AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 9 (Reuters) - Justin Rose made a strong return to the Masters in his first round at Augusta National since last year's playoff heartbreak, but a late stumble left him three shots off the lead on Thursday.
The Englishman, runner-up at Augusta in 2025 after losing a playoff to Rory McIlroy, carded a two-under-par 70 to sit level with a group that included Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry.
Rose moved to four under and remained bogey-free through 13 holes before his round unravelled on the back nine.
A bogey at the 14th briefly stalled his momentum, though he responded with a birdie at the par-five 15th to stay within a shot of the lead. But dropped shots at the 17th and 18th saw him slip back, capping a rollercoaster finish to an otherwise composed round.
"I think overall a good start," Rose said. "Obviously my day, yeah, spoiled a little bit by two late bogeys, but other than that, I think a good start to the tournament.
Conditions became more difficult as the day progressed with firmer greens and variable winds making scoring tougher, particularly on the closing stretch.
"The par-five greens are getting much firmer now, so going for those greens in two is not such an easy thing," Rose said. "Aggressive play hurts you out here.
"Every hole you're just being patient ... knowing that grinding out the pars is a good thing," he said. "Experience doesn't really make it any easier, it just makes you know what to expect."
It marked the 12th time Rose had opened the Masters with an under-par round.
The Englishman has been runner-up three times at Augusta and said he was not going to make any drastic changes as he continued his 21st bid to get his hands on the Green Jacket.
"There's nothing I can say I need to massively do differently. It's just about in the moment finding that special shot," Rose told Sky Sports.
"Until then it's doing what I am doing and not forcing a win."
The 45-year-old has shown strong form this season, highlighted by a dominant victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he set a tournament record with a 23-under total.
His wealth of experience has taught him not to read too much into who is on top of the leaderboard at the end of round one.
"The lead at this point is irrelevant," he said. "There's so much golf ahead that there's no point in even looking at who is doing what at this moment in time.
"Until the final few holes, really, it's just about doing as good as can you do."
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Jamie Freed)
