‘Heading Towards the Panic Button’: Justin Rose Reflects on Round 2 Performance at the 2021 Masters

Justin Rose climbed up to the top of the leaderboard with a sensational Round 1 at the 2021 Masters. The English golfer’s 7-under 65 made him the first round’s leader on Thursday, but Rose did not carry forward the same momentum into the second round.

Rose stunned everyone by taking a strong lead in Round 1. However, as Friday dawned, the two-time runner-up at Augusta struggled to find a rhythm. He made a bogey on the opening par-4 first, after which three more bogeys followed on the front nine. 

“I was joking that the finger was heading towards the panic button a little bit,” Rose reflected on his round.

“I think it was just a classic day at Augusta National when you’re just slightly off,” Rose said. “You can be a foot or two out on certain occasions and you end up struggling. I think maybe off the back of yesterday, it starts to feel pretty different pretty quickly.”

Rose squandered the lead he had built by making a few errant tee-shots. However, the experience in his game helped the Englishman recover from an early jitter on Friday morning. 

“I felt like the turning point for me was a good two-putt on the ninth just to stop the rot and just to feel like I could then just walk onto the back nine and try to build something fresh and something new. I actually started to play pretty well from that point onwards,” Rose mentioned. 

Justin Rose is proud of finishing with an even score in Round 2

The layout can Augusta can always be tricky and Rose’s second-round shortcoming is an example of it. After taking a commanding lead in the first round, the 40-year-old made a slow start in Round 2 but ended with a solid finish with an even score of 72.

“My mindset today was to be free, to go out there and play as free of golf as I could because I felt that having the opportunity to play with a lead from day one could play in my favor come Sunday. You get used to it. Obviously the scorecard didn’t reflect that mindset, but it was still a good exercise for me to stick with today,” Rose told the media. 

Justin Rose made seven birdies and an eagle on Thursday, while he only put four birdies in Round 2. However, after a nervy front nine to start with, Rose scored 3-under par on the back nine to get his foot back into the round.

“I had a lot of tough four-foot putts today, even to save bogeys as well as to save pars. And I really kept the momentum going on the front nine, even though the scorecard wouldn’t reflect that,” the 10-time PGA Tour winner mentioned. 

However, Justin Rose does feel his resilience on the front nine sustained his confidence to make a good finish. Overall, Rose finished his round as the 36-hole leader and is confident about his chances of winning the 2021 Masters. 

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