Justin Rose will go into the weekend with a phenomenal chance of winning The Masters after following up his opening round of 65 with a 71 to move to eight under par for the week.
Justin Rose has continued his love affair with Augusta National. Rose has led more rounds at The Masters without winning than anyone else in history. But the Englishman is well placed to end that run this week.
Rose is eight under par for the tournament at the halfway stage.
The 44-year-old was not quite as flawless as he had been on Thursday. Rose made four birdies and three bogeys during the second round to leave himself in a fantastic position heading into the weekend.
Justin Rose surprised by change at Augusta National
But he will not be getting complacent. Rose knows better than anyone how hard it can be to hold onto a lead at Augusta National. And a number of the holes seem to be causing a lot of issues for a number of the world’s best players.
Notably, the 15th proved to be one of the biggest hurdles on Thursday. Patrick Cantlay made an eight after chipping into the water on two occasions, while Rory McIlroy made a double bogey there after going over the back of the green in two.
And it seems that the hole has surprised a number of players this time around, with Rose suggesting that he was caught off-guard by a change – even after playing a practice round at Augusta.
“Yeah, the green looks a little bit different for sure. Even from the third shot coming in there it has a little different coloration on it. You can tell it’s a new green. I think because of that, you treat it with some respect. I kind of try to definitely play it five, ten yards right of the pin because there’s a slightly deeper section of green there, just to give yourself some wiggle room, I suppose,” he said.
“In the past, that putt has been relatively straight down sort of the fall line into the corner of the green there, and I think today it definitely felt like it broke more towards the front of the green.
“So yeah, there’s always some subtle changes that potentially happen if you rebuild a green. So yeah, that was definitely one I picked up today more than I picked up in my practice rounds, if I’m honest. I continue to make notes out there on the golf course, even on a day like today when I’m competing because you never know when that note is going to be valuable down the line.
“Yeah, I feel like that green has been firmer all week. Although today it didn’t seem — there was a little bit of rain overnight. Definitely the course was a little softer today, but definitely that green is more receptive than it has been.”
The part of Justin Rose’s game which has improved significantly at The Masters
Rose may not have been a contender in the eyes of many. While he has an impressive record at Augusta across his career, the 2013 US Open champion had an underwhelming week at the Valero Texas Open last time out, even hitting a shank at one stage.
But he appears to be found something in his game. Rose suggested that his approach game has been significantly better as he was asked to rate his performance in that area.
“I think last week I was a 2 out of 10. Really struggled with my wedge play. Something I’ve been working on this week. And I’d give it an 8 so far. Yeah, definitely happy with that part of the game,” he said.
The worry for Rose is that he has a stacked leaderboard directly behind him. An eight for his wedge game may not be good enough with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler lurking.
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