Justin Rose believes his decision to turn down an "absurd" offer to join three years ago has been justified. The star pointed out that his call "almost paid off" when he to Rory McIlroy at last month's .

Rose came agonisingly close to winning his first Green Jacket at August National, being beaten by McIlroy . The Northern Irishman, by clinching his maiden Masters victory, ended his long wait for a career Grand Slam. But for Rose, it marked another near-miss, with the 2013 US Open winner to Xander Schauffele last July.

Despite the 44-year-old now being in the latter years of his professional career, he's proven again that he can go toe-to-toe with the world's best players. Three years ago, several of Rose's fellow European stars decided to give up their PGA Tour spots by jumping ship to the lucrative LIV setup.

While the eye-watering offer presented to him was tempting, Rose is convinced he chose wisely by sticking with the PGA in the hope of competing on the major stage.

"That was a primary factor and, hey, it's almost paid off," he told who described the offer made by LIV to Rose as "absurd".

"I've finished runner-up in the last two majors, and would I have even been playing if I'd switched across? Who knows? I have no regrets."

Rose was praised for his sportsmanship after his narrow defeat at Augusta National, having graciously congratulated his Ryder Cup team-mate McIlroy on his historic victory. But despite showing a brave face, he admitted that the aftermath of his defeat was challenging.

"I wasn't quite ready to go through all the messages straight away," he said. "I started to on the Monday and Tuesday, because I wanted to say thanks. But then I was like, 'I need a bit of my own time here to process it.' I worked through it and reached the stage where I didn't feel too despondent.

"I don't really now see it as a loss on that Sunday, because I lost it on Saturday, when I turned a 69 into a 75. I think I played well enough to win. I mean, Rory played well enough to win a lot more comfortably than he did, so everyone can say, 'Hey, I should've won, whatever.' But it's like the level was there to win, which is important."

Rose had little time to recover and was quickly thrown into the next event, the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, South Carolina, where he finished T42. Following a brief break, he returned to compete last week at the Truist Championship.

Unfortunately, he had to withdraw due to illness during the event in Philadelphia. Now, having seemingly recovered, Rose is back in action at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship this week.