 Rose's Masters challenge ended after his tee shot on the 17th |
Justin Rose will use his near miss at the Masters as a spur to beat Nick Faldo's record of six major championships, according to his coach. The co-leader after round one, Rose tied for fifth after an errant drive on the penultimate hole ended his hopes.
But coach Nick Bradley says that only the finest of margins separated the 26-year-old from a maiden major title.
"There is no question in my mind that Justin can beat Nick Faldo's record of six majors," Bradley told BBC Sport.
"Finishing tied fifth was a great result, the game plan we took into Augusta worked.
"I refuse to go down the British mentality of dwelling on what went wrong. The only long term effect this will have on Justin will be positive.
"I was on the 17th fairway and the ball was heading into the semi-rough at worst until it hit a tree limb and then hit a tree flush, sending the ball about 80 yards onto the 15th.
 | We have no intention of focusing on the negative elements we encounter |
"It was only when Justin saw a crowd gathering way to the right that he realised where the ball had gone.
"Looking back, we contended in the first major of the year with a genuine chance to win."
Rose is still four years younger than Faldo was when he claimed his first major victory at the Open at Muirfield in 1987.
Since teaming up with Bradley last year, Rose has climbed to 26th in the world rankings. And the South-African born Englishman recorded his first European Tour win in four years at the Australian Masters last November.
But after his showing at Augusta, Bradley says his protege is now able to emulate some of the biggest names in golf history.
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"A month before Augusta, I got Justin watching videos of Jack Nicklaus' triumph in the 1986 Masters and Nick Faldo's triumph against Greg Norman in 1996," he said.
"They were two great examples of how you can win the Masters in different ways and despite his bad start to the final round, you still heard Justin talk about how he wanted to complete the best comeback since Jack Nicklaus.
"We have no intention of focusing on the negative elements we encounter, so we're looking forward to the US Open at Oakmont carrying forward the confidence of Augusta."
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