Justin Rose Wins Again, Tommy Fleetwood Stumbles ... Again

For the first time since the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Justin Rose has once again found the winner’s circle. Back in April, Rose birdied eight of his final 12 holes at the Masters to grab a spot in the playoff that he’d ultimately lose to Rory McIlroy. On Sunday, Rose mounted another brilliant late charge, making four birdies over his last five holes to join U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun in yet another playoff. 

After narrowly avoiding the water off the tee on the first playoff hole, Rose birdied the 18th hole two consecutive times in the second and third playoff holes to take down the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Speaking to Golf Channel’s Damon Hack off the 18th green, Rose glowed while discussing how much fun he had battling on Sunday. “That’s why I practice. That’s why I play, ” Rose said. “(It was a) very gratifying day for me.” 

Rose’s phenomenal display should dispel any potential concerns about his right to a Team Europe roster spot at the Ryder Cup after some shaky play during the summer. Rose may not be the most consistent golfer in the world right now, but he has demonstrated an ability to bring his best to the biggest tournaments. At the ripe age of 45, there’s still clearly gas left in the tank. 

At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, Tommy Fleetwood will leave TPC Southwind with a pit in his stomach, having squandered another opportunity to grab his first PGA Tour win. Sometimes you play well and you just get beat. That wasn’t what transpired on Sunday. After three days of excellent ball-striking, Fleetwood miscued throughout the bag in the final round. Despite early round stumbles featuring wide misses and unconvincing putting strokes, he bounced back with three strong birdies between holes 12 and 15 before inexcusably failing to birdie the par-5 16th from the middle of the fairway. He chased the near-bogey on 16 with a sloppy bogey on 17 before parring 18 to miss the playoff by a shot. 

By any definition, Tommy Fleetwood has been one of the best, most consistent golfers in the world in 2025. Unfortunately, his scar tissue has only thickened after another crushing defeat, this one entirely of his own doing.