Justin Rose admits that despite his positive performance on Sunday evening at The Masters, he feels his play-off loss to Sergio Garcia will always be one he let 'slip by'.
On the 74th time of asking, the Spaniard landed his first major championship at Augusta National and was pushed all the way to the end by the Englishman. After play came to an end on Sunday, Rose explained that his round was not enough to see off Garcia.
"I can't pick holes in my performance," he said at a press conference after his round. "I felt fantastic out there. I felt cool, calm and collected.
"Could I have made the putt on 17? Of course I could. But for the most part, I'm not going to sit here and second guess one or two shots.
"I really stepped up. I felt great. I felt in control. I felt positive. I felt confident.
"And you know, barring a great comeback from Sergio, it was mine to cruise to the house. But it's not always that easy.
"At the end of the day, you're going to win - always said, before I won at Merion, you're going to win majors and you're going to lose majors but you've got to be willing to lose them.
"You've got to put yourself out there. You've got to hit the top of the leaderboard. There's a lot of pressure out there and if you're not willing to enjoy it, then you're not ready to win these tournaments. I loved it out there."
Asked whether or not he felt like he let it slip away on the back nine, he said: "Yeah, I would say this one probably is one that slipped by, for sure."
Justin Rose reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of The Masters. Image: AP Photo/Chris Carlson
With a chance to clinch victory on the final hole in regulation, Rose missed a putt to win the year's first major and he admitted afterwards he wasn't too disappointed by his effort.
"It was a good putt. It's a putt I've practiced. When you come to Augusta National, that's the putt you practice.
"It's a contrary little putt, I feel. It's a subtle break. It's very speed dependent. I picked my line - I trusted that it would break because in practice, that's what I've been seeing.
"I've been seeing it break, so I trusted the fact it was going to break and it just stayed high.
"Then obviously in the playoff, I had virtually the same line and maybe the speed was slightly less but it broke across the hole."
Garcia donned the green jacket on the 60th birthday of his compatriot and golfing great Seve Ballesteros and Rose said he was happy to see Garcia reach a new height in his career.
"Sergio is obviously the best player not to have won a major, no longer. That's a great. Any time one of those types of players, there's a handful of them, and any time one of those guys gets that huge monkey off their back.
"I think it makes it a poignant major championship."
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