Rose takes rightful place with young contenders

The masters: Britain's 'answer to Tiger Woods' tries to fathom famous greens on first visit to Georgia major

For three young men in a hurry, Augusta National was interminably slow yesterday. But then it also looked like home. For those who have marvelled at the resilience and sheer competitive spirit of Justin Rose, the fact that this was particularly so for him was surely the best of news.

Rose joined his American and Australian counterparts at the top of their respective Serious Young Contender categories, Charles Howell III and Adam Scott, in the group ahead of Tiger Woods – which was a peculiar pressure all of its own for the 22-year-old making his first appearance at the Masters.

The Tiger, after all, was the extraordinary burden placed on Rose's shoulders by the grand old statesman of British golf, the former Royal and Ancient secretary – and recently elected Augusta National member, Michael Bonallack – after the teenager's brilliant first Open at Royal Birkdale five years ago.

"Justin Rose is Britain's answer to Tiger Woods," declared Bonallack, which of course brought expectations up by several notches as the boy headed off to a nightmarish run of 21 missed cuts.

Yesterday, his career and his confidence re-established, a world ranking of 42 and the status of most people's idea of the most seriously competitive British golfer since the emergence of Nick Faldo, was showing the style and the nerve that boded well for another successful rite of passage.

"The hotter the spotlight the more I like it," says Rose, and he certainly looked relaxed enough as part of the warm-up act for an unexpectedly mis-firing Tiger.

Both Howell and Scott, another 22-year-old whose own potential was established promisingly enough when he took Woods to an extra hole in match-play, pulled their tee shots into the trees on the left as they aimed for an attacking position. But Rose stepped up and produced a perfect drive to the brow and centre of the hill. Unfortunately, his second shot found a sand trap to the left of the green and he just failed to exploit a fine recovery which left him six feet from the pin. This was discouraging, no doubt, but while elsewhere on the course Colin Montgomerie was lecturing a steward on his way to six over par, Rose merely allowed a pensive look to cross his thunder-free face.

His response was part of his recent pattern of dogged entrenchment. Though he found the bunker from the second tee, his sand shot was just 60 yards short of the par-five hole's green and he knocked in the putt from six feet.

When that happened you could see the lift of the shoulders that says, "I think I can handle this place." Inevitably, he would have his problems – not the least of them when the sun finally came out and beamed on to the outlandish outfit of his playing companion Howell. The moment you learn that Howell is dressed for golf by Jesper Parnevik's outfitter, J Lindeberg, you know that he is not going to resemble James Bond at the cocktail hour. But the son of a local surgeon, who learned his golf at the Augusta Country Club across the road, was still an alarming sight. The front of his sweater was covered in black diamonds, the back of it a garish orange.

Among Howell's many claims to fame is the fact that he won five tournaments before he was 11 and shot his first sub-par round at the age of 10. He is also a confidante of the Tiger, who has let it be known that he would like to partner him in team competition whenever Howell qualifies for such action.

One theory about this friendship is that unlike most other young golfers who gain access to the great man, Howell does not attempt to grow strong – or more knowledgeable – from the relationship. They talk about the relatively trivialities of life. However, another possibility is that Howell will just make the Tiger's wardrobe look all the more elegant whenever they tee-up together.

Rose's more enduring problem yesterday was landing the ball close enough to the flag. On the fourth green he did well to lag a 35-footer from the fringe and on the eighth he repeated the feat from 50 feet. However, he pushed his luck a little too far on the ninth when he was required to three-putt, again from 50 feet.

Most vitally, though, Rose showed no signs of becoming intimidated by the lunar lay-out of so many of the Augusta greens. He says that the challenge is one to embrace – along with the needs of superior fitness. "David Leadbeater has nagged me about my fitness for years, but it has taken me until now to hear something I trust. I knew I had to do something. I watch Tiger play shots from the rough that can only be attributed to strength, and it is clearly an area where I have been lacking.

"And is not just about hitting the ball farther; it is about making sure my back stays strong so I can play when I am 45."

That would seem to be a worthy cause indeed. Going into Amen Corner, he made a fine recovery for par out of sand at the 10th. It was another swift and poised reaction to a moment of crisis. Augusta certainly looks as though it could prove home for Justin Rose for quite some time, a likelihood underlined when he brilliantly birdied the famous 12th.