crammed with a reminiscence, a sense of a time while you levitated above the golf world. That second lives ceaselessly, at the same time as your hair grays and expertise fades.
But for others, Augusta National holds solely torment and questions. It’s a spot that has baffled some greats and damaged others. For Rose, you’d count on the scar tissue to be overwhelming. Take a take a look at the massive trophy within the Augusta National clubhouse, and also you’ll see his title 3 times — all as a runner-up. He and Ben Hogan are the one two gamers to lose a number of Masters in a playoff. Rose has led or co-led the Masters 9 instances after Rounds 1, 2 and three in his profession, which ranks third all-time after Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. They have 10 jackets mixed. Hogan gained twice. Over the final 10 Masters, Justin Rose is eighteen beneath par. That ranks seventh behind Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. Only Rose and Schauffele haven’t gained the Masters.
Rose continues to be ready. Not to remedy Augusta National, he’s executed that. It’s a course that matches his eye and one he knows how to navigate. He’s ready for his time on the Masters to lastly be proper. He’s a part of Masters historical past, simply not the type he has dreamed for himself. But the “what ifs” and “could’ve beens” haven’t modified how Rose feels in regards to the place.
“I think for me, I’m very aware that I’ve been close here,” Rose stated. “I’m very aware that I’ve had tough, tough losses here. I also am aware that I enjoy this place. So I don’t want to feel that those three second-place finishes need to create a different sort of feeling for me. I can’t control the outcome.
“I can be philosophical about it, I think. Of course, I look at it and think those are racking up, they’re stacking up. I think eight players have won this tournament after finishing second the year before, which probably increases my odds if you look at the field. I can look at that and go, okay, that’s good. Happy with that.”
Rose arrives at his twenty first Masters with loads much less runway forward of him than highway behind him. He’s 45 now, and whereas ranked seventh on the planet, he knows that time keeps ticking. He enjoys the work, the grind, and that’s why he’s nonetheless on the prime of the sport. He’s additionally there due to a relentless perseverance and a capability to take up and flush the frustration that naturally comes while you’re residing and enjoying to write your title alongside the greats of the sport.
He missed 21 cuts to start his skilled profession. He’ll totally admit that he didn’t search for data the place he ought to’ve when he was beginning out. He made errors and finally realized from them and constructed off the onerous classes the sport made him be taught. He’s at all times identified that chasing his desires would trigger ache. Pain has to be a part of the journey. You have to be keen to fail to win main championships. When you fall quick, all you are able to do is mud your self off and check out once more, believing which you could nonetheless attain your final aim — that it sits on the horizon simply inside your attain.
“I kind of realized that even before I won a major,” Rose stated about coping with adversity. “I knew I was going to win some. I knew I was going to lose some. I kind of wanted to not get in my way too early, and I kind of realized when the opportunity presents itself to win a major, don’t make it too important in the moment. I kind of realized that you can’t skip through a career without a little bit of heartache and heartbreak, no chance. If you’re going to be willing to win them, you’ve got to be willing to kind of be on the wrong side of it as well.”
Throughout the years, we’ve seen numerous gamers turn out to be obsessive about successful this golf event at this place. It lorded over McIlroy till his 4-foot birdie putt dropped final yr to beat Rose. It has left Ernie Els with regrets and left Lee Trevino searching for solutions. It could be comprehensible if Rose, who seems like he ought to’ve already gained right here, was obsessive about successful right here — if all the pieces was tailor-made towards ensuring that his actual Masters second lastly arrives.
That’s not him, although. He desires to win the Masters, after all. But he gained’t make it all the pieces. He knows that residing that approach could be harmful to the pursuit of his childhood desires.
“I’d say firmly in the desire camp, just because I know that the latter is not going to help me,” Rose stated of the need versus obsession query. “It’s probably professional discipline just to keep it in the desire realm. I think I probably wouldn’t let myself go down the other path. Like I said, that probably won’t be fruitful. Professionally, I’m not going to do that.”
So, Rose is simply going to do the one factor he knows he can because the ninetieth Masters prepares to get underway on Thursday. He’s going to absorb the nice vibes of a spot the place he nearly touched the solar, and hope that this time destiny calls his title.
“The key is showing up,” Rose stated. “The key is to try to be as free as you can in those moments. Yeah, you kind of have to hope a little bit along the way that it’s your day.”
