Englishman Justin Rose defeated JJ Spaun, the winner of the last US Open, in the third playoff at the St. Jude PGA Championship held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, USA.
Rose and J.J. Spaun finished tied at -16 through the four rounds of the PGA Tour tournament, while American Scottie Scheffler and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood were one stroke back at -15.
On the first playoff hole, both Rose and Spaun made par; on the second, both players made birdie. On the third attempt, Rose sank a 12-foot birdie putt, before Spaun missed a 11-footer to tie for another round and hand the trophy to his opponent. Rose, 45, the Masters runner-up this season, thus claimed his 12th PGA Tour title, his first in two and a half years.
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Justin Rose, results
Rose had a chance to win without reaching the playoff, but the 13-foot putt that would have given him his fifth consecutive birdie eluded him. The birdie on the 14th was the first of four consecutive birdies for the Englishman. Including the playoff, he birdied six of the last eight holes on Sunday, with a pair of missed 13-foot putts being the only exceptions.
Justin is known for being a student of the golf swing, an early adopter of new technologies that are being incorporated into PGA Tour practice areas without losing his competitive edge.
"When I'm at my best, I know I'm good enough to play and compete, and now to win against the best players in the world. A very rewarding day for me, with a lot of hard work paying off," the Englishman noted.
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"It was a truly incredible last 90 minutes. I always knew I had that. I get nervous around the best. Sometimes I get nervous." But I know when it matters, I still have it."
The St. Jude Championship was the first of three PGA Tour FedExCup play-off tournaments to be played this August.
The top 70 finishers this year competed in the tournament, with only 50 advancing to the second tournament, next week's BMW Championship near Baltimore.
