"Very motivated" Justin Rose competing this week at HBC Heritage
April 16 - Justin Rose's phone was filled with text messages Sunday after The Masters.
While he was pleased to see the "outpouring from people with a lot of positive comments," he nevertheless wishes their tone was more congratulatory. Losing a major in a playoff will do that.
But it was his incredible comeback to force the playoff with eventual champion Rory McIlroy -- he started the day seven strokes back of the leader -- that makes him keep competing, even the week following his somewhat disheartening defeat.
That's why Rose, who turns 45 on July 30, is at this week's RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C.: For those memories that will last a lifetime.
Among the recent moments added to Rose's personal highlight reel: Burying the match-tying putt during Friday's Four-Ball competition at the 2023 Ryder Cup -- "with all the team around me" -- and seeing the patrons erupt when he flushed his long birdie putt to close out his final-round 66 Sunday at Augusta.
"Yeah, I want it to be accompanied with the requisite trophy as well; don't get me wrong," Rose said. "But the reason I'm playing is to sort of feel those moments that really matter in your career and in your life.
"I believe the point is the reason I'm working hard enough to do it is because I still have that belief that it's possible. I think that that's why these weeks are important for me still is that it's just reaffirming that it's still possible."
Rose has won 11 tournaments in his PGA career with his last coming at the 2023 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was his first win in four years.
The win that allowed him to be more comfortable mentally was the 2013 U.S. Open. He also has barely missed winning multiple other majors. He tied for second at the British Open in 2018 and 2024. And, as Sunday's CBS broadcast mentioned several times, Rose had been in the Masters' previous playoff -- when Sergio Garcia beat him on the first playoff hole in 2017.
"You can use this to free yourself up and hopefully be the catalyst to winning more and winning them more easily once that monkey is off the back," Rose said to himself after winning the U.S. Open. "Yeah, even in my situation now, I take that (Masters) loss pretty badly. (Tuesday) was tough. But had I not won a major, it would have been even more brutal, no doubt about it.
"But listen, I was a stone's throw away from winning the Open, winning the Masters. I would have been going for a Grand Slam at the PGA. It's like, it can be that close. I've got to believe that. I'm close to kind of some seriously good stuff, yeah."
So, at 43, Rose will be back on the course in South Carolina this weekend vying for another title. Then there will be time for a couple of weeks off back in his native England.
For now, though, Rose feels he's in a great place, even having come up just short in Augusta.
"I'm happy to be here, to be honest with you," he said. "I'm very motivated just generally this year, and I would say that's been the difference this year; I'm creating these better opportunities, these better weeks, because I feel like I'm doing the work away from golf tournaments, as well. There's just a bit more energy and motivation and belief in what I'm doing and what I'm trying to achieve."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Tommy Fleetwood denied first PGA Tour win on last hole at Travelers Championship
Fleetwood had been defending a three-shot lead following his flawless 63 on Saturday, sitting at 16 under par ahead of Bradley and Russell Henley. However, a couple of early bogeys threatened to derail his bid to end his record of the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since 1983 without claiming a title. "I'm upset now. I'm angry … it hurts." — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 The 34-year-old, though, steadied himself around the turn to edge back ahead of Bradley with birdies at the 11th and 13th. Having found a path on the right of the 15th before going on to save par, Fleetwood looked to be on course once again – only to drop another shot at the 16th. Fleetwood then came up short of the green with his second shot on the 18th. Spurred on by a partisan home crowd, Bradley promptly sent his follow-up to within a few feet. Fleetwood's birdie attempt fell short just behind Bradley's marker, with the Englishman then missing his par putt, having to settle for a bogey and a two-over final round. THE LOCAL KID. @Keegan_Bradley IS A WINNER IN CONNECTICUT FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS! 🏆🏆#TravelersChamp — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 22, 2025 The American – who could yet qualify as a playing captain at Bethpage Black in September – then nervelessly rolled in a birdie to finish at 15 under, sparking wild celebrations around the 18th green. 'I feel like from where I was, I should at least be in a play-off,' Fleetwood said. 'I didn't really feel like I hit that many bad shots execution-wise, just sort of a couple of bad decisions and didn't clean 'em up, which is pretty poor and things that I have to work on.' Fleetwood added: 'I haven't been in this situation for a while. When it sort of calms down – I am upset now, I am angry – but when it calms down, I will look at the things that I did well and look at the things that I can learn from. 'I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, but I didn't do that and it hurts.' 273-yard 5-iron around a tree 👀 Special shot from Rory McIlroy. 📺 CBS — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 Henley chipped in from the edge of the green on the 18th to secure a tie for second with Fleetwood at 14 under. Harris English and Australian Jason Day finished at 13 under in a tie for fourth. World number one Scottie Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy both shot five-under-par final rounds to get to 12 under and finish in a share of sixth place. Newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun had the best round of the day, starting off at the 10th, as he carded a seven-under 63 to climb up into the top 15. Viktor Hovland had earlier withdrawn on the third hole of his final round because of a neck injury.
