Heartbreak for Justin Rose as Rory McIlroy enters comfortable lead at The Masters

Justin Rose's near-eagle on the par-five 13th hole in the final round of The Masters leaves him four shots behind leader Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is off to a hot start at the middle of his round, making birdies at both holes nine and 10.

Justin Rose had a rollercoaster opening nine in the final round at Augusta National on Sunday. The Englishman made two early birdies to get himself to seven under par for the tournament, carding birdies on the par-four first hole and par-four third hole.

Rose, however, followed it up with bogeys on the par-three fourth hole and difficult par-four fifth hole, bringing him back to five under par for the tournament. Rose bounced back, however, making a birdie on the par-four seventh hole and par-five eighth hole. His second shot into the eighth green nearly went in for a double eagle. He made par at the par-four ninth hole and shot a two-under-par 34 on the opening nine.

Rose then carded three straight birdies on the back nine. He birdied the par-four 11th hole, the infamous par-three 12th hole, and the par-five 13th hole. Rose hit the 13th green in two, nearly making the putt for eagle.

Rose will likely need Rory McIlroy to stumble down the stretch to have a chance to leave Augusta National with his first green jacket this evening.

Justin Rose's struggles in Round 3 at Augusta National leave him a difficult task to catch leaders

Justin Rose at The 2025 Masters Tournament (via Getty)

Justin Rose's hopes of his first green jacket began to dwindle in the third round of The Masters on Saturday, shooting a three-over-par 75. Rose struggled throughout much of the round, carding only two birdies to his five bogeys on the day.

Rose dropped two shots toward the end of his third round. He was one over par for the day through 15 holes before making heartbreaking boegys on the par-three 16th hole and the par-four 18th hole.

Rose began the tournament off to a blistering hot start, shooting a seven-under-par 65 in the tournament's opening round. Heading into round two, Rose led by three shots over defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, and Corey Connors.

Justin Rose didn't play as well in round two on Friday, though he maintained his spot as the solo leader heading into round three. In round two, Rose fired a one-under-par 71 and led Bryson DeChambeau by a single shot at the end of the day. He was two ahead of McIlroy and Connors.

In round two, Rose made a birdie at the par-three 16th hole to put himself at two under for the day. However, he immediately gave the stroke back at the par-four 17th hole.

Rose is still in search of his second major title, with his first coming at the 2013 U.S. Open.