The first blood at Augusta has been drawn, and Justin Rose sits atop the fabled green jacket mountain. This came after a major heartbreak in 2017. That Masters became Sergio García’s redemption story after 70+ winless majors, with Rose, already a U.S. Open champion, cast as the talented foil standing in the way of history. Rose stood optimistic after the loss, saying, “This is a tournament I am going to win one day… I feel really confident here; this is my favorite tournament of the year.”

Justin Rose currently boasts a three-stroke lead over a chasing pack of American Scottie Scheffler, Swede Ludvig Aberg, and Canadian Corey Conners. Interestingly, this is the fifth time that Rose is leading the tournament after R1. Now comes the real test. Whether the Brit will handle the pressure on the second day, and maintain the lead to win? That remains to be seen, but Rose does have some strong feelings about his winless Masters streak.

Since 2015, Rose has finished in the top 10 of at least one major every year, except for 2022. These include four finishes of 2 place or T2. Despite such consistent performances, the English golfer’s inability to churn out victories should be a bit bothersome. Luck hasn’t been on his side a lot. Now, the odds have adjusted to bring Justin to the third position at +750 (-7). His pre-tournament numbers were +13000.

After leading the first round that ended with a bogey, Justin Rose verbalized the competitive leaderboard, saying, “I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there.” He acknowledged the steady start while also staying “delighted” about his performance.

“The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small, and they get even smaller when the greens are firm. So there’s some challenge to the golf course today, and I’m sure that’ll continue as the week goes on,” he said while speaking to the press after his brilliant first round at Augusta. “You know what, I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it.”

Justin Rose’s record in the majors, despite having only one victory, is brilliant.

The 2017 Masters was a heartbreaker for Rose. The Brit was engaged in a fierce competition across four rounds to eventual champion Sergio Garcia, ultimately losing out in the playoffs. “I feel like, no, it’s a compliment. I’ve obviously played, I’ve played a lot of good rounds of golf here. Got a lot of crystal, which is obviously always nice. But yeah, you know, ultimately, you want to be last man standing on Sunday, and I was a shot shy — I guess Sergio and I in 2017, that was a real 50/50. That could have gone any which way down the stretch. A little bit of Lady Luck here and there is always the difference here at times.” Rose stated.

The 2013 US Open remains the only major victory for the Rose. He did have a bit of luck then, as Phil Mickelson was leading the pack during the first three days, before falling behind, allowing Rose to claim bragging rights on the day. “But I’ve had my luck on occasion and been a champion. But you’ve got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and obviously the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard. I definitely don’t shy away from it.” He further added. History has not been very kind to first-day leaders at the Masters. Justin Rose himself knows this.

First-day leaders and their record at Augusta

In the 2021 Masters tournament, in a similar fashion to this year, Rose held a four-stroke lead at the end of the first day at 7 under par. He shot even par across the next two days to slip down the rankings before finishing with 5 under and 7 in the leaderboard. Only five times has a first-day leader gone on and won the whole tournament in the last 45 years at the Masters.

The most recent such victory was Dustin Johnson’s 2020 title. He was tied for the lead on day 1 and day 2 before breaking away from the pack and claiming a five-stroke victory stunningly. Before that, it was Jordan Spieth who did the magic. In his prime, Jordan Spieth was truly a phenom, putting Augusta under the control of his golfing expertise and leading by at least a three-stroke margin on all four days.

Rose will need to understand his mistakes in 2021 and re-execute his plans just like on the first day. With the inevitable Scottie Scheffler breathing right down his neck, it will require a monumental effort from the Brit’s side to clinch his first-ever green jacket. Do you think he will be able to do it?