Justin Rose is already moving on from The Masters, with Augusta’s runner-up in the field for this week’s RBC Heritage.
Just days after losing to Rory McIlroy in a sudden-death playoff at The Masters, Rose takes on the 2025 RBC Heritage, which is already underway.
Scottie Scheffler is looking to defend his title, having failed to do that at Augusta National as he finished fourth.
Rose meanwhile ended his four rounds on 11-under, level with McIlroy, who quickly triumphed at the first playoff hole.
It represents a fifth major championship success for the Northern Irishman as the Englishman just missed out on a second, with Rose praised by Gary Player after The Masters concluded.
Justin Rose ‘not down’ despite another playoff loss at The Masters
History repeated itself for Rose, with the 2013 US Open champion having also lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia at The Masters in 2017.
Understandably with mixed emotions in the aftermath of his latest efforts, Rose told Golf Today: “I mean I’ve had such an outpouring of support I suppose and people being very kind, and you know, a lot of nice words coming my way.
“Which eases the pain a little bit, but you know in some ways also it brought up 2017 a bit more, especially losing again in a playoff, it sort of punctuated that one again for me, just realising how close you’ve come again.
“It sort of felt like I could really taste it this time, I could really imagine what it would have been like to have won.
“So I’m not down at all, I feel like I gave it a really great shot. There’s a million scenarios, we can always pick holes and go back and think if something might have been a bit different.
“But at the end of the day, starting the day I gave myself every opportunity and that’s all I can be proud of. So it’s just having come so close, you almost know how it would have felt.”
Justin Rose experiences career-first on Sunday at The Masters
Rose has now come agonisingly close to winning The Masters on three occasions, having finished T2 back in 2015.
That represented the same finish he posted in his most recent major championship before Augusta last week, when Royal Troon hosted The Open Championship.
Asked if he’s doing something differently compared to previous years to help secure such finishes, he said: “Listen, I am… it’s the reason I’m playing golf. It’s the reason I’m wanting to kind of still be committed.
“The reason I’m still practising hard and doing the work at home and making the sacrifices away from the family and all that stuff is because I want to win major championships and still believe I have this opportunity, this window of time to still do that.
“So I mean, obviously for me, if I look at the last couple there’s evidence there that I’m as good as anybody in those moments.
“And that’s the thing I’ve learned the most about myself, I think, is that how good I felt in those biggest situations.”
And asked how exactly he felt, Rose said: “Sunday I went to a place that I’ve maybe never been before.
“Completely calm, completely comfortable, completely in control, enjoying every moment. So that’s great, and it’s like as the pressure built, the calmer I got. So that was nice to know.
“Because that’s something you can’t really practice for, train for. You can think about how do I want to approach it, but until you’re in that moment, you don’t really, really know.
“And for me personally, you don’t get there enough to build that as a habit. Obviously if you’re winning every single week, sure, but majors are a little different.
“There’s only four of them, chances are you’re not in contention every time you play in a major. So it’s a mindset that, like I said, it’s just nice to know that is there and available when you need it. So yeah, for me it’s more evidence that the hard work’s worth it still, and I’ll keep doing it.”
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