Justin Rose rallies to win St. Jude Championship as Tommy Fleetwood comes up short again

By SABC Sport
11th August 2025

Justin Rose produced a blistering finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday, reeling off four straight birdies on the back nine to force a playoff, before edging J.J. Spaun on the third extra hole.

Rose, who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the Masters earlier this year, caught fire late, carded birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17 to rocket up a packed leaderboard. In all he made six birdies in his final eight holes, including two in the playoff.

The Englishman's closing 67 brought him level with reigning US Open winner Spaun at 16-under-par 264 at TPC Southwind. Spaun had shot a 65, highlighted by back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 to join the playoff.

Overnight leader Tommy Fleetwood had been two shots ahead with three holes to play, but a bogey at 17 spoiled his chances and forced him to settle for a 69 and a share of third with Scottie Scheffler at 15-under 265, continuing his run of near-misses on the PGA Tour.

"That was an amazing last 90 minutes, really," said Rose. "Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch."

It's Rose's 12th PGA Tour title, and his first since Pebble Beach in 2023.

"Never stopped believing," said Rose. "I've been saying for some time when I bring my best, I know I'm good enough to play and compete and to now win against the best players in the world, so very gratifying day for me and a lot of hard work kind of coming to fruition."

But for compatriot Fleetwood, it was another all-too-familiar disappointment. The seven-time DP World Tour champion remains winless in 162 PGA Tour starts.

"I'm obviously going to be disappointed," he said.

"There's a lot of positives to take, as much as I don't really feel like that right now. I'm just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was."

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler was tied for the lead through 13 holes as he chased a fifth victory of 2025. But he couldn't sustain the push, finishing with a three-under 67.

Still, Scheffler retained his place atop the playoff standings after the opening leg of the three-event FedExCup Playoffs. The top 50 players move on to next week's BMW Championship, with the leading 30 after that advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship.