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A dominant back nine has secured Justin Rose his first victory on the PGA Tour in four years at the AT&T Pebble Beach. The former world number one was the overnight leader with nine holes left to play after bad weather over the weekend forced the tournament into a fifth day.
Beginning on the fairway on the 10th hole, Rose knew his fate was in his own hands with a handy two-shot cushion and showed no signs of nerves as he pulled away from the chasing pack. He finished with a score of -18 for the week after a final round of 66, with his closest challengers, