MEMPHIS – England’s Justin Rose birdied four of the last five holes of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind to force a playoff and birdied the third playoff hole to capture the first leg of the PGA Tour’s season-ending, three-tournament playoffs.
Rose’s magical finish in regulation – birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17 — allowed the 45-year-old veteran to pass 54-hole leader Tommy Fleetwood and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and join J.J. Spaun, the reigning U.S. Open champion, in the playoff.
Spaun birdied two of his final three holes in regulation to join Rose in the playoff. Rose and Spaun both had birdie putts on the first playoff hole lip out forcing a return trip to No. 18. On their second tries, they converted birdie putts with Spaun’s coming from 30 feet.
The hole location on 18 was changed for the third playoff hole and Rose dropped his birdie putt from 12 feet. Spaun’s seven-foot attempt for birdie slid left of the cup.
“That was an amazing last 90 minutes,” Rose said. “I never stopped believing.”
The top 50 in the FedEx Cup points standings advance to the second round of the playoffs, the BMW Championship, which will be held at Caves Valley Golf Club at Owings Mills, Maryland beginning Thursday.
Rose began his charge shortly after a bogey at the par-4 12th hole to move up the leaderboard.
Rose didn’t play any practice rounds before the start of the St. Jude and he skipped the Wednesday pro-am because of illness, but the absences didn’t affect his play.
Rose had a chance to win on the 72nd hole, but his 13-foot birdie putt slid past the hole forcing the playoff with the 34-year-old Spaun. He had the exact same putt on the first playoff hole.
Fleetwood once again was denied the opportunity to win for the first time in 15 years on the PGA Tour. Entering the final round with a one-stroke lead, he was unable to hold a two-stroke lead with three holes to play. He had a par-bogey-par finish.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” Fleetwood said. “I was next to somebody (Rose) who played unbelievable golf down the stretch.”
–Phil Stukenborg, Field Level Media
