But for one stroke in two Masters tournaments, Justin Rose would have two green jackets. And he came in second at a third Masters to golf's then "Golden Child," Jordan Spieth.
Rose has endured playoffs with Sergio Garcia (2018) and Rory McIlroy (2025) and was second by four shots to Spieth (2015). That trio comprises the wunderkids of the 21st century. While somewhat tragic, it was not heartbreaking enough to make Rose give up trying. Because Rose stays in the fight. He's not done.
Rose has already won an Olympic gold medal. He’s won the hardest major, the U.S. Open at Ben Hogan-tough Merion Golf Club. Now, he’s trying again to win the prettiest major, the Masters. Maybe this is his year. No one else is at the top of his game, so far as we know. The field appears wide open. And Rose has lots of experience at Augusta National.
Earlier this year, Rose won on a U.S. Open-type course, Torrey Pines, in the Farmers Insurance Open. You’ll recall that’s where Tiger Woods won his last U.S. Open, on a broken leg, in a playoff with Rocco Mediate. Torrey Pines had been lengthened and strengthened before that U.S. Open was held. No longer the pitch and putt muni enjoyed by the residents of San Diego, it became a snarling and snarky course, one that tests golfers each year.
The Masters, by comparison, features a course that is strategically difficult but has enough grass to be recognizable as a golfing surface. Then it decorates the edges with enough azaleas and dogwoods to make it seem approachable. And it is. But treachery is hiding out there among the loblolly pines. Rose is ready for it.
“I feel like I have clearly found my game,” Rose said in the press center of Augusta National on Tuesday. “I've played very well. Farmers is a good example of that. Kind of more evidence that I'm still able to find my best, which is great to know.”
The victory at Torrey Pines gave him the confidence to go forward. Even though he held the trophy high, he decided to review his game to identify areas for improvement. And he wants to make the effort. Seeing where you can improve is one thing, but having the energy and determination to follow through on it is quite another, especially at the age of 45.
He actually enjoys working on improving without age being a factor in doing it.
“When you enjoy it, you don't feel your age,” he added.
Where he might feel it is in walking the hills of Augusta National.
“I actually came back here on Wednesday last week, and when you haven't played tournament golf for a couple weeks, you can be in the gym all you want, when you walk 18 holes, to get your legs back under you is definitely a thing,” he admitted. “This is a tough walk.”
He said he has also learned to pace himself in practice at the Masters, playing nine holes three days in a row to give himself a chance to get used to the climbs, which are not as apparent from watching on TV.
“You need to be ready for Thursday, but you kind of need to save your gas for Sunday as well,” he advised. “If you start great, you still need to finish strong, be able to finish it off.”
The near-misses only encouraged him to figure out a way to play just a few shots better. He only needed six shots in three past Masters, and he would already be a champion three times there.
“It only boosts my belief that I can go ahead and do it,” he said. “I feel like I've pretty much done what it takes to win. I just haven't kind of walked over the line. I feel like I've executed well enough to have done the job.”
There’s nothing like two playoffs to make that apparent, and now, he wants to get his own green jacket.
If it’s any consolation, Rose is tied with Ben Hogan, both having two playoff losses at the Masters. The difference, though, is that Hogan also had two Masters victories. His second one came when he was 40, in 1953, the year of Hogan’s three majors. But 45 is probably the new 30 or 35 these days, so age shouldn’t be a factor until players start saying it is. No one has said that yet.
Remember, not so long ago, Jack Nicklaus shocked the world when he won the 1986 Masters at age 46. Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw won a Masters at age 43. Gary Player won the tournament at age 42. Sam Snead, and Mark O’Meara won the Masters at age 41. Topping them all was Phil Mickelson who won a different major, the PGA, at age 50.
Everyone who watches the Masters knows what a player has to do on each hole. They know what mistakes he can’t make. They know which way the putts break and what happens to a short shot at the 12th. So does Rose. But he's not afraid of it.
“It's a place that I enjoy being. There's certain places you get to, and you take a deep breath and go, right, it's nice to be here,” Rose said about the Masters course. “Augusta still is one of those places for me.”