GOLF US MASTERS

PHILIP REID

At Augusta

THE SCHOOL of hard knocks isn't for the faint-hearted, as Sergio Garcia, if he were so inclined, could tell Justin Rose in the sanctuary of the locker-room. But then, Rose is discovering the harsh truth for himself. It's called experience.

Yesterday, as the wind swirled around the cathedral pines, the 27-year-old Englishman - nearly a decade on since he burst on to the major scene as a teenager in the British Open at Royal Birkdale - finished the US Masters to rather quiet acclaim.

It was a contrast to his endeavours on the opening day when he shared the first round lead. A final round 76 left him on 295, seven over.

Rose's career has been a roller-coaster, a mix of dizzying heights and unbelievable lows. For much of the past few years, much of the ride has been exhilarating.

He has topped the European Tour money list (in 2007) and found a home in the top-10 of the official world rankings.

For a player who felt golf's rough edge at the start of his career, when he missed 22 successive cuts, he has shown an inbred fortitude.

As Nick Faldo put it, "There's no give-up in Rosey. There is no limit to what he can achieve."

Still, this Masters has been a disappointment. Last year, Rose was one of just two players who finished in the top-12 of all four majors.

Tiger Woods was the other.

Yet Rose played out the closing holes yesterday to what seemed like sympathetic applause, a far cry from what he had wished for on Thursday when he was the clubhouse leader with Trevor Immelman.

But, then, it's an all too familiar script in the majors, which is where elite players judge their seasons.

Rose's best finish in a major remains that tied-fourth place finish at Birkdale in 1998, his only other top-10s coming in last year's Masters (tied-fifth), last year's US Open (tied-10th) and the 2003 US Open (tied-fifth).

The principal damage to his Masters this time round came in Friday's second round, when he posted a 78.

It evoked painful memories of 2004, when he was the midway leader only to flounder to an 81 in the third round.

The contrast in his scoring average for first and second rounds is stark: 69.25 for first rounds, 74.5 for second rounds.

In trying to explain the difference, Rose remarked: "Technically, everything was in perfect shape. But, obviously, there was just a lack of slight mental adjustment over those two days.

"The game didn't go anywhere overnight, I just struggled to frame it up right in my mind. I was just trying to work my way back into a position where you could say, 'well, it wasn't really too bad a week or whatever, we're (also) trying to get world ranking points, Ryder Cup points, etcetera."

Rose, who is likely to be a key member of Faldo's Ryder Cup team in Valhalla in September, had a thoroughly frustrating time yesterday, a round featured just one birdie and five bogeys.

That effectively summed up his performance, and he agreed that it was "a weird week".

In trying to explain his fall from tied-first to a final position of tied-35th, which gave him precious few world ranking points, Rose said: "I'm disappointed with the week overall. I suppose it turned out to be my short game that let me down. The first couple of days I felt my long game was in good shape, but I didn't score well, and, as the week went on, my short game didn't help me.

"I found it very difficult to grind this week once I slipped out of the tournament. Ball-striking wise, everything was in good shape. There is no issue with that part of my game. It didn't happen this week.

"Last year I putted great but this year I struggled to read the greens and I started second-guessing the stroke and second-guessing the read. I lost a bit of confidence and it became tough."

The good thing for a professional golfer is that there is always a week to rebound from failure. This week, Rose heads on to Hilton Head for the Heritage and the Players' at Sawgrass next month, before returning home for the BMW PGA at Wentworth.

"Despite my finishing position here, I am looking forward to the next couple of months," said Rose.

He'll hope the rollercoaster brings back the dizzying heights again.