‘Play-off agony definitely makes me more likely to win, not less likely’
Justin Rose has put his Masters demons to bed, now form is on his side for a Green Jacket shot
It was a life lesson for the entire Rose family. Even Leo, the little boy who hates to lose, was able to watch that play-off at the 2017 Masters and realise that, sometimes, you just have to doff your visor and keep the toys firmly inside the pram.
Of course, the nine-year-old was upset after seeing his father beaten on the first extra hole by Sergio Garcia but, as he told his mates, there was no reason for anything but acceptance and pride.
“Leo said to one of his friends at football that Sergio won it fair and square and that I shouldn’t be beating myself up about it, because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Justin Rose said. “It helped me come to terms with it, but it was interesting to hear him show some empathy, because when things don’t go his way – especially at football – Leo is fiercely competitive. It was nice to see he has that in him.”
In truth, Rose’s reaction to that almost cruel close brush with the Green Jacket was celebrated by parents and sports lovers around the globe. His graciousness was held up as an example of exactly how to behave in defeat, no matter how wretched it might all seem.
“Look, it was really, really painful but, at the same time, I had this overriding feeling that you cannot go through your whole career without a bit of heartache,” Rose said. “You cannot be on leaderboards at big tournaments all the time and have things go your way. I had been in contention in a few majors, but never really been there at the death, other than when I won [the 2013 US Open] at Merion. So, from my point of view, Olympic golf, US Open, those kind of moments, had gone my way up until then. This was the first time it had gone against me, and I know Sergio had suffered on many occasions. It was just his time.”
Many experts feel that this week could be Rose’s time at Augusta. He is up to world No5, having won three titles in his past 11 events and racked up a staggering run of consistency. Before yesterday’s final round of the Houston Open, he had posted 13 top-10 finishes in 15 starts.
While the fireworks set off by the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory Mcilroy and Phil Mickelson in the past few months have made this, perhaps, the most anticipated Masters of modern times, the quiet Englishman has been blazing his own trail to Georgia – and he thinks his agonising shortfall 12 months ago is the perfect form guide.
“It definitely makes me more likely to win, not less likely,” Rose said. “Look at how the runners-up have done in recent years. Adam Scott finished runner-up and went on to win. Jordan Spieth was runner-up the year before he won.
“Yeah, I will look at it as more of a disappointment if I don’t win the Masters in however many years I’ve got left to do it but, for now, it’s more evidence that I know how to play the course, and I have to keep creating chances to win.
“In the aftermath, I never once woke up thinking, ‘Oh, I just lost the Masters’, I never felt a hole in my heart. And I knew I was completely over it when I drove down Magnolia Drive the other week.”
Rose took that early trip to Augusta to exorcise any demons that may have been lingering, but when he arrived he heard only the sweet sounds of the golfing angels. “I just love being there, and there was nothing but excitement and a warmness to being back,” he said. “Yeah, I went on the course and, naturally, I remembered moments and shots.
“I stood there hitting that putt again on the 18th [the 10-foot birdie effort which would have won him the Masters on the 72nd hole] and said to myself, ‘Man, this putt breaks – how did it not break?’ And even though there’s an absence of regret, I decided that there were two things I would change.
“When I found myself on the 18th tee again [for the play-off ], I just didn’t find a way to compose myself properly. I didn’t tell myself, ‘Come on, it’s time to re-jig the story now’. It all happened so quickly that, before I knew it, I’d hit it in the trees and it was done.
“The other thing is I’d worn sunglasses all day and I’d taken them off right before the play-off, because I didn’t want to be over a putt with the sun going down, thinking, ‘I’m not feeling comfortable’. I think that was a factor, but who knows if it was big or small? If it happens again, I like to think I’d figure it out better.”
Everything in Rose’s profession is driven towards such scenarios unfolding. At 37, he should be peaking, and he believes he is at the crossroads of his legacy.
“If I was to win the second major I would be halfway to a career Grand Slam and I feel I would then have the enthusiasm to kick on,” he said.
“To have won one major is nice, but to win multiple majors, then the dynamics of your career completely changes, and then you start thinking of the record books and where is your place in history and all of that stuff.
“I am at a stage in my career where I can really change my story quite a lot if I was able to win two, three or extra. Right now, though, it is all about the next one.”