Justin Rose: Loses lead on back nine at Augusta

Rose posted a two-under 70 during the final round of The Masters to finish in a four-way tie for third.

Analysis:

Rory McIlroy surged to the top of the leaderboard at 12-under through the first two days of the tournament, but he went one-over par Saturday that allowed the rest of the field at Augusta National to catch up. That included Rose, who made his move during the final round with a four-under front nine that included three consecutive birdies from holes seven to nine. He actually held a two-stroke lead heading into the back, but Rose quickly lost that lead after back-to-back bogeys on holes 11 and 12 and was unable to make up enough ground over the final six holes to force a playoff with McIlroy like he did in 2025. Rose has had plenty of success at Augusta with four top-3 finishes, including two playoff loses, but he'll have to wait at least another year to contend for his first green jacket. He's in the field for next week's RBC Heritage Open, where he finished T44 and T42 in 2024 and 2025, respectively.