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Golf star Justin Rose has bounced back from agonisingly missing out at the Masters by becoming McLaren Golf's first Tour player and investor. The automotive giant hinted at entering the golf world last month, but it was unclear if any current stars of the game would join the company.

However, in a major coup for the brand, which is synonymous with Formula 1, US Open winner and Olympic gold medalist Rose has become the first player to join the ranks. According to McLaren, Rose has collaborated with their engineering and development teams, testing prototypes, providing feedback, and helping to create their new equipment. Rose will debut the McLaren Golf equipment at the Cadillac Championship on Thursday, April 30.

Speaking about his new union with McLaren, Rose said: "From the beginning, this has been a passion project. I've had the opportunity to be involved from the outset - working with the team, testing the clubs and helping shape what they've become.

"That level of involvement, combined with the standards McLaren brings to everything they do, made this an easy decision for me. I'm excited to put the clubs in play and watch the brand flourish."

Rose will now represent the brand's famous papaya colour on the course in the form of a McLaren Golf staff bag and will also wear McLaren's logo on his chest.

This year's Masters represented the English star's fourth top-three finish at Augusta without claiming the Green Jacket, second only to Greg Norman's six. He finished runner-up in 2015 and 2017, lost the play-off to McIlroy in 2025 and was beaten at Amen Corner this year.

The Augusta crowd gave Rose a warm reception on the 18th, though the star understood that there was more to their cheering than it initially seemed.

Afterwards, he said: "The crowd was amazing to me all week long. They pulled for me all week long. At the end it kind of goes a little flat. It's more of a sympathy than anything. But it was still nonetheless very beautiful. But, yeah, another little stinger."

At 45 years old, Rose would have been the second-oldest player to have won a Green Jacket, behind only Jack Nicklaus' 1986 win at 46.

Despite his advancing age, Rose is not giving up on winning the Masters at some point in his career. "You look at Freddy, the way he plays around here. Bernard Langer. The guys get around thisgolf course. It does show this course maybe more than anywhere suits maybe personal style or knowledge or whatever it might be. But, yeah, I hope so," he said.