Star Metro - Revitalized Rose sets aside Masters loss for top PGA form

The 45-year-old Englishman tees off Thursday afternoon alongside top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler and countryman Matt Fitzpatrick at Aronimink.

World number seven Rose won his 13th career PGA Tour title in February at Torrey Pines but found more heartbreak last month at the Masters.

On the same Augusta National stage where he lost playoffs to Sergio Garcia in 2017 and Rory McIlroy last year, Rose led briefly and was in Sunday's back-nine battle before sharing third.

"After the Masters, I went home and there was a lot to absorb there. That was a tough loss," Rose said Tuesday.

"The first two weeks back have been just about finding my feet again, to be honest with you, so I really don't feel like I've been neglecting any part of my game.

"I don't feel like there have been a lot of other distractions to other elements of my game. I just think that there's cycles of form and there's cycles of things you've got to work through mentally.

"I feel like I've done a nice job of that now and this week I feel the enthusiasm and the energy is coming back to kind of want to compete.

"I feel just a little bit more switched on and ready to go."

There are plenty of reasons to boost his confidence, like the four top-10 finishes in his past six PGA Championship starts.

Rose won the 2010 PGA Tour National tournament played at Aronimink, taking only his second US triumph.

He also reached a playoff at Aronimink in 2018 before losing to American Keegan Bradley in a playoff at the BMW Championship.

Add to that his 2013 US Open victory at nearby Merion and it's no wonder Rose likes his chances.

"The whole area feels very familiar to the part of England I live in -- very leafy, very green," Rose said. "The spring here is very much like the spring in England right now, so it feels very familiar."

There are a record-tying 14 Englishmen in the field, but no Briton has taken the PGA Championship title since Jim Barnes won the first two in 1916 and 1919.

- 'Wish list' irons -

Rose is also using irons made by British automaker McLaren, which is entering the golf market with an 18-month project alongside Rose.

"It's a full wish list of all of the things I would like to see in a set of irons," Rose said. "I can play great this week with them."

Such moves have helped keep Rose near the top as younger rivals challenge.

"I'm not here at 45 because I've done the same things over the last 10 years," Rose said. "I'm always doing something different, I'm always pushing myself, always finding one percents. That's what makes it exciting."

S.Lapointe--SMC