Justin Rose feeling good year after loss in Masters playoff

Justin Rose readily admits he wasn't interested in playing golf for a period of time after losing last year's Masters Tournament in a playoff to Sergio Garcia.

"I think the month or two after this — well, the two weeks after this — I didn't really want to play golf," Rose said Monday. "I was kind of licking my wounds a little bit."

But in retrospect, Rose has been able to focus on how well he played to be in the position he was in on Sunday a year ago.

"I really have positive and fond memories of last year. I hit a lot of great shots,'' said Rose, who is making his 13th Masters appearance. "I don't feel like it was a tournament that anybody lost, really, per se. It was just one of those situations where one guy was going to lose.

"So I really, I don't feel bad whatsoever, but still, clearly, it's whenever you lose a playoff in a major, it's one of those moments that you look back and think what might have been."

To put the thoughts of what might have been to rest, Rose came to Augusta and played two rounds after the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March.

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"People say 'you played the Masters 12 times, why do you still go up early for practice rounds'? And I'm like why not? It's Augusta," Rose said. "I always love being up here, and you always do tend to learn a thing or two. And I think for me, last year after losing in the playoff, it was just to come up and walk the grounds. Clearly, you're going to kind of go through memories and shots you hit and shots that didn't come off, etc. etc., so I just wanted to have that walk before tournament week."

Rose, who played in his first Masters in 2003 and tied for 39th, has not missed the cut in 12 appearances.

In addition to his runner-up finish last year, Rose tied for second with Phil Mickelson in 2015.

Rose has two other top-10 finishes in the Masters, a tie for fifth place in 2007 and a tie for eighth in 2012.

"It starts by just driving up Magnolia Lane and feeling good and having good energy and feeling good about the place," Rose said. "That sort of love affair started my very first Masters in 2003. I had positive experiences here, so it's become a happy hunting ground.

"For me I always said, I don't have to win this year, I don't have to win it next year, but I would love to win it. If I keep doing that, then chances are going to continue to present themselves."

Rose began the 2017-18 PGA Tour season on a strong note, winning the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai in October and has top-10 finishes in three other official PGA Tour events (Farmers Insurance Open, Valspar Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational).

"I've been very happy with the way my game's been trending," he said. "I took a month off four or five weeks ago with the hopes of being fresh for this, and I played a nice run of golf since then. I played four of my last five weeks, so I feel certainly tournament sharp, and I've had some good results."

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