Justin Rose proved there’s still plenty of sting in his game, outlasting JJ Spaun in a tense three-hole play-off to win the St. Jude Championship — his first PGA Tour title since Pebble Beach in 2023.
The 45-year-old Englishman, still smarting from play-off defeat to Rory McIlroy at Augusta earlier this year, refused to blink this time around at TPC Southwind. Matching Spaun’s par and birdie in the first two play-off holes, Rose produced another birdie on the third to seal PGA Tour win number 12.
Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, will have to keep waiting for that elusive first PGA win. The world number 15 held a one-shot lead overnight but a bogey on 17 derailed his charge, leaving him one behind Rose and Spaun, tied for third with Scottie Scheffler. Fleetwood now has 29 top-five finishes without a win — more than any other player in the last four decades.
Rose’s late surge of four consecutive birdies from the 14th was vintage stuff. “I never stopped believing,” he said. “Today is huge for me.” The victory secures his spot in next week’s BMW Championship as the FedEx Cup Playoffs roll on.
