Justin Rose stays in the Masters lead with some All-Star company

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Justin Rose kept his name atop the leaderboard Friday in the Masters, and he doesn’t have to look far to see an All-Star collection of contenders lining up behind him.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is off to his best start in the Masters. Rory McIlroy made perhaps his greatest recovery at Augusta National.

Still lurking on the course was defending champion Scottie Scheffler.

Rose, who took a three-shot lead into the second round, made short birdie putts at both par 3s on the back nine that allowed him to atone for a few mistakes on his way to a 1-under 71. He was one shot ahead of DeChambeau (68), two clear of McIlroy (66).

“That’s the company that I expect to keep, and that’s where I have tried to be my whole career,” said Rose, whose lone major was the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. “I’ve been a top-10 player in the world for a decade or more. So yeah, this is nice to be back in that mix.”

He set the target at 8-under 136 for Scheffler and the rest of the players in the afternoon, as the wind began to snap flags and cause uncertainty, a most uncomfortable feeling at Augusta.

This was the fifth time Rose had at least a share of the 18-hole lead at the Masters, and he has never done better than 71 in trying to follow that up.

Everyone else had to do a little more to stay in range, and it was particularly pivotal for McIlroy in his bid for the career Grand Slam. He had two double bogeys in his last four holes that ruined an otherwise good start on Thursday, leaving him closer to the cut than the lead.

And he played the front nine with one birdie and eight pars on Friday. But he came to life quickly, stuffing a three-quarter 8-iron to a foot on No. 10 and a similar play with a 9-iron to about 4 feet on No. 11. Best of all was hitting 4-iron off the pine straw on the par-5 13th that narrowly cleared the tributary of Rae’s Creek and set up a 10-foot eagle.

“I had to remind myself I was playing well,” McIlroy said. “I couldn’t let two bad holes dictate the narrative of the 16 good ones. I also had to remind myself this morning not to push too hard too early.”

That was a mistake he made in 2023, the year he faced a 10-shot deficit when he began his second round, tried to catch up as quickly as he could and wound up missing the cut.

This time, he had a steady start and “things sort of clicked into gear on the back nine.”

DeChambeau got within one shot on a couple of occasions until his lone bogey on the 16th. He responded with a birdie to again cut the deficit to one when he finished his round.

Matt McCarty was 3 over for his round after two holes, only to finish the front nine with four straight birdies and work his way back into the mix in his Masters debut with a 68. He was three shots behind, along with Shane Lowry (68).

Scheffler, trying to become only the fourth player to win back to back at the Masters, was only two shots behind when he made the turn.

Also in play Friday was the 36-hole cut of top 50 and ties. Jon Rahm gave himself his best chance by making a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 71 — one birdie, 17 pars — that put him at 2-over 146. That’s where the cut line figured to hover the rest of the day.

Bernhard Langer, 67, and Fred Couples, 65, were bidding to set the Masters record for oldest players to make the cut. Couples set the record two years when he was 63.

One player likely to be headed home was five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.

He was at even par for the tournament until a bogey on the 17th. On the final hole, he hooked his drive into the trees at the start and three-putted from about 12 feet at the end for a quadruple-bogey 8 and a 75.

Rose had a chance to be atop the leaderboard for the 10th round if it holds. It wasn’t as clean a round as it was on Thursday, but it was enough for him to think that a green jacket was still possible at age 44. Only one other person — Jack Nicklaus — was older (46) when he won a green jacket.

“Sometimes it’s hard to follow a low round with another one. Just the nature of it sometimes,” Rose said. “But I feel like if you’re playing good golf, you’re playing good golf. And I feel like I wasn’t pinned to yesterday’s round and I wasn’t pinned to the leaderboard and I wasn’t pinned to leading this golf tournament. I was pretty focused on the job at hand.”

What he said

In an interview after he finished the second round, here’s what Rose said:

Q. After a great 65 yesterday, you carded a 1-under 71 today, currently maintaining your lead. This is the third time you’ve held a share of the 36-hole lead. Can you describe today’s round today?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think overall it felt like a pretty quick turnaround from yesterday evening, getting into this morning, which is good, obviously, off the back of a good round. You want to try to go out there and keep the momentum going.

There’s a bit of a sense that the course is playing a little bit differently today. A bit windier, for sure, out of a slightly different direction. So just trying to make some of those adjustments. I think it was a fairly favorable wind for the golf course in general, which is why I think you’re seeing some good scores.

