Justin Rose goes on birdie binge, wins FedEx St. Jude Championship in playoff over J.J. Spaun
On Sunday, the 45-year-old Englishman shot a final-round 67 at TPC Southward and became the oldest Tour winner since Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship. Rose also won for the first time on Tour since the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Both players had lost to Rory McIlroy in a playoff this season: Spaun at the Players Championship and Rose at the Masters.
Rose started the day one back but was over par through 12 holes. But he birdied four holes in a row beginning at 14 to tie the lead.
Another Englishman, Tommy Fleetwood, held a one-stroke lead entering the final round but didn't make a birdie until the 12th hole, pouring in a 33-foot putt. He made it two birdies in a row, sinking a 15-footer at 13. He regained the lead at 15 under and tacked on another birdie after wedging to 6 feet at 15. But he missed the green at 17 and pitched to 7 feet. He knew immediately that his par putt didn't have a chance, missing to the right. It's more heartache for Fleetwood, the 54-hole leader who was seeking his first PGA Tour title in his 162nd start and held a two-shot lead after a birdie at 15.
Fleetwood, of course, has won seven times on the DP World Tour but winning on the PGA Tour has proved elusive. He has endured six runner-up finishes, most recently at the Travelers Championship in June when he squandered a two-stroke lead with four holes to go. Fleetwood also finished second in the Olympics last year to Scheffler and settled for silver.
'I'm getting close. That's the good side of it," he said. "I'm obviously disappointed, but when you look at the positives, I was right there with a chance. It's hard to win. I just didn't get it done.'
He settled for third, tying with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was playing without regular caddie Ted Scott, who left to deal with a family matter. Scheffler tied for the lead early but made a costly bogey at 15 and hit the lip on several putts.
CLUTCH.@JustinRose99 birdies the third playoff hole to win the first playoff event @FedExChamp. pic.twitter.com/LCxB3kWL4U
Spaun took the solo lead at No. 9, his fourth birdie of the day, and poured in back-to-back birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 to tie Fleetwood. He closed with 65. Rose rallied from three back with four holes to go with four straight birdies beginning at 14 but missed a 13-foot birdie putt for the win in regulation.
What happened in the playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship?
Rose's tee shot at 18, the first playoff hole, just barely stayed dry and he managed to wedge to 15 feet right of the hole. After Spaun burned the left edge from 33 feet, Rose had almost the same putt as he did in regulation from 13 feet and rimmed it out on the right.
One hole later, Spaun poured in a 30-foot birdie putt and Rose answered from 7 feet. For the third playoff hole, Tour officials cut a new hole location. Both players hit beautiful approaches with Rose flying 11 feet past the hole and Spaun to 7 feet. Rose converted his sixth birdie in his last nine holes but Spaun failed to answer and the Englishman took the title.
"When I bring my best I know I'm good enough to compete and play with the best players in the world," Rose said.
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