The drive from Augusta, Ga., to Hilton Head Island, S.C., for players who leave the Masters and head for the RBC Heritage tournament is a way to unburden from the rigors of a major championship and get into decompression mode at a place that has a simpler, more relaxed vibe.
Although this week’s tournament is now a signature event on the PGA Tour with a $20 million purse and plenty at stake, the stress level is ratcheted down a significant degree and made even better now with a tournament that has no 36-hole cut.
Coming off his playoff loss to Rory McIlroy on Sunday at the Masters, Justin Rose has had plenty of time to reflect as he prepared to tee it up again Thursday.
“Mixed emotions for sure,” Rose said Wednesday during a news conference at Harbour Town Golf Links. “A lot of outpouring from people with a lot of positive comments coming at me, so trying to absorb that, trying to absorb the week, but at the same time looking at my phone and just wishing there was a different message there. A lot of heartfelt commiserations and things like that. Clearly having been in situations like that before and even more this time could really sense what it would be like to win it, and felt like I was right there on the edge of winning it, obviously.
“Certainly don’t feel down in any way, shape or form just because of the performance I was able to put in and how I was able to feel putting in that performance, but just sort of—don’t know what the right word is, tormented probably, by the thought of what might have been.”
Rose, who led after the Masters after a first-round 65, had fallen seven shots back of Rory McIlroy through 54 holes and was all but discounted going into the final round, with McIlroy holding a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy’s lead was four strokes through 10 holes but Rose was putting together an excellent round and when McIlroy found the water on the 13th and made a double bogey—then followed with a bogey at the 14th hole—Rose was leading when he birdied the 16th hole.
He bogeyed the 17th but then birdied the 18th from 20 feet, shooting a final-round 66 and finding himself in a playoff when McIlroy bogeyed the 18th.
McIlroy then won with a birdie on the first extra hole.
Rose, 44, was universally praised for the way he handled the defeat in such a classy manner.
It was his second consecutive runner-up finish in a major championship as he tied for second last year, two shots behind winner Xander Schauffele at Royal Troon.
“I’m working well. I’m working hard,” said Rose, 44, who won the 2013 U.S. Open and has 11 victories each on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. “I’m feeling good about my game. I’ve been saying all year that my good is good. I’ve just got to kind of make sure that I’m playing consistently well enough to give myself those opportunities because obviously majors come around fairly rarely, only four times a year. So you do need a level of consistency in your game to continue to create those opportunities to win.
“The last two majors I’ve been right there and been beaten by the top players in the world at the peak of their game.
“But on both occasions, I’ve felt like I’ve stepped up, I’ve hit the shots, I’ve played well, I’ve felt great, and I’m doing the right things to win. So just got to keep the level high enough to keep creating those opportunities.”
Rose effectively assured himself a spot in the U.S. Open this year by moving up to 12th from 39th in the Official World Golf Ranking. And by moving to ninth in the FedEx Cup standings, he’s put himself in excellent position to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship, which would all but guarantee spots in all four majors in 2026.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Rose Reflects on ‘Mixed Emotions’ From Masters Playoff Loss.