Rose still on top at the Masters
36-hole leader taking nothing for granted after past stumbles.
Justin Rose knows nothing is over until early Sunday evening at the Augusta National Golf Club.
He once had one arm in a green jacket and needed only to make a 7-foot putt at the last hole in 2017. He missed, then lost to Sergio Garcia in a playoff.
Rose also led the 2004 Masters as a 23-year-old and shot an 81 in the third round.
So don’t expect him to get ahead of himself. And, don’t expect the 40-year-old veteran of numerous Ryder Cup battles, who has won more than 40 worldwide tournaments on almost every continent, including a U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal, to easily give up the lead he has held through the first 36 holes of the Masters Tournament.
Justin Rose reacts to his birdie on the second hole during the second round of the Masters on Friday.
“You just have to keep hitting the shots,” he said Friday. “I’m not going to worry about a score. I think it’s hard enough just to keep playing shot by shot rather than trying to piece scores together day-by-day.”
Day two is in the books and while it was tougher for the South
African native and British citizen, he’s right where he started. Rose battled back from a 3-over first nine with a 3-under second and with a 72 is 7-under-par 137, one shot ahead of St. Simons Island, Georgia resident Brian Harman (69) and Masters rookie Will Zalatoris (68).
There were numerous moves on the leaderboard that perhaps foretold a thrilling weekend. Jordan Spieth, who rallied from a triple bogey at No. 9 in the first round for a 71, birdied three of five holes during one stretch and, with a 68, got into a tie for fourth with Australian Marc Leishman (67) at 5-under.
There’s also an intriguing traffic jam at 4-under: Players Championship winner Justin Thomas (67, with a bogey at the last), Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (66, with a 31 on the first nine), the gifted but trophy-starved Tony Finau (66), 2017 Players champion Si Woo Kim (69), Cameron Champ (68), whose length off the tee is exceeded only by Bryson DeChambeau, and Hideki Matsuyama