Justin Rose hopeful for more opportunities after another frustrating Masters close call

Justin Rose remains hopeful about getting more opportunities to win The Masters after another close call at Augusta National, a year after his play-off loss to Rory McIlroy.

The Englishman endured another agonising final round at the opening Major of the year, following up last year's play-off loss to Rory McIlroy with a third place finish once again to his Ryder Cup teammate.

But while last year's final round was nothing short of a ten birdie spectacular, this one felt within his grasp earlier, having held a two-stroke lead at the turn.

Rose had begun the day three strokes back but a chip-in at the first helped with some early momentum, and after dropping a shot at the third, he responded with birdies at the fifth and seventh to climb the leaderboard and into the chasing pack.

With both McIlroy and Young briefly faltering up front, Rose soon capitalised by adding more birdies at the eighth and ninth holes to earn a two stroke outright lead heading into the back-nine, and it seemed that perhaps this time that the green jacket might finally be headed his way.

But they often say the back-nine at Augusta National is when the tournament really starts, and Rose was unable to hold on to the lead he'd created. McIlroy and Young had quickly cut into his lead with birdies at the eighth, and when Rose was then unable to save par at the 11th, McIlroy suddenly found himself back alongside Rose at the top.

Unfortunately for Rose, things began to slip out of his grasp a hole later. Struggling to find the green, he went off the back of the par three 12th and failed to get up and down, causing McIlroy to gain a lead he would not give back.

While he produced a lovely birdie at the 15th, another dropped shot at 17 gave him too much to do, and his walk up the 18th fairway was a reflective one.

Asked what he was thinking, Rose was very honest.

"I think just chance that got away obviously", he said.

"You know, I was by no means kind of free and clear and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position. You know, Amen Corner, without really hitting a bad shot but just not good shot, not committed enough on maybe 11 shot specifically, it was kind of like two saves.

"There was a lot of club and it was not -- and it was a bit of a safe lie and I kind of felt it in the fairway with the wind direction and just wasn't able to really trust that one in there.

"Yeah, because I was really in control. First ten holes I felt like I was -- yeah, I was. And the mentality was to run through the finish line not just try and get it done. I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner."

He closed out his round with a par to secure third place alongside Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley with a final round 70, but he was grateful for the support he had of the crowd as he closed out another frustrating visit to the Masters.

“The crowd was amazing to me all week long,” he said. “They pulled for me all week. At the end it kind of goes a little flat… but it was still nonetheless very beautiful. But, yeah, another little stinger, yeah.

“I think people just know I play hard. I try hard. I’ve been close. I think they just appreciate the effort.”

Asked how the disappointment compared to last year’s play‑off defeat, Rose called it frustrating.

“With a sudden‑death loss you know you got to the house and did everything it took to win,” he said. “Whereas today I felt like there was an opportunity to do better, so that is frustrating.”

With three runner‑up finishes among eight top‑ten results at The Masters, Justin Rose once again found himself searching for positives after another near‑miss at Augusta National. The frustration was obvious, but so too was the perspective.

A big part of the optimism he was able to find comes from the belief that he will still have more opportunities — especially on a course where his record has long been one of the most consistent in the field.

Asked directly whether he expects more chances at Augusta, Rose didn’t hesitate. “I hope so,” he said.

"I would say in the last sort of two years I've really kind of re-kicked on and re-energized my career and myself and have a lot of belief in myself that there is a lot of runway ahead.

"I think there was a tough period early sort of 2021. '22, '23. Really feel like middle of '23 onwards kind of feel like I played some good golf.

"These are the tournaments I focus on. These are the tournaments why I practice. These are the tournaments that get me going that sort of extra mile to sort of have to show up and keep being in these great arenas is kind of why I practice, yeah."

He pointed to the examples of Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer, two players who have repeatedly contended at Augusta well into their later years. “You look at Freddy, the way he plays around here. Bernhard Langer. This course maybe more than anywhere suits personal style or knowledge,”

"I hope I’ll have more opportunities.”