Three-time Masters runner-up Justin Rose back for another run
· Yahoo Sports
AUGUST, Ga. — Justin Rose is well aware of what it takes to be successful at Augusta National.
He’s also well aware about where he sits in the history of the Masters Tournament: The story here cannot be told without mentioning him, but none of those chapters end with him wearing a green jacket.
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The 45-year-old is just a handful of shots away from three separate Masters victories. He finished runner-up to Jordan Spieth in 2015 and fell short in playoffs to Sergio Garcia (2017) and Rory McIlroy (2025), coming ever so close golf immortality.
Despite all that, he isn’t harping on the near-misses.
“I think for me I'm very aware that I've been close here. I'm very aware that I've had tough, tough losses here,” Rose said during his pre-tournament interview on Monday, April 6. “I also am aware that I enjoy this place. So I don't want to sort of like ― I don't want to feel that those three second-place finishes need to create a different sort of feeling for me.”
This isn’t about re-inventing himself or making some groundbreaking changes to his game. Rather, it's about getting that last 5 or 10 percent out of his game over 72 holes.
“I feel like I've pretty much done what it takes to win,” he said. “I just haven't kind of walked over the line. I feel like I've executed well enough to have done the job. From that point of view, I don't feel like I have to find something in myself to kind of do something different. I truly believe that.”
Rose will make his 21st Masters start this week. How has his preparation changed over two decades? He says it’s about realizing the week is a marathon, not a sprint.
“Definitely what I've learned through the years is that you ― there was a tendency early in my career to try to be perfect for Thursday. Yeah, you need to be ready for Thursday, but you kind of need to save your gas for Sunday as well,” he said. "If you start great, you still need to finish strong, be able to finish it off. Yeah, saving ― kind of having the long-term view of what it takes to be in contention and finish it off on the weekend does definitely ― I'll probably do less now than I would have done 10 years, 15 years ago for sure.”
Rose added despite his vast experience at Augusta, it still comes down to execution.
“Listen, you can know everything in the world, but when it comes to execution, if you're not playing well, it doesn't matter how well you know anything,” he said. “It's an execution-based business, and the golf course doesn't know what I know. Basically I've got to put a swing on a ball or make a good read in the moment or put it on the right speed and do all the things you have to do week in and week out to play well.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose has 3 runner-ups in Masters, including two in a playoff