AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Perhaps the only solace Justin Rose can take from another Sunday heartbreak at the Masters is that he didn’t finish second again.
He finished in a four-way tie for third.
The popular 45-year-old Englishman, who lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy last year, ended up two shots behind him on Sunday. For a brief moment, it was Rose with a two-shot lead in the final round at Augusta National, until a series of mistakes through Amen Corner and a couple of birdies by the defending champ through the same stretch of holes dealt Rose another dose of disappointment.
Two-time champion Scottie Scheffler made a late charge to finish second at 11 under, and Rose was another shot back, along with Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley and Cameron Young, who played in the final group with McIlroy but never got anything going.
“Just a chance that got away,” Rose lamented afterward.
He's had a lot of them on the picturesque grounds of Augusta National.
Rose has finished second three times, including another playoff loss to Sergio Garcia. The only players to be runner-up more often in the Masters are Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf — and Nicklaus and Hogan each won more than one green jacket.
“I feel like with a sudden-death loss,” Rose said, “you kind of know you got to the house. You've done everything it took to win. Then it comes down to a flick of a coin at times. Whereas today I felt like, yeah, there was an opportunity to do better.”
Rose began the day three shots back of McIlroy and Young, but by the time he made the turn, he had reached 12 under and was back in contention. McIlroy and Young had started to falter, and Scheffler had yet to make his move, and that left Rose in the middle of the fairway at the long, par-4 11th with a two-shot lead in the final round of the Masters.
He proceeded to hang his approach shot so far right that it ended up wide of the greenside bunker, the first ominous sign of trouble. Rose followed with a good pitch, but he missed the 15-footer for par and his lead was trimmed in half.
Then, at the par-3 12th — perhaps the most famous par 3 in the world — Rose flew the green from 155 yards. His ball came to rest on a slight downhill lie, and he left the ensuing chip short of the green, leading to a second consecutive bogey.
“You get on the 12th tee, you've got to be 100 percent in the moment,” Rose said. “Landed two yards too far and kind of put me in a funny spot where I had a pine cone right next to my ball that I wanted to move. It kind of made me try to chip that a bit of a different way, because I kind of had to use the toe of the club and hit a bit of a hook-chip.”
Yet it may have been the final hole of Amen Corner that Rose will regret most. He gave himself a 40-footer for eagle at the par-5 13th, which would have pulled him alongside McIlroy at 12 under. Instead of making it, a three-putt par further zapped his momentum.
Rose did get up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 15th, but he missed a 3-footer at 17, and his chances of winning were over.
“I was by no means free and clear, and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position,” Rose said. “I was really in control. First 10 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.”
The majors have caused Rose plenty of heartache over the years. He was second at the British Open in 2024, and third at the PGA Championship earlier in his career. The three runner-up finishes in the Masters have put his name on the large, silver trophy depicting the Augusta National clubhouse, but not in the column that belongs to the winners.
His only major title remains the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.
Rose isn't giving up, though. Far from it.
“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,” he said. “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.”
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