From my point of view, decent day for sure. My wedge kept me, some really good up-and-downs, actually on holes like No. 4, No. 8, No. 10. So that kind of really kept -- the round was in a good spot at that point. Nice birdie at 12.

And then, yeah, the finish obviously just a few too many 5s coming in. Didn’t really take advantage of the par 5s, although they were both playing tough today. They were into the wind. It didn’t feel like there was much value in trying to force birdies out of those holes.

And then made, yeah, two good swings on 14 and 17, but just misjudgments on the conditions and the wind. Those two 5s could have been two birdie putts quite easily and would have changed the complexion of the round a little bit.

Overall, under par, in a great position going into the weekend.

Q. The PGA last year, The Open last year, they both kind of put you back on the map for a lot of people. But this weekend, are there any takeaways from those tournaments that you are planning to kind of think about as you try to make it a victorious weekend?

JUSTIN ROSE: You know, sometimes you’ve just got to knock on the door. I don’t think I can do anything differently. On both those occasions, especially Valhalla, I actually made a run into contention there, which is great. Got more and more comfortable as I got further and further up the leaderboard, too, which was really good for me to know because, like you say, there had not been a ton of opportunity for the previous couple of years.

And then, yeah, The Open championship, very much the same thing, given -- as this is, as well, given like how much you dream about winning them, felt remarkably comfortable in those situations.

That’s what I’ve learned from those two things, and to sort of make it happen this weekend is, yeah, what is it? Like if it was a secret recipe, you’d know it by now. But it’s about just playing great golf. And I think the leaderboard is stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there. So you’re going to have to play great golf, and you’re going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it. It’s as simple as that, really.

Q. If you were to write the story of your career, as opposed to play it, do you think it would be more rewarding to win this tournament earlier in your career, as you might have done, or later? And depending when it would be, do you think it would feel different?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think I’ll take it anytime. Beggars can’t be choosers, you know. But I would take it right now for sure. Sometimes if it happens too early in your career, you’ve got a lot to live up to. I think if it happens now, I would enjoy it, I think, probably a lot more. You know, come a bit more as a gift towards the end of your career. So I think there would be a lot more satisfaction in it for sure.

Q. You showed a tremendous amount of patience out there today. You made a lot of really good up-and-downs, and you hit a lot of 3-woods off the tee. What was your thinking there?

JUSTIN ROSE: My thinking there was -- obviously 14, it was dead-straight downwind. Felt like if you hit driver, you had to kind of go quite tight up the left side; otherwise, you felt like you may run through towards the right, right rough, right trees.

So it was good angle play, really. It gave me a free swing just straight down the hole rather than trying to maneuver the ball, which would be tricky downwind.

The same on 17, I felt. Obviously, ultimately, didn’t pan out for me. If anything, I have a right miss with the driver. So both those holes kind of didn’t favor that, suit the eye as much from that point of view with that wind direction.

Yeah, those are the reasons.

Q. Would you rate your wedge play for us? You specifically mentioned the three holes. Didn’t you play a wedge on the 14th yesterday? And if so, would you mind rating that as well?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I’ve had some good, clean up-and-downs. Even the first hole today is a pretty simple up-and-down. I’m just off the right-hand edge of the green, but first hole of the day, slightly nervous. But to chip that one up to a foot, it was just -- again, more evidence that it’s getting better.

Holes like No. 10, for example, down short of that green, it’s a very playable wedge shot. But you have to still play it very well, you know.

So to be able to get the right strike on the ball, to be able to flight it up onto the green and then get the check on it to keep it close to the hole is what you need to do.

Yeah, there are a few really nice ones. And the one on 14 yesterday, actually, I was expecting to fly it up onto the tier, but when I got down to the ball, it was in an old divot, old sanded divot. So I had to take my 52-degree, bump it into the bank and then really play it far enough left so the contours brought it around because it’s so easy to leave that one low and then it’s 25 feet down the green.

I felt like a lot of good commitment and strike on the shot but also a lot of knowing the golf course on that one on 14 yesterday.

Q. Rate them out of 10.

JUSTIN ROSE: I think last week I was a 2 out of 10. Really struggled with my wedge play. Something I’ve been working on this week. And I’d give it an 8 so far. Yeah, definitely happy with that part of the game.

