Justin Rose admits he's 'tormented' after tough Masters playoff loss to Rory McIlroy

Justin Rose admits the last couple of days have been tough to process after having lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy at The Masters on Sunday. 

Rose, 44, has now finished runner-up in golf's first major of the season at famed Augusta National three times - 2015, 2017 and 2025. 

The last two runner-up finishes for Rose at The Masters have also been agonising playoff defeats to his European Ryder Cup teammates.

Rose lost out to Sergio Garcia in 2017 and then to McIlroy in 2025. 

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A first Masters win for McIlroy, 35, saw him become just the sixth player in the modern era to complete the career grand slam.

McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in the record books.

The World No.2 is now going in search of becoming the first player in history to win The Masters, US PGA, US Open and The Open in the same calendar year. 

The bookies have priced McIlroy up at a rather poor 33/1 to achieve that feat in 2025. 

Justin Rose 'tormented' after losing Masters playoff to Rory McIlroy 

When pressed by a reporter ahead of this week's $20m RBC Heritage - the latest Signature Event on the PGA Tour - as to how his mindset is following another near-miss at The Masters, Rose is taking the positives but admits it's been a tough 48 hours. 

"I certainly don't feel down in any way, shape or form just because of the performance I was able to put in and how I was able to feel putting in that performance, but just sort of -- don't know what the right word is, tormented probably, by the thought of what might have been," said Rose to reporters at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. 

Rose then went on to add: "I take that loss pretty badly. Yesterday was tough."

But Rose does consider having one major title to his name at 2013 U.S. Open has at least helped soften the blow.

In fact, Rose believes he has come so close in the majors down the years that he could very well have been one leg away from the career grand slam himself had things gone his way down the years. 

On top of three runner-up finishes at The Masters, Rose has twice finished runner-up at The Open in 2018 and 2024, and he also finished T3 at the 2012 US PGA. 

"I think had I not won a major, it would have been even more brutal, no doubt about it," said 11-time PGA Tour winner Rose. 

"So yes, it is a great thing to have already achieved and -- it's a good thing in every other major championship you play, yeah, 100 percent. But you do look at the majors each individually as Rory did. The Masters was elusive, even though he was a five-time major champion -- five? Four. That was the one that mattered.

"But listen, I was a stone's throw away from winning the Open, winning the Masters. I would have been going for a Grand Slam at the PGA. It's like, it can be that close. I've got to believe that.

"I'm close to kind of some seriously good stuff, yeah."

Rose can also take heart from having vaulted 24 rungs up the Ryder Cup standings ladder to fourth. 

The Englishman is looking to play on a seventh European Ryder Cup team this September. 

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished solo fourth at The Masters last week, is the defending champion at this week's RBC Heritage.

The tournament marks the fifth of eight Signature Events on the 2025 PGA Tour season.

There is a $20m prize fund on the line at Hilton Head Island, with the winner earning $3.6m.