By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Justin Rose rallied to beat J.J. Spaun in the FedEx St Jude playoff to win the Championship. Rose clinches his 12th career PGA Tour win.
The 45-year-old Rose was unbelievable in the last 8 holes, which prompted him to victory. He made six birdies and two pars in those eight holes.
The sudden death competition between Rose and Spaun was a beauty to witness. Both men brought out the best in each other—a lot of drama and crucial misses, especially in the first playoff hole. Rose and Spaun made putts on the second hole. In the third playoff hole, Spaun faced the pressure but couldn’t deliver. Rose hung on to win the match.
Spaun is having a great season and has been a great story, but Sunday belongs to Rose.
“If you want to win, sometimes you’ve got to find a way to do it,” Rose said. “For me, the key was 14. I’m accepting good points, good finish, you’re not taking on that shot in 14, but held a six sign in there because I was three back. I knew I needed to make some birdies. I needed to have that type of finish and ended up finishing all square with it.”
Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler entered the final round as the leaders on the scoreboard, but Rose and Spaun rose above the occasion and played much better than those golfers. Fleetwood had some momentum on the 13th and 14th holes. Scheffler missed a great opportunity on the 15th hole.
The wind played a factor in the final round. Everyone noticed this on the 16th hole when Fleetwood missed one to go in. He also missed putting one in on the 17th hole. Scheffler and Fleetwood finished tied in third place.
With this win, Rose can build momentum and go on a tear for more wins this season.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
