Very few could have predicted Justin Rose's impressive 2026 Masters last round – except, perhaps, Rose himself.
The English golfer – who has yet to earn a green jacket in his golfing career – climbed to the top of the leaderboard on the final day of the tournament on Sunday, April 12, at Augusta National.
The golfer is currently tied for second place at press time with a few holes left to play.
On Sunday morning, Rose, 45, posted a seemingly prophetic confirmation on his social media account ahead of the round.
“I said it last year…. I'll say it again…. Let's have a date! 🌺🌸,” X shared, along with a photo of a sign outside Augusta National.
The comments section of the potentially historic post was filled with positive messages from fans.
“You'd look good in Rosey green, Have a day!” commented one user.
“I wish you luck today, I would like to see you finally win this. 🤞,” said another.
Rose was on the verge of winning the 2025 Masters Tournament last year, losing in the final. Rory McIlroy.
Justin Rose plays his shot from the 12th tee in the final round of the 2026 Masters Tournament
Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesThe epic contest came down to the last few shots between the two golfers.
“The playoffs … always end quickly,” Rose said after the 2025 tournament. “It's sudden death. … If you're not someone who's going to hit a great shot or hole a great putt, it's over. That's sudden death.”
Rose also finished second at the Masters in 2015 and 2017. He is one of nine golfers to finish as the runner-up three times in Masters history.
The former world No. 1 trailed McIlroy by seven strokes after the first two rounds of this year's Masters, before gaining four strokes back in the third round on Saturday, April 11. That still left Rose three strokes behind the leader going into Sunday.
It seems that Byeong Hun An does not believe in jinxes. “Congratulations to Rory McIlroy [sic] by winning back to back Masters,” said An, 34, on Friday, April 10 via X post, days before the iconic tournament ended. The message, instead, came after McIlroy's historic first two rounds at the 2026 Masters. […]
Rose birdied five of his first nine holes on Sunday, giving him a solo lead after nine, but consecutive holes on 11 and 12 moved him back to McIlroy on the leaderboard.
At the start of 2026, Rose broke the record for lowest score at the Farmers Insurance Open and became the first golfer to lead the tournament from start to finish since 1959.
Before the Masters, Rose said he “feels good about things” coming into the tournament.
“I feel like once I found my game, I played really well,” Rose said before the Masters started. “Farmers are a great example of that and further proof that I can still get the best of what I know, which is good to know.”
