Justin Rose has 'no shame' over Rory McIlroy battle after Masters heartbreak
Justin Rose insists he has "no shame" over losing the Masters to Rory McIlroy earlier this year - and feels similarly about narrowly missing out on The Open this time 12 months ago.
Rose, whose Major success came back in 2013 when he landed the US Open, has come up short on several occasions in a bid to emulate that victory. Since he headed into his 40s though he's proved he can still challenge the best.
At Troon last year he was in the hunt for victory and it wasn't until a late flurry of birdies that Xander Schauffele took himself to the Claret Jug, beating Rose by two shots. His more agonising loss though would come at Augusta back in April.
Rose finished second for a third time and two of those have come as a result of play-offs on the 18th. McIlroy achieved the career slam by downing his fellow Brit but the 44-year-old is magnanimous and believes that Schauffele and the Northern Irishman were at the peak of their powers when they beat him.
He told the Times: 'Cumulatively, they've stacked up to hurt, because both of them would have translated to a different perspective on my career. But what I've learnt about myself most in the last year is that I've still got it when it counts. I stepped up on Sunday and I felt my best and I executed.
'On both occasions I lost to probably the best or second-best player in the world at the time, so there is definitely no shame in it, it's just that feeling of what might have been.'
There was an outpouring of emotion at Augusta when McIlroy eventually ended his Masters wait. He and Rose shared a classy embrace, which saw plaudits come his way given he was digesting a narrow defeat. Rose's wife, Kate, later hugged McIlroy in a clip that went viral.
But for the runner-up he felt the adulation he got for acknowledging McIlroy's success was over the top. 'I got a lot of love, but I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary. I took it well, as you should do, and I realised how amazing a moment it was for Rory,' he said.
Rose's longevity is almost unrivalled in the modern game. Currently ranked No23 in the world, only the World No 42 Adam Scott is elder and still serving in the top 100. It means the US Open champion is in the reckoning to play in this year's Ryder Cup, which is his overriding goal.
'My main motivation is to be on the team as a player at Bethpage,' he said. 'I could probably continue to push to be a player at Adare, that's well within my capabilities, but you've also got to look at what's best for the team in totality."
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