Q. I didn’t love the 5s on the second nine, but the two 2s on 12 and 16 are pretty special. How would you characterize those two birdies?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, for sure, obviously No. 12 was not to be messed with today. The wind was beginning to pick up. It was from a fairly favorable direction. When it’s from the right, there’s more open space on the right-hand side. So maybe the wind is a bit more predictable on 12 when it’s coming that way.

I wouldn’t say I was trying to hit it as close as I did. I was trying to land it three or four deeper into the green. That’s the vagaries of that hole. That’s why you make a safe decision and committed swing because you never know exactly where the ball might come down, especially if it’s windy. Yeah, a great two there.

Then on 16, again, the wind was tough direction, it was in off the left, but that’s a pin location that you are trying to go at. You know, even though it’s a very tight pin, it’s one that you are being very, very aggressive at. You don’t really want to be too deep into that green to that pin.

But it was right between clubs for me. It was between 7 and 8. So just to hit the little hold 7 in there on 16, was probably one of the best shots I hit all day.

Q. What was the club on 12?

JUSTIN ROSE: 9-iron.

Q. Does it feel like it’s been a dozen years since you won a major?

JUSTIN ROSE: Not really because I feel like there’s been other sort of great accomplishments in that time. I think winning the Olympic Gold Medal gave me a lot of satisfaction in that interim period, getting to world No. 1, winning the FedExCup. I think really big milestone moments in my career have happened in that 12 careers, which distracts you from the fact that you haven’t won a major in that period.

Yeah, 12 years slips by pretty quick. But like I said, it doesn’t necessarily feel like -- I haven’t been dwelling on that fact at all, really.

Q. It looks like you’re going to be up there with Scheffler with, McIlroy, DeChambeau. Does it make it even better to be in the mix knowing that you’re battling the current top players in the world?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it does. Yeah, you know, that’s the company that I expect to keep, and that’s where I have tried to be my whole career. That’s where I’ve been for a lot of my career. So I’ve been a Top-10 player in the world for a decade or more. So yeah, this is nice to, obviously, yeah, be back in that mix, a hundred percent.

Q. A lot of us bucket pro golf in of generations: Tiger and Phil were a generation, maybe Jordan and Justin are a generation. Do you look at pro golf in of your competitors and everybody in generations?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, a little bit. I’d say me, Adam Scott, Sergio García are sort of regarded as a generation that have had longevity, still doing it, still competitive, still willing and able. Not many of us born in the ‘80s are -- well, ‘79, ‘80, I guess, Sergio, Adam and myself.

So yeah, you know, you look at that for sure, and then, yeah, of course, you know, all the young guys are coming up super, super quick, and there’s a new generation now. I’d say Jordan and Justin are in the peak of their career, I would say.

They are not the young guys anymore. Whereas in the not-too-distant past they were the young bucks but now sort of the well-experienced or veterans out on tour, and there’s new guys coming up all the time.

Q. Could you describe the difficulty of the third shot into 15, and curious if that shot is playing any different than years past?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, the green looks a little bit different for sure. Even from the third shot coming in there it has a little different coloration on it. You can tell it’s a new green. I think because of that, you treat it with some respect. I kind of try to definitely play it five, ten yards right of the pin because there’s a slightly deeper section of green there, just to give yourself some wiggle room, I suppose.

In the past, that putt has been relatively straight down sort of the fall line into the corner of the green there, and I think today it definitely felt like it broke more towards the front of the green.

So yeah, there’s always some subtle changes that potentially happen if you rebuild a green. So yeah, that was definitely one I picked up today more than I picked up in my practice rounds, if I’m honest. I continue to make notes out there on the golf course, even on a day like today when I’m competing because you never know when that note is going to be valuable down the line.

Yeah, I feel like that green has been firmer all week. Although today it didn’t seem -- there was a little bit of rain overnight. Definitely the course was a little softer today, but definitely that green is more receptive than it has been.

Q. You mentioned yesterday your 21 missed cuts when you turned pro. And I don’t know if you saw yesterday, but Nick Dunlap shot a 90. Is there anything that helps if you have kind of a low moment early in your career and you can almost kind of get past it?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think so. I think you have no choice when you’re young and you haven’t really achieved your goals and your dreams yet and you haven’t been spoiled too much yet with all the trappings that come with good golf. I think definitely it gets harder if you go through that really down phase late in your career when you’ve already had so much success. Like I said, when I missed the first 21 cuts, it was like, well, there’s no plan B here. I’ve got to make this happen, make this work.

