It may be time for another British invasion at Masters

It’s been a while since the odds of a successful British Invasion at the Masters have been better than finding an authentic beef-and-kidney pie in downtown Augusta. This may be the year.

Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, two natives of England, both head into the season’s first major in good form. It would not come as a surprise if either were to join three-time champion Nick Faldo and Danny Willet, the only two Englishmen to win at Augusta National since the tournament began in 1934.

Rose this week ascended to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, a position he's held four times since winning the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Club in September. Fleetwood, who contended last month at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, is ranked No. 13.

Both are on the short list of favorites for this week’s Masters.

Rose said he’s felt comfortable at Augusta National since his toes first touched the turf in 2003. He’s played here 13 times, made the cut each time, and finished among the top 10 on five occasions. He tied for second when Jordan Spieth won in 2015 and lost to Sergio Garcia in a playoff in 2017. It’s obvious he loves the place.

“I’ve given myself a couple good chances being in that final group on Sunday and playing well on both occasions,” Rose said Monday. “Jordan, who was making everything, and Sergio and I, it was a coin flip who was going to come out on top here.”

The highlight of the current season for Rose is a win at Torrey Pines at the Farmers Insurance Open. Most recently he tied for eighth at The Players Championship. He’s playing with a lot of confidence.

“I feel like I’ve had a decent year so far,” he said. “I’ve had enough good golf to give me confidence and I’ve had enough poor golf to keep me working hard, which is sometimes a good place to be.”

Team Rose will also be helped by the return of caddy Mark “Fooch” Fulcher, who missed three months following heart surgery. Fulcher even showed up two weeks ago at the WGC Match Play Championships in Texas to get the “welcome backs” out of the way so he can concentrate on business this week.

“Where Fooch is going to earn his money and earn his position on the bag and earn his importance on the team is on Saturday and Sunday,” Rose said. “Basically, when emotions start to get more intense … that’s when I’m going to rely on him more and more.”

Fleetwood, 28, has far less history at Augusta National than does Rose. He’s played the Masters only twice, missing the cut in his 2017 debut and finishing tied for 17th in 2018, which featured a 66 in the third round.

“I had actually never beaten the golf course up until that Saturday and I was sort of determined that I would get the better of the golf course,” Fleetwood said. “It was a pretty good day of golf.”