ONE shot off the lead, two holes to play. Justin Rose was that close to possibly winning the Masters last year.

Deep breath in, summon up the courage, find the inspiration and a title he had dreamt of all his golfing life could be his at just 26 years of age. It might be only six strokes away.

"Until you actually are in the moment, there with a chance to win on Sunday, you don't quite know how you're going to react," said Rose.

"I actually surprised myself at how much I was able to enjoy the moment, how calm I felt and how confident I felt and how much belief I had, I suppose.

"I think only when you're really in that moment do you actually find out what you're made of."

Sadly for Rose, that feeling did not translate into victory. Birdie, birdie was the dream scenario, but reality was double-bogey, par.

The green jacket went instead to Zach Johnson and Britain's main hope finished in fifth place.

What Rose will be reminding himself as he prepares for his return on Thursday, though, is not how disappointing it was that the main prize got away from him because of one bad drive down the 17th - he did not even think it was that bad when he struck it - but how well he did to get as near as that.

Masters preview and more golf in today's Daily Echo