“There was a lot going on on Sunday. There was obviously a huge opportunity for me at the very end."
That was Justin Rose's assessment of what went down at The Masters, and that may very well be the understatement of the 2025 golf season thus far.
Heading into the final round at Augusta National, of course, Rose was seven shots back of Rory McIlroy but extraordinarily found himself in a tie for the lead after 72 holes, making 10 birdies during his final round en route to a 6-under 66 before losing in a playoff.
Even a few days after the end of the year's first major, he still looked a little tired from the effort heading into this week's RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, the fifth Signature Event of the PGA Tour season.
While Rose played what he called “incredible golf” at the outset and through most of the round, he wasn’t thinking about having a chance to win.
What he did ponder was what it means to play The Masters on a Sunday.
“It's a very special day, no matter what, and I feel like I just got into my round quite nicely from the beginning,” he said. “From around Amen Corner, which is probably the most special stretch of golf that there is, just went to this different place, and things just started to flow for me and started to think that we were on to something really big.”
He didn’t have regrets about his play, and he received so many positive comments about it that they balanced what he called the “tormented” thoughts of what might have been.
“The last two majors, I've been right there and been beaten by the top players in the world at the peak of their game,” he noted.
Some may have already forgotten that in addition to his runner-up finish at The Masters, Rose tied for second at The Open Championship last July, losing by two strokes to Xander Schauffele.
“On both occasions, I've felt like I've stepped up, I've hit the shots, I've played well, I've felt great, and I'm doing the right things to win,” he added. “So just got to keep the level high enough to keep creating those opportunities.”
“I've been racking up too many seconds than I care to think about now,” he complained, “but I'm still creating opportunities. You can't skip throughout your career without a little heartache here and there. But I've had the luck go my way on occasion as well.”
As Rose will turn 45 this summer, he seems to be aware that his best chances to win big tournaments are likely behind him. But he’s obviously also playing well enough to compete in them. So perhaps if some of that luck he mentioned can go his way, he can still add that second major championship to his Hall of Fame resume.