AUGUSTA, Ga. – It wasn’t the classic motivational speech, but it’s what Justin Rose needed.
“Buddy, I don't know if you're close or not, but I just know it's better,” Rose’s swing coach Sean Foley, with whom he recently reunited, told him before Thursday’s opening round at the Masters.
On Thursday at the Masters, Rose and his swing were better than any others by four strokes as the Englishman scorched the second nine for a first-round 65 and his lowest score in 16 trips to the year’s first major championship. The round was even more impressive considering that Rose played his first seven holes in 2 over par before going 9 under over his final 11 holes.