Augusta, Ga. — He was six strokes behind leader Rory McIlroy as British golfer Justin Rose walked the 10th hole at Augusta National Golf Club in the final round of the 89th Masters on Sunday.
Rose, who led each of the first two rounds, has died so many dreams of winning the Green Jacket.
Incredibly, Rose returned to the tournament with three straight birdies from North 11 to 13, especially McIlroy made a bogey in par 4 11th place, and then a double bogey on par 5 after hitting his third shot into the water. Rose made back-to-back birdies on No. 15 and No. 16, and took the lead at 11 under.
“It’s true, something happened midway through the round,” Rose said. “I went a bit into a place where you dream of going. I felt very good with my game. My heart felt very good. I began to feel like I was playing my own path to tournaments. I was focusing on lasers there.”
The 2013 US Open champion appeared in one shot that won his second major championship on Sunday after posting a 6-under 66 to chase after McIlroy. After making a bogey on the 17th, Rose sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th to tie McIlroy and grabbed the clubhouse lead at 11 under. Rose called it “the kind of putt you dreamed of as a child.”
“You know, (I) didn’t look at the leaderboard all day until the 18th Green, so I could hear from the 17 crowd that I was in the mix,” Rose said. “And then at 6pm I thought that Rory was behind me. I had to make that putt and give myself hope.”
When Rose hit the ball in the training area, he heard the patron roar as McIlroy made a birdie on the 17th. He then heard them moan when McIlroy missed a par five footer on the 18th to force the playoffs.
In the sudden death playoffs, both players hit a drive into the fairway on the par 4 18th. Rose’s second shot would have been good to beat most golfers. His approach from 187 yards almost hit the hole on the spot, rolling the cup 15 feet past. But McIlroy’s second shot went even closer after his ball hit the green over the hole and returned to four feet.
Rose barely missed his birdie try and McIlroy made him to capture the green jacket they had desperately wanted.
“Unfortunately, the playoffs, they always end up very quickly,” Rose said. “You know, it’s a sudden death. You really can’t get the chance. If you’re not the one who hits great shots and holes, it’s over. It’s the nature of sudden death, but I couldn’t do anything more today.”
It was the second time Rose was at the wrong end of the Masters playoffs. In the final one of 2017, Rose missed a birdie seven footer on the 18th hole, forcing the playoffs against Spanish Sergio Garcia. On a sudden death, Rose had to punch out a tee shot into the tree. He made a bogey and Garcia sunk a birdie putt to win.
Rose also finished runner-up at the 2015 Masters, with four strokes behind winner Jordan Spieth.
“What do you choose to stay, do you know what I mean?” Rose said. “There’s no point in being too discouraged about it. You see all the good things that have caught me in this situation. You can’t skip careers without a bit of heartache. That won’t happen. If you’re trying to lift a big championship, you need to put yourself on the line.
On the Green Sunday on the 18th, Rose congratulated his friend and Ryder Cup teammate McIlroy.
“I told him, ‘Listen, I’m glad I was here on this green to witness you win a career grand slam,” Rose said. “It’s a very cool and important moment in the game of golf. Yeah, that was it. He was clearly overcome with emotions quite a bit and perhaps not able to take in a lot at that point. But it was a big day in golf.”
It was a big week for Rose. It was his second consecutive runner-up in the majors – he was tied second at the 2024 Open Championship held at Scotland’s Royal Troon Golf Club. Rose came in second in five of his 81 career starts in the majors.
“This is a bogey away from being the best round I’ve ever played,” Rose said. “It’s a great round. If you look at the quality of golf, I think that’s probably the case.”
McIlroy hopes Rose has another opportunity to win the majors.
“He’s a great champion,” McIlroy said. “He has shown so many bounties throughout his career. You know that it was another euro in the playoffs. We’re doing a good run in that moment. We’re the year of the Ryder Cup and so on.
“He has an incredible record around here. He’s so close, I feel a bit for him. He’s a good friend and hopefully he has some more opportunities.”