Augusta: The bloom of azaleas and magnolias at Augusta National Golf Club is a sight to behold, but a solitary Rose became the talking point after the opening round of the 89th Masters Tournament.
England’s Justin Rose nearly lapped the field on the first day itself, opening a three-shot lead after a blistering romp on the hallowed grounds that resulted in eight birdies – three of them in the first three holes as he galloped off the gates – and a closing bogey on the 18th hole.
After winning at least one title every year from 2010 to 2019, including the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal and the 2013 US Open, the 44-year-old world No. 39 is enjoying a revival in form. It started with a tied sixth finish at the PGA Championship last year, followed by a rousing tied second at the Open Championship at Royal Troon in treacherous weather.
Rose is calling it his ‘Indian summer’.
“I think for me at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, it was a golf course that shouldn’t really suit me. It was a bit of a bomber’s paradise. I was in the hunt with a few holes to go there and I ended up finishing T6th, but I was a lot more in the tournament than that finish suggests. The fact that I had those types of results on those types of courses gave me a lot of hope,” explained Rose.
“And then, at the Open Championship again, I felt like I actually played the golf there to win and played through some of the toughest weather conditions that week and still had a great opportunity on Sunday. Again, more evidence that when the big stage is there, I can kind of bring my game and still compete with the best players in the world.
“If you know that in your head, that gives you the motivation to then still work hard. If you don’t quite feel like you can do it, or you don’t feel quite like you can play at an elite level, then practice becomes hard. I think those couple weeks were big motivating weeks where I thought the hard work is still worth it, and gave me the belief I can shake it with the best.
“I’m excited about my Indian Summer. I’m 44…golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, 10 years. So, your opportunity is less going forward. You have to make the most of it.”
The putter was especially hot for Rose. If a 25-footer for birdie on the tricky opening hole provided the momentum, a 28-footer for par on the fourth helped maintain it. A 19ft birdie putt on the 17th was read to perfection. The only short putt he missed was a five-footer for birdie on the 13th hole.
This is the fifth time in 19 Masters appearances that Rose finds himself on top of the leaderboard. The dubious aspect of that record is that he is the only player with that many leads not to have won a Green Jacket as yet.
“You know what, I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don’t have the Jacket to prove it. I’ve obviously played a lot of good rounds of golf here.
“But ultimately, you want to be last man standing on Sunday, and I was a shot shy in 2017 and it could have gone any which with Sergio (Garcia) way down the stretch. A little bit of Lady Luck is always the difference here at times.
“I’ve had my luck on occasion and been a champion (in other tournaments). But you’ve got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and obviously, the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard.”
Alongside Rose, a big Thursday story was another painful opening round for Rory McIlroy in his quest for a career grand slam and a first Green Jacket. The world No.2 seemed like on cruise control at 4-under par through 14 holes, before making deflating double bogeys on the 15th and 17th.
