Rose playing it cool

Cool, calm and collected. That was the approach Justin Rose was trying to adopt heading into the biggest weekend of his golfing life.

He is young and it has been a long while since he led any tournament, but Rose knew that over-excitement was not the way to defend his two-stroke halfway lead in the Masters at Augusta.

“I will just take things slowly,” said the 23-year-old from Hampshire.

“Just sleep a little longer. I don’t mind that. Have breakfast for a little longer and drive to the course a little slower. Stretch things out a little bit.”

There will be pressure, of course, once he tees off at 2.40pm with German Alex Cejka, but Rose was reminding himself of the 12 months he spent attempting to make his first halfway cut as a professional.

That was real pressure. His career was on the line. This, in comparison, should be a breeze. Perhaps even enjoyable!