Justin Rose Had Classy Message for Rory McIlroy After His Historic Masters Win

Justin Rose had a classy message for Rory McIroy after his win at the Masters.
Justin Rose had a classy message for Rory McIroy after his win at the Masters. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Rory McIlroy made history in dramatic fashion on Sunday as he finally won the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam. He's just the sixth player in history to win all four major championships.

The man he beat in that one-hole playoff was a friend of his, 44-year-old Justin Rose. The two have been teammates on numerous Ryder Cup teams together over the years but on Sunday they went head-to-head with the green jacket on the line and it was McIlory who got the win after making a short birdie putt on the only extra hole.

While McIlory was rightfully emotional after making the final putt, Rose had a classy message for him a few moments later:

"I just said, listen this is a historic moment in golf to have someone achieve the career Gand Slam and it was pretty cool to share that moment with him," Rose said during his interview with CBS's Amanda Balionis. "Obviously I wanted to be the bad guy today but still, it’s a momentous occasion for the game of golf."

Rose later tweeted this:

What a cool thing for Rose to say, and what a wild day at Augusta.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.