Justin Rose coping with the 'torment' of Masters close call

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The farther Justin Rose drove from Augusta National only made him realize how close he came to winning the Masters.

His phone kept buzzing on the way to Hilton Head Island, one text after another, all of them with the same message that applauded his remarkable rally and offered commiseration and condolences for his runner-up finish to Rory McIlroy.

Rose started the final round seven shots out of the lead, too far back to think about winning. He made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 66. He was in a sudden-death playoff. He lost on a great shot by McIlroy, who hit gap wedge to 3 feet for birdie.

It was a lot to process.

“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,” Rose said Wednesday at the RBC Heritage. “But at the same time, looking at my phone and just wishing there was a different message there.”

This is a path he knows well.

Rose had a two-shot lead with six holes to play in the 2017 Masters when Sergio Garcia — like McIlroy, a good friend — made a most improbable rally to force a playoff and beat Rose on the first extra hole.

Rose was classy in defeat that day in 2017. He lovingly patted Garcia's cheek, they embraced, and then Rose tapped Garcia on the heart. He knew what it meant for a talented Spaniard who had played 70 majors before winning.

He was equally gracious on Sunday, telling McIlroy when it was over he was happy to witness such a momentous occasion of the career Grand Slam.

It still hurts.

He searched for the right words. Rose was proud of how he played to match the low score of the final round with a 66. In one of those must-make moments in a major, he poured in a birdie on the last hole. There was a lot that went right. But there was no green jacket.

“Just sort of ... don't know what the right word is,” he said. “Tormented, probably, by the thought of what might have been.”

He joined Ben Hogan as the only player to lose a playoff twice at the Masters, and it might have stung worse for Rose because both his losses were in sudden-death. He now has had at least a share of the lead after 12 rounds at the Masters, fourth on the list behind Jack Nicklaus (19), Arnold Palmer (18) and Gary Player (12), who have combined to win 13 green jackets.

He has 23 wins worldwide, including a major at the U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. He also has the distinction of congratulating a Masters champion on the 18th green three times in the last 10 years — Jordan Spieth in 2015, Garcia in 2017, McIlroy on Sunday.

The last time he lost the Masters in a playoff, Rose said it lingered for about a month. Sure, he made a few bogeys he'd like to have back from the final round Sunday. That's true for anyone at any golf tournament. There's still the sting of seeing someone else win.

Rose would rather look back to what followed after that 2017 loss. He went on to win three more times that year, including his second World Golf Championships title. He won the FedEx Cup the following year and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time.

“If I look back to my best golf, 2017 August through to the end of '18 is probably the most consistently good golf that I’ve ever played,” Rose said. “Obviously, I was a little bit more in the prime of my career around that time, or you could argue more prime.”

Rose, who turned pro as a teenager in 1998, will be 45 at the end of July.

“But I don’t see any reason why that can’t be the same this time around," he said. “I'm working well. I'm working hard. I'm feeling good about my game. I've been saying all year that my game is good. I've just got to make sure that I’m playing consistently well enough to give myself those opportunities, because majors come around ... only four times a year.”

Rose can't help but think how little it would take for him to be going to the PGA Championship next month at Quail Hollow with a shot at the career Grand Slam himself — briefly tied for the Sunday lead at Royal Troon, a playoff loss at the Masters.

“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,” he said.

What keeps him going at this stage? He will have completed his 28th year as a pro in July.

It's moments like Sunday, being in the thick of it, delivering clutch moments. There was the birdie putt on the 18th at Augusta. There was that 8-foot putt on the 18th hole at the Ryder Cup in 2023 that earned a key halve. There was that walk up the 18th at Royal Troon last summer with thousands on their feet showing appreciation.

“I’m close to kind of some seriously good stuff,” Rose said.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Justin Rose hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Justin Rose reacts after missing an eagle putt on the 13th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Justin Rose celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Justin Rose celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Justin Rose celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, right, greets Justin Rose, of England, after winning in a playoff after the final round the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

German-American winger Montrell Culbreath scored on his senior debut to cap Bayer Leverkusen's 3-1 win over Leipzig on Saturday, putting Leverkusen back among the Bundesliga title contenders.

The 18-year-old Culbreath, who has represented Germany and the United States at youth level, came off the bench in the 77th. With Leipzig searching for an equalizer, Culbreath surged up the field on a stoppage-time breakaway and scored into the top-left corner, wheeling away with arms wide in celebration.

Culbreath then had to wait to learn if his goal would count as VAR checked Leipzig's claim of handball in an earlier incident at the other end.

Leverkusen enters the winter break third in a season which began in chaos when Erik ten Hag was fired as coach after three games. Kasper Hjulmand has overseen nine wins in 13 Bundesliga games since.

Leverkusen dominated early on but Leipzig opened the scoring through Xaver Schlager's low shot fromthe edge of the box after the defense was slow to react at a throw-in.

Martin Terrier leveled five minutes later with a header from Arthur's cross, and Patrik Schick scored Leverkusen's second near halftime, leaving a defender sprawling and lofting the ball over the goalkeeper.

Leverkusen held on to inflict Leipzig's first home loss of the season despite missing left back Alejandro Grimaldo, center back Edmond Tapsoba and attacking midfielder Ibrahim Maza due to injury or the Africa Cup of Nations.

Leverkusen climbed to third, dropping Leipzig to fourth. Bayern Munich leads by six points from Borussia Dortmund and plays Heidenheim on Sunday.

Dzenan Pejcinovic scored a hat trick and was still on the losing team as Wolfsburg succumbed to Freiburg's late surge 4-3.

Pejcinovic hadn't scored in the Bundesliga before but the 20-year-old forward, starting because Mohamed Amoura was away at the Africa Cup, made his mark with three goals as Wolfsburg exploited defensive errors by Freiburg.

Wolfsburg's own blunders also proved costly as defender Jenson Seelt, on loan from Sunderland, gave away a penalty and diverted a save from goalkeeper Kamil Grabara into his own net.

That allowed Freiburg to level the score twice before substitute Derry Scherhart scored a 78th-minute winner.

Freiburg stayed ninth and Wolfsburg dropped to 14th with a loss after Daniel Bauer was confirmed as coach on a permanent basis earlier Saturday. Bauer had been interim coach since Paul Simonis was fired last month.

Eintracht Frankfurt ended 2025 in seventh place with one win from its last six games in all competitions, after drawing with Hamburger SV 1-1.

A poor pass across Frankfurt's defense was picked off by Albert Sambi Lokonga to give Hamburg the lead before Hugo Larsson leveled for Frankfurt off Nathaniel Brown's cross.

An offside header from Stuttgart's Deniz Undav in stoppage time was as close as his team and Hoffenheim got in their 0-0 draw, a result which didn't help either team's push for the Champions League places. Hoffenheim ended the day fifth, Stuttgart sixth.

András Schäfer scored a dramatic winner from a corner in stoppage time as eighth-placed Union Berlin finally broke down 10-man Cologne for a 1-0 win following Rav van den Berg's earlier red card for handball.

Augsburg and Werder Bremen drew 0-0.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Leverkusen's Martin Terrier celebrates after scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday Dec. 20, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Hamburger's Albert Lokonga celebrates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt, in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday Dec. 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Philipp Treu celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejcinovic, left, celebrates with Yannick Gerhardt after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Darius Simka/dpa via AP)