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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose has been right there at the Masters, twice, but has failed to cross the line.
After Sunday’s Masters loss to Rory McIlroy, the 44-year-old Rose owns the dubious distinction of having lost in a playoff twice at the Masters.
He also lost to Sergio Garcia in 2017, the last time the tournament went to extra holes.
Rose had been through this once before, so he knew the pitfalls.
“The playoff, they always end so quickly,” Rose said after losing to McIlroy on the first hole of the playoff Sunday at Augusta National. “That’s sudden death. You don’t really get an opportunity. If you’re not the guy to hit the great shot or hole the great putt, it’s over.”
It was over quickly for the Englishman on Sunday, just like it was over for him in 2017, when he lost to Garcia.
Rose, who was in the mix at the Masters all week, leading on the first day after shooting a 65, played himself right back into contention in Sunday’s final round.
He made a long birdie putt on 18 in regulation to put himself in position for the playoff when McIlroy bogeyed his 72nd hole.
Rose hit the fairway on the extra hole, then hit a great approach shot to 10 feet.
McIlroy, though, hit his approach shot even closer, to 3 feet.
Rose missed his birdie putt and McIlroy made his and it was over, leaving Rose a two-time Masters playoff victim.
“Disappointing,” he said. “I think to lose in a playoff for the second time kind of punctuates both of them and makes you realize just how close you’ve been. Yeah, it hurts. What are you going to do about it, though?
“I think I’ve already kicked on in my career when I finished second to Sergio here. By then, played some of the best golf of my career, got to world No. 1. What do you choose to dwell on, you know what I mean?
“There’s no point in being too despondent about it, and you look at all the good stuff that got me into this situation. You can’t skip through a career without a little bit of heartache. It’s going to happen. If you’re willing to lift the big championships, you’ve to put yourself on the line. You have to risk feeling this way to get the reverse. It all nets out.”
Rose has now finished runner-up in the past two majors, dating back to last year’s British Open, where he finished second to Xander Schauffele.
Rose, who shot 6-under 66 Sunday, walked away feeling he played some of the best golf of his career.
“It’s been an unbelievable week from Day 1,” Rose said. “Some of the golf I’ve played this week has been probably the finest of my career, tee-to-green and even on the greens at times. It’s a bogey away from being the greatest round I’ve ever played.
“I woke up this morning, just really grateful [for] Sunday [at] Augusta. I really wanted to go and put a good account on myself and felt like I got off to a strong start. Then something happened, for sure, around the middle of the round. I just kind of went into the place that you dream about going to. I felt so good with my game. Felt so good with my mind. I began to sense that I was playing my way into the tournament. I was laser focused out there.”
His long birdie putt on 18 to tie McIlroy was one of those epic putts that would have been shown on highlights for years. Had he won.
“It’s the kind of putt you dream about as a kid, and to have it and hole it, it was a special feeling,” he said. “But not really anything I could have done more today.”
