JUSTIN ROSE CAME roaring back to win the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis, via a marathon play-off against JJ Spaun.

Rose jumped from the fringes of contention to reel off four straight birdies in his final five holes, earning a spot in a play-off with US Open champion Spaun, who birdied two of his closing three holes to take a late clubhouse lead which was ultimately matched by Rose. 

It took an epic play-off series to separate Rose from Spaun, with the 45-year-old Englishman’s birdie putt dropping on the third play-off hole to seal a 12th career win on the PGA Tour.

Spaun had the honour in the play-off, which consisted of a sudden-death trip up and down the par-four, 18th hole until they had a winner. Spaun drew three-wood and opted for the conservative play to the right side, stopping within the second cut and just shy of the bunkers. Rose, by contrast, took driver and attempted to cut a corner carved out by water but, in a major break, saw his ball kick off the embankment and somehow grab and stop, a foot shy of the drink. Rose had to adjust his footing not to fall into the water after playing a terrific approach to virtually the precise spot from which he had a birdie putt a few minutes earlier in regulation. 

Spaun first saw a monster putt graze the edge of the hole and somehow not drop, while Rose, from 13 feet and on a familiar line, saw his pacy putt lip agonisingly out. And so the duo trooped back to the 18th tee to do it all again. Both stuck with their tactics off the tee, and both found the fairway.  Spaun left himself much further from the pin but this time drained his lengthy birdie putt to pile pressure on Rose. . .  who reacted by knocking in his putt for birdie. The tournament organisers cut a new pin position on the back-right of the green as both golfers began what was the 75th hole of the tournament. 

Spaun was closest to the new pin, meaning Rose was first to putt in the play-off for the first time. This finally broke the deadlock: Rose saw his putt snake to the hole and then drop, while Spaun hammered his much too firmly and by the left side of the hole.

Spaun started the day alongside Scottie Scheffler in the penultimate grouping, three shots behind third-round leader Tommy Fleetwood. He started quickly and went out in 32, but then hit the brakes to par his way all the way to 16, at which point he went birdie-birdie – the latter from 19 feet – to vault into a share for the lead with Fleetwood. He made par on 18 to briefly take the clubhouse lead at 16-under, though it was not Fleetwood he had to worry about, thanks to another miracle Sunday run by Justin Rose. 

Redolent of his final-round charge at the Masters this year, Rose recovered from going into the water on the way to a bogey on the ninth hole to catch fire in the closing stretch. Following birdie on 10 and bogey on 11, Rose reeled off four-straight birdies form 14 through to 17, and he saw a birdie putt to win on the 72nd hole drift an agonising two feet past the hole.  

Rose would eventually find glory on that same green.

Meanwhile, it was to be another day of torture on the PGA Tour for Tommy Fleetwood. Yet to win on the PGA Tour in what was his 161st start, and with six runner-up finishes on Tour to date, Fleetwood lost a two-shot lead with three holes remaining to finish one shot behind Spaun and Rose in a tie for third place.

Having bogeyed the first, Fleetwood found himself stuck in neutral, making par only from holes two through to 11. He drained a 33 foot putt for birdie on 12, however, which kickstarted his round. There followed birdies on 13 and 15, after which Fleetwood walked to the 16th tee with a two-shot lead. 

Alas he was met with familiar agony. He overcooked his approach into the par-five 16th and then hit a heavy-handed chip back across and then off the green, meaning he made only par as Spaun went birdie-birdie to tie the lead. Fleetwood then hit a wonky approach into 17 and another heavy-handed chip left him with a downhill putt from which he rose and walked dejectedly after before even it stopped well right of the hole. Having led by two shots only two holes earlier, Fleetwood went to the final tee box a shot behind Spaun and Rose, and he could only make par on the 18th green. 

It was 29th top-5 finish on the PGA Tour, which is 11 more than any other player without a Tour win over the last 40 years. 

“I am obviously disappointed, I said it last time, there are a lot of positives to take as much as I don’t feel like now”, said Fleetwood. I am looking at what I feel I could have done and how close it was, but we move on. It’s another week next week, and I just gotta reflect on today and try to put myself in that position again. All these experiences and close calls, there’s no point in allowing them have a negative effect on what happens next. I mean, what would be the point? It was a great week, I did a ton of good stuff and as disappointed as I am, I have to find the strength to make it a positive.”

Scottie Scheffler meanwhile came up shy too, his final-round 67 enough for a tie for third place, only a shot outside the Spaun/Rose play-off. 

Scheffler was playing without regular caddie Ted Scott, who returned home for a family matter. He was replaced by  Brad Payne, the PGA Tour chaplain and a longtime friend of Scheffler’s. 

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry endured a forgettable week, closing with a one-over round of 71 to finish well down the field and in a tie for 59th. Lowry remains within the top 30 among the FedEx Cup standings, however, meaning he remains in a strong position to qualify for the final playoff event at East Lake later this month. 

Only the top 50 within the FedEx Cup rankings progress to play next week’s BMW Championship, at which Rory McIlroy will appear having skipped this week’s event. 

Rickie Fowler, Jonathan Vegas, Bud Cauley and Kurt Kituyama all played their way into the top 50 and tee times next week, while Wyndham Clark, Jordan Spieth, Jake Knapp, and Min Woo Lee all played themselves out of contention, and into a premature end to their season.