Yeah, I mean, listen, I think that’s an anomaly for Nick. I don’t know what happened. Tough day for him. Hopefully he’ll shrug that off, you know what I mean. You don’t want to be dwelling on days like that for sure, and if there’s anyplace that can make you look silly at times, it’s here.

Yeah, but hopefully, yeah, that’s one for the -- put it behind him.

Q. In a Ryder Cup year, how much do you place each round you play in the context of trying to make Team Europe?

JUSTIN ROSE: I don’t put the extra pressure on myself, if I’m honest with you. It’s a huge goal for me, and I’m only going to make the team by playing good golf.

So I’m pretty philosophical about it, and that’s exactly how I was in Rome. I was picked in the end to play, and my whole mentality is the goal isn’t making the team. The goal is playing well enough to win points for the team.

So that is how I still view things. And if I’m playing good enough golf to make the team, that’s fantastic. And if I’m playing good enough golf to be warranted a pick, that’s great. But you’ve got to get to Bethpage playing well enough to contribute to the team. I’m just focusing on me and my game and playing well enough to be at that level.

Q. Obviously you’ve been in this position several times before. How do you go ahead now for the rest of your afternoon? Are you someone that’s going to sit there and watch every hole of every other rival, or do you go and look at anything that isn’t golf?

JUSTIN ROSE: I think I’m going to sum it up now. I’m going to go talk to the team, see what we think we should do. Obviously energy management is key, as well, going into a big weekend. There’s maybe a couple of things I’d like to work on, get out in the short game area a little bit more and cement a couple of the feels I’ve been working on. Strike on the irons was a tiny bit off today. Have a discussion on that or work on that for a short amount of time.

Yeah, so haven’t made a full plan yet, but I won’t watch every round. I feel I’ve done that before, and I think that’s as emotionally draining as being out there practicing all afternoon, to be honest with you. I will be -- yeah, I’ve got the family here, which is nice, my mum, my wife. Yeah, so I don’t know what we’ll do, but I won’t be sweating it.

Q. Are you still traveling with your personal gym?

JUSTIN ROSE: I am, yeah.

Q. Is it here this week?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it’s more of a recovery vehicle than a gym. Got to stay young.

Q. Do you find that effective in trying to keep up with these young guys?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, definitely. The whole reason for having it is, also, I live in England and play the PGA TOUR and so there’s a lot of travel. So how do I mitigate that extra load on my body to stay willing and able and capable enough to compete out here.

So yeah, anything I can do to mitigate the wear and tear on my body, especially as I get older, obviously I’m willing to invest in that. Yeah, I think it’s been very helpful.

Q. Did you hear any of the chatter last night or this morning of some of the pundits who noted your second round scoring average after good first rounds was 74 plus and that they were concerned that you might just fall back? Did you hear any of that?

JUSTIN ROSE: No. (Laughter) which is good. Glad you told me now, not this morning. That’s probably why I’m not going to watch TV all afternoon. So thank you, yeah. What do they know? That’s why they are pundits.

Sometimes it’s hard to follow a low round with another one. Just the nature of it sometimes. But I feel like if you’re playing good golf, you’re playing good golf, you know. And I feel like I wasn’t pinned to yesterday’s round and I wasn’t pinned to the leaderboard and I wasn’t pinned to leading this golf tournament. Yeah, I was pretty focused on the job at hand.

Q. The rounds in ‘21 are very similar to the rounds in this week in of where you are and how you played. How are those rounds similar and how are they different?

JUSTIN ROSE: In 2021?

Q. Yeah.

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, in 2021, I don’t even know how I did that; I was playing so badly. So that was kind of out of the blue, really.

Yeah. I hung in there really well, I think, considering how I was playing in ‘21. So I think there’s been a bit more confidence coming in this week. I feel like I said earlier in the week, I think my good is good. I feel like I’m showing much more quality this year in my game than I have done the last couple years. I’m not worried about my good stuff. It’s just about making the average a little bit better and getting that closer to my good stuff so you can compete week-in, week-out.

Yeah, I think that the horsepower and the good golf is still good enough.

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