Justin Rose has no regrets over turning down an offer to join LIV . The star pointed out that his decision already “almost paid off” after he finished as the runner-up to at the last month.
came heartbreakingly close to securing the coveted Green Jacket at Augusta National, being pipped by McIlroy in a playoff as the Northern Irishman ended his long wait to . It marked the Englishman’s second defeat in a major final in under a year.
The 2013 US Open champion also last July as he looked to win his second major, finishing behind Xander Schauffele.
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Rose, 44, has continued to demonstrate that he can hold his own among the world's best players despite being in the senior years of his professional career. Three years ago, several of Rose's fellow European stars decided to give up their PGA Tour spots to make the move to the LIV setup.
In spite of, Rose is adamant he made the right choice by not defecting to the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit in the hope that he would continue competing on the major stage.
“That was a primary factor and, hey, it’s almost paid off,” he said in an interview with who described the offer made by LIV to Rose as "absurd".
“I’ve finished runner-up in the last two majors, and would I have even been playing if I’d switched across? Who knows? I have no regrets.”
Rose was commended for his grace following his defeat at Augusta National, having offered his congratulations to victorious Ryder Cup team-mate, McIlroy.
Despite appearing positive on the outside, Rose admitted that the aftermath of his near-miss was tough to handle. "I wasn't quite ready to go through all the messages straight away," he said.
"I started to on the Monday and Tuesday, because I wanted to say thanks. But then I was like, ‘I need a bit of my own time here to process it.'
“I worked through it and reached the stage where I didn’t feel too despondent. I don’t really now see it as a loss on that Sunday, because I lost it on Saturday, when I turned a 69 into a 75.
"I think I played well enough to win. I mean, Rory played well enough to win a lot more comfortably than he did, so everyone can say, ‘Hey, I should’ve won, whatever.’ But it’s like the level was there to win, which is important.”
Rose had little time to recover and was quickly thrown into the next event, the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, South Carolina, where he finished T42.
He was finally able to enjoy some downtime afterwards, before returning for last week’s Truist Championship. Unfortunately, his outing in Philadelphia was cut short as he was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Now, having seemingly recovered, Rose is back in action at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship this week.
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