Rose returns with eyes on elusive prize
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose admits it took him some time to shake the disappointment of losing the 2017 Masters to Sergio Garcia in a playoff. While Garcia was a celebrated victor after going 0-for-73 in previous majors, Rose was left to contemplate how close he came to winning a Green Jacket.
“For two weeks after I didn’t want to play golf,” Rose said Monday after players began arriving for the year’s first major championship. “I was licking my wounds a little bit.”
By the time Rose started feeling better mentally, his back started barking, and he spent the rest of the season trying to alter his swing to adjust to the pain.
Fast forward to 2018 and Rose is back in form after winning the WGC at Shanghai and posting topfive finishes in four other events. Now a two-time runner-up at the Masters after finishing second to Garcia in 2017 and Jordan Spieth in 2015, Rose is ready to add a Green Jacket to the major championship he collected at the 2013 U.S. Open.
“I’m happy with the way my game has been trending,” Rose said. “I took four or five weeks off and then played four of the last five weeks. I feel tournament sharp, and I’ve had some good results.”
Rose played Augusta after competing in the Arnold Palmer Invitation at Bay Hill last month. He said it was important to come back to August again before tournament week to shake any cobwebs lingering from his loss to Garcia.
“I think it was important to walk the grounds after what happened last year and remember the shots and what might have been,” he said. “I just want to have that walk before tournament week. Those are things I didn’t want to be doing Tuesday or Wednesday.”
Rose wasn’t devastated by the loss, but it was gut-wrenching. Watching Garcia end his drought without a major helped ease the pain.
“I don’t feel it was a tournament that anybody lost,” the Englishman said. “It was great to be part of any exciting back nine where there were birdies and eagles. I don’t feel bad about it. But when you lose a playoff in a major, you look back and think what might have been. To win a championship, you need to make a key putt at a right time, and that’s what didn’t happen last year.”
Rose has never missed a cut at Augusta, and he has the most birdies and eagles of any competitor since 2012. The stats sound good, but Rose is taking nothing for granted.
“I’ve played well here,” he said. “But the golf course doesn’t recognize what happened last year. There’s not one blade of grass out there that was here last year. That’s the analogy I’m going with. To me, you have to play aggressively here. To me, it’s always about commitment and being positive when you take aim. It’s about creating the most margin of error for a miss.”
He’s ready to finish better than runner-up.
“I come in with high confidence and low expectations,” Rose said. “My skill set should produce a chance to win if all goes well. I just need to execute well to have a chance to win. That’s where my mindset is really. Not worry about other players and other variables. I’m coming in playing as good as I’ve ever played, and I’m excited about that.”