The first day of the 2025 edition of The Masters at fabled Augusta National Golf Club featured 95 competitors all holding on to the dream of finishing the tournament wearing a green jacket.
By the end of the first round, one player was better positioned than the others to get there.
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Justin Rose had a stellar first round Thursday, firing a 7-under 65 to finish the day atop the leaderboard by three strokes over the next-closest entrants. It was tied for Rose’s lowest score ever in a round at the event.
There’s still plenty of golf to be played — and several big names such as Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler within a striking distance of him — but as the tournament continues with the second round on Friday, Rose remains firmly in the hunt to win the sport’s most hallowed event.
If Rose manages to hold on to his lead over the next three rounds, he’ll earn a career-defining accomplishment, something many golfers have tried to do, but only a precious few have.
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Here’s a closer look at Rose’s history in The Masters, as well as other biographical information:
If Rose is able to hold on to his early lead, he’ll manage to do something he’s never done over the course of his 27-year professional career.
He has never previously won The Masters, though he has gotten incredibly close. In 2015, he finished in a tie for second with Phil Mickelson, four strokes behind winner Jordan Spieth. Two years later, he finished the final round tied with Sergio Garcia before losing on the first playoff hole.
He has four other top-10 finishes at Augusta National — tied for fifth in 2007, seventh in 2021, tied for eighth in 2012 and tied for 10th in 2016.
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Rose has won one major — the U.S. Open, in 2013.
As is the case with the Masters, he has nearly hoisted the trophy at some of golf’s other preeminent events. He has finished tied for second at The Open Championship twice, in 2018 and 2024. At the PGA Championship, his best finish came in 2012, when he tied for third.
Rose was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but moved to England with his parents when he was 5.
Rose is 44 years old and will turn 45 in July.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose Masters history: Has golfer ever won at Augusta National?