Leader Live
4 hours ago
- Leader Live
Tommy Fleetwood denied first PGA Tour win on last hole at Travelers Championship
Fleetwood had been defending a three-shot lead following his flawless 63 on Saturday, sitting at 16 under par ahead of Bradley and Russell Henley. However, a couple of early bogeys threatened to derail his bid to end his record of the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since 1983 without claiming a title. "I'm upset now. I'm angry … it hurts." — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 The 34-year-old, though, steadied himself around the turn to edge back ahead of Bradley with birdies at the 11th and 13th. Having found a path on the right of the 15th before going on to save par, Fleetwood looked to be on course once again – only to drop another shot at the 16th. Fleetwood then came up short of the green with his second shot on the 18th. Spurred on by a partisan home crowd, Bradley promptly sent his follow-up to within a few feet. Fleetwood's birdie attempt fell short just behind Bradley's marker, with the Englishman then missing his par putt, having to settle for a bogey and a two-over final round. THE LOCAL KID. @Keegan_Bradley IS A WINNER IN CONNECTICUT FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS! 🏆🏆#TravelersChamp — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 22, 2025 The American – who could yet qualify as a playing captain at Bethpage Black in September – then nervelessly rolled in a birdie to finish at 15 under, sparking wild celebrations around the 18th green. 'I feel like from where I was, I should at least be in a play-off,' Fleetwood said. 'I didn't really feel like I hit that many bad shots execution-wise, just sort of a couple of bad decisions and didn't clean 'em up, which is pretty poor and things that I have to work on.' Fleetwood added: 'I haven't been in this situation for a while. When it sort of calms down – I am upset now, I am angry – but when it calms down, I will look at the things that I did well and look at the things that I can learn from. 'I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, but I didn't do that and it hurts.' 273-yard 5-iron around a tree 👀 Special shot from Rory McIlroy. 📺 CBS — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 Henley chipped in from the edge of the green on the 18th to secure a tie for second with Fleetwood at 14 under. Harris English and Australian Jason Day finished at 13 under in a tie for fourth. World number one Scottie Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy both shot five-under-par final rounds to get to 12 under and finish in a share of sixth place. Newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun had the best round of the day, starting off at the 10th, as he carded a seven-under 63 to climb up into the top 15. Viktor Hovland had earlier withdrawn on the third hole of his final round because of a neck injury.
Powys County Times
4 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Tommy Fleetwood denied first PGA Tour win on last hole at Travelers Championship
Tommy Fleetwood suffered a heart-breaking one-shot defeat at the final hole of the Travelers Championship in Connecticut as American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley denied the Englishman a maiden PGA Tour victory. Fleetwood had been defending a three-shot lead following his flawless 63 on Saturday, sitting at 16 under par ahead of Bradley and Russell Henley. However, a couple of early bogeys threatened to derail his bid to end his record of the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since 1983 without claiming a title. "I'm upset now. I'm angry … it hurts." — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 The 34-year-old, though, steadied himself around the turn to edge back ahead of Bradley with birdies at the 11th and 13th. Having found a path on the right of the 15th before going on to save par, Fleetwood looked to be on course once again – only to drop another shot at the 16th. Fleetwood then came up short of the green with his second shot on the 18th. Spurred on by a partisan home crowd, Bradley promptly sent his follow-up to within a few feet. Fleetwood's birdie attempt fell short just behind Bradley's marker, with the Englishman then missing his par putt, having to settle for a bogey and a two-over final round. THE LOCAL KID. @Keegan_Bradley IS A WINNER IN CONNECTICUT FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS! 🏆🏆 #TravelersChamp — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 22, 2025 The American – who could yet qualify as a playing captain at Bethpage Black in September – then nervelessly rolled in a birdie to finish at 15 under, sparking wild celebrations around the 18th green. 'I feel like from where I was, I should at least be in a play-off,' Fleetwood said. 'I didn't really feel like I hit that many bad shots execution-wise, just sort of a couple of bad decisions and didn't clean 'em up, which is pretty poor and things that I have to work on.' Fleetwood added: 'I haven't been in this situation for a while. When it sort of calms down – I am upset now, I am angry – but when it calms down, I will look at the things that I did well and look at the things that I can learn from. 'I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, but I didn't do that and it hurts.' 273-yard 5-iron around a tree 👀 Special shot from Rory McIlroy. 📺 CBS — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025 Henley chipped in from the edge of the green on the 18th to secure a tie for second with Fleetwood at 14 under. Harris English and Australian Jason Day finished at 13 under in a tie for fourth. World number one Scottie Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy both shot five-under-par final rounds to get to 12 under and finish in a share of sixth place. Newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun had the best round of the day, starting off at the 10th, as he carded a seven-under 63 to climb up into the top 15. Viktor Hovland had earlier withdrawn on the third hole of his final round because of a neck injury.
