Justin Rose arrives at the Cadillac Championship, a designated event on the PGA Tour in Miami, with mixed emotions. On one hand, the return to Trump National Doral, where he won in 2012. On the other, the still-fresh residue of what happened at the Masters at Augusta, where once again the chance to wear the Green Jacket slipped away, adding to his run of runner-up finishes at the tournament.
“It was disappointing, honestly”, the Englishman admitted in his press conference, bluntly. “When you find yourself leading on Sunday over the final nine holes… I felt like it could have happened. It almost did. It should have happened”, he added. But rather than leaving it there, Rose went into the moments that, in his view, cost him the tournament. Three consecutive holes on the back nine on Sunday (11, 12 and 13) marked the negative turning point for him.
“I wasn’t comfortable on 11, on 12 there were many variables… the lie, the wind, I even had a pine cone behind the ball”, he recounted. “There I stepped a bit out of my zone. And then the three‑putt on 13 was a lack of patience”, explained Rose. Beyond the technical analysis, the Englishman acknowledged the emotional aftermath: “You’re left with an empty feeling for a few days”. That’s why he decided to stop. “I needed to listen to my own thoughts, not those of others”, he revealed.
The reaction, though, has been immediate: “Last week was one of the best I’ve had physically in a long time. I’ve regained my motivation”. And amid that process, the Cadillac Championship appears as a special stage. At this very venue, in 2012, Rose took one of the key steps in his career: “It was a period when I felt everything was moving in the right direction. I had come from winning on the PGA Tour, then in the play‑offs… and I thought the next step was a major”.
That major would arrive a year later at the US Open. Although the course remains as demanding as it was then: “If the wind blows, every little detail makes it harder. It’s a course that gets progressively tougher”. Especially the 18th hole, one of the great judges of the tournament: “It’s a very narrow tee shot, with a left‑to‑right wind that pushes you towards the water. To play it well you need two perfect swings”.
Revolución en su bolsa: llega McLaren
Beyond the play, Rose headlines one of the big stories of the week: the launch of his new line of clubs with McLaren: “I’ve been working on this for more than a year. I’ve been involved from the beginning, testing prototypes, giving feedback”, he explained. “Now I finally have them in the bag and I’m very excited”, added the English golfer.
And far from seeing it as a risk, he considers it a step forward: “I don’t think I was playing with the perfect set before. Now I have everything tailored to my preferences. The data is even better”.
Rose also focused on another key issue of the moment: the congestion of the PGA Tour schedule, with several big tournaments in a row before the PGA Championship. “Something had to give. It’s not ideal having to miss big tournaments to prepare for other big tournaments”, he said. The Englishman trusts the circuit will adjust this situation in the future, especially with the introduction of new top‑level events.
Finally, Rose did not want to miss the chance to praise the victory of the Fitzpatrick brothers last week. “Matt’s bunker shot on the 18th has to be the shot of the year”, he said. “For everything that was at stake, for the family context… it was incredible”, he added. Meanwhile, he looks ahead. With the thorn of Augusta still recent, but also with the certainty that he’s still there. “I’m close”, he insisted. And in elite golf, sometimes that is the most important thing.
