As we edge into the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, all eyes are on the leaderboard. The Saturday round ended with Tommy Fleetwood leading the field at 14-under, carding 69 to enter the Sunday round.
But just one stroke behind, Justin Rose quietly scripted one of the week’s most compelling storylines. The 45-year-old pro revealed on Saturday that he arrived at TPC Southwind battling illness.
“I stopped by via Alabama for the weekend to see my coach, Mark Blackburn, and was feeling great,” Rose told reporters on Day 3 of the championship. He continued, “Just got here Monday evening and started to feel a bit off. Tuesday, I came out here, didn’t do a lot of practice, wasn’t feeling great. Tuesday night, not good. Wednesday morning, kind of a fever, missed the pro-am.”
Despite the setback, Rose opened the tournament with a 6-under 64, followed by a 66 in Round 2, and a 3-under par, 67 on Saturday to move into solo second.
His third round was a mix of early birdies and bogeys at Hole No. 9, 14 and 17. But the finish was vintage Rose as he chipped a birdie on the 18th to close the gap on Fleetwood.
“In some ways, I don’t know if it dampens expectations,” Rose expressed on Saturday when asked if things had started to turn around for him. “You just kind of turn up and play the golf course as the game plan is.”
Fleetwood, who is looking forward to his first PGA Tour win, praised Rose during the post-round media conference on Saturday, stating, “Justin (Rose) sort of went aggressive with the driver there and made birdie out of the rough, but it’s so hard to play golf course out of the rough.”
Rose teed off in the final pairing with Fleetwood at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. Asked about the dynamic of playing alongside a close friend, Rose smiled and shared, “I knew it would be nice to play with Tommy (Fleetwood) on Sunday. Tommy (Fleetwood) is probably happy I’m playing with him on Sunday rather than Scottie (Scheffler), too, so he was probably cheering that birdie, I would imagine, just because it’s a comfortable environment for the two of us to play.”
On the same day, Rose also shared a post of him and Fleetwood, captioning it, “Last week v This week!! Must have been the 🍷@TommyFleetwood1😉.”
As for the world No. 1, Scheffler finished the Saturday round lurking just two shots back at 12-under, with one bogey throughout the day. Rose acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“100%, yeah,” he shared during the same conference. “I knew Scottie (Scheffler) was 12-under. I was 12-under playing the last.”
If Rose wins this Sunday, it would mark his 12th PGA Tour victory and his first since the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
It would also secure his spot in the BMW Championship and potentially lock in automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup, where he currently sits eighth in the European standings.
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