A CLINICAL JUSTIN Rose held his nerve to secure the Farmers Insurance Open title at Torrey Pines with a tournament-record 23 under par total.
The 45-year-old Englishman, who took a six-shot lead into the final day – the biggest 54-hole lead at the tournament since Tiger Woods’ eight in 2008 – barely faltered as he carded a fourth-round 70 which included three birdies and a single dropped shot on the South Course to win by seven.
It was Rose’s 13th PGA Tour victory and netted him prize money of €1.45m ($1.73m).
Chasing history!@JustinRose99 makes the turn with a 7 stroke lead. He's currently on pace to set the scoring record @FarmersInsOpen, which is -22 held by George Burns and Tiger Woods.
With five-time major winner Brooks Koepka back on the PGA Tour in San Diego lat week after turning his back on LIV, Rose reflected with some satisfaction on his refusal to jump ship.
“I feel like my career goals have only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA Tour because access to them is not possible the other way,” the 45-year-old told a press conference.
“I want to play in and among the best players in the world; that’s what keeps me motivated, keeps me hungry, keeps me pushing. It would have been easy to potentially do other things but none of that excited me and none of that gave me access to what I wanted to achieve.
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“I always felt my childhood self wouldn’t feel very good about making that decision and giving up on those dreams.
“I’ve been sniffing and knocking on the door for a couple of majors since those decisions have been made, and those moments did validate that decision. It’s good to see people wanting to play where it motivates them to be their best.”
Winning a second major still spurs on Rose and his win at Torrey Pines, having triumphed at the FedEx St Jude Championship in August, only fuels his belief he can add to his 2013 US Open title.
“Majors is where I have my attention, for sure,” he added. “I’ve achieved a lot in the game but I’ve achieved a lot of it just once, so a multiple of anything I’ve achieved would be great.
“I’ve been really close to the Open, I’ve been really close to the Masters, the dream of winning all four is the ultimate goal since I was a kid.
“It seems a long way to think that way but if you think of some of the results I’ve had in the last year or 18 months, I’m not that far away so I may as well keep believing.”
American Pierceson Coody’s 65 secured him a share of second place alongside Si Woo Kim and Ryo Hisatsune, who both had final-round 69s.
Joel Dahmen, who had started the day as Rose’s closest challenger, endured an eventful outward nine, which included bogeys at the fourth, eighth and ninth holes either side of back-to-back birdies, and then carded a five at the par-four 12th as he finished with a 73 and tied for seventh.
Waterford’s Seamus Power finished his week with a one-under par 71 to finish in a tie for 11th place, taking home over €162,000 ($193,000) in prize money as well as valuable FedEx Cup points as he bids to regain full tour membership for 2027.
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Justin Rose eases to tournament-record victory at Torrey Pines
A CLINICAL JUSTIN Rose held his nerve to secure the Farmers Insurance Open title at Torrey Pines with a tournament-record 23 under par total.
The 45-year-old Englishman, who took a six-shot lead into the final day – the biggest 54-hole lead at the tournament since Tiger Woods’ eight in 2008 – barely faltered as he carded a fourth-round 70 which included three birdies and a single dropped shot on the South Course to win by seven.
It was Rose’s 13th PGA Tour victory and netted him prize money of €1.45m ($1.73m).
With five-time major winner Brooks Koepka back on the PGA Tour in San Diego lat week after turning his back on LIV, Rose reflected with some satisfaction on his refusal to jump ship.
“I feel like my career goals have only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA Tour because access to them is not possible the other way,” the 45-year-old told a press conference.
“I want to play in and among the best players in the world; that’s what keeps me motivated, keeps me hungry, keeps me pushing. It would have been easy to potentially do other things but none of that excited me and none of that gave me access to what I wanted to achieve.
“I always felt my childhood self wouldn’t feel very good about making that decision and giving up on those dreams.
“I’ve been sniffing and knocking on the door for a couple of majors since those decisions have been made, and those moments did validate that decision. It’s good to see people wanting to play where it motivates them to be their best.”
Winning a second major still spurs on Rose and his win at Torrey Pines, having triumphed at the FedEx St Jude Championship in August, only fuels his belief he can add to his 2013 US Open title.
“Majors is where I have my attention, for sure,” he added. “I’ve achieved a lot in the game but I’ve achieved a lot of it just once, so a multiple of anything I’ve achieved would be great.
“I’ve been really close to the Open, I’ve been really close to the Masters, the dream of winning all four is the ultimate goal since I was a kid.
“It seems a long way to think that way but if you think of some of the results I’ve had in the last year or 18 months, I’m not that far away so I may as well keep believing.”
American Pierceson Coody’s 65 secured him a share of second place alongside Si Woo Kim and Ryo Hisatsune, who both had final-round 69s.
Joel Dahmen, who had started the day as Rose’s closest challenger, endured an eventful outward nine, which included bogeys at the fourth, eighth and ninth holes either side of back-to-back birdies, and then carded a five at the par-four 12th as he finished with a 73 and tied for seventh.
Waterford’s Seamus Power finished his week with a one-under par 71 to finish in a tie for 11th place, taking home over €162,000 ($193,000) in prize money as well as valuable FedEx Cup points as he bids to regain full tour membership for 2027.
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Golf Justin Rose PGA Tour seamus power