Halfway through the 89th Masters, the leaderboard has its surprises, but Justin Rose sitting on top is far from a revelation.
At 43, Rose showed in 2024 at both the PGA and the Open Champions that he is not done yet.
Few were better with a T6 at Valhalla and T2 at Royal Troon, but over his career, Rose has shown consistent success at Augusta National.
After his morning second round, the Englishman, now a year older, has either been in the lead by himself or tied for the lead nine times at the Masters, which includes his 1-under-71 on Friday.
Only Arnold Palmer, with 14, and Jack Nicklaus, with 13, have been in the lead more.
“Sometimes you've just got to knock on the door,” Rose said of his past experiences helping to accomplish future goals. “I don't think I can do anything differently. On both those occasions, especially Valhalla (PGA), I actually made a run into contention there, which is great.”
Getting more comfortable as he ascends the leaderboard is a quality of the Englishman’s game that Rose has seemingly acquired recently.
“It's about just playing great golf, and I think the leaderboard is stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there,” Rose said. “So, you're going to have to play great golf, and you're going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it. It's as simple as that, really.”
The weekend is going to be anything but simple.
With a leaderboard that includes Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy, and two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Except for Hatton, all have major titles on their resumes, and each has shown a propensity to go low and attack.
“That's the company that I expect to keep, and that's where I have tried to be my whole career,” Rose said of the names on the leaderboard. “That's where I've been for a lot of my career. So, I've been a Top 10 player worldwide for a decade or more.”
The second round was not as clean as the first when Rose shot a 7-under 65 with a bogey at the end.
The second round was a struggle with four birdies and three bogeys for a second-round 71, but he kept his lead, yet trimming it from three shots to one at eight under.
“So, haven't made a full plan yet, but I won't watch every round,” Rose said about how he would get ready for Saturday. “I feel I've done that before, and I think that's as emotionally draining as being out there practicing all afternoon, to be honest with you. I will be -- yeah, I've got the family here, which is nice, my mum, my wife. Yeah, so I don't know what we'll do, but I won't be sweating it.”
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