HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Even before his historic victory at the Masters on Sunday, Rory McIlroy always had planned to skip this week’s RBC Heritage. But Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg, the two “nearly men,” who battled with him to the bitter end – and in Rose’s case beyond to a sudden-death playoff – kept their commitment and are prepared to chase another jacket of a Tartan variety.
“It takes a lot out of you, and Monday morning I almost felt a little hungover, even though I didn’t have a sip of alcohol,” Aberg said on Wednesday during his pre-tournament press conference.
Asked why he didn’t drink away his sorrows after finishing bogey-triple bogey to plummet to a seventh-place finish, the 25-year-old Swede said, “Probably should have.”
Aberg entered the final round six strokes behind McIlroy but mounted a valiant charge to tie for the lead at 10 under with two holes remaining.
“It wasn’t until somewhere around probably 13, 14 when I started to pay more attention to it, and I remember obviously I made birdie on 15, which was nice, to get me to tied maybe or maybe one back, something like that,” he said.
And how did he feel in the aftermath of being so close to being a third participant in a playoff only to tumble back at the end?
“It’s almost like the air just comes out of you and you feel a little deflated,” he said.
Rose can relate. He’s tasted victory at a major in 2013 but became a two-time playoff loser at the Masters, joining Ben Hogan in that unenviable club.
“I was a stone’s throw away from winning the Open, winning the Masters. I would have been going for a Grand Slam at the PGA. It’s like, it can be that close. I’ve got to believe that,” he said. “I’m close to kind of some seriously good stuff.”
But Rose isn’t dwelling on how close he came to cementing his legacy; he loved being in the moment and making the shots required to erase a seven-stroke deficit and birdie 10 holes en route to 66.
“It was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had on the golf course,” he said.
Eight years ago, when he lost his first playoff at Augusta National to Sergio Garcia, he skipped the Heritage and took a month off from competition and the pain of being so close to winning a second major lingered. This time, he said he’s ready to get back on the horse.
“I’m happy to be here, to be honest with you. Yeah, I am,” he said. “I’m very motivated just generally this year, and I would say that’s been the difference. I’m creating these better opportunities, these better weeks, because I feel like I’m doing the work away from golf tournaments as well. There’s just a bit more energy and motivation and belief in what I’m doing and what I’m trying to achieve.”
It’s a new week and Aberg and Rose are hungry to put their Masters disappointment behind them.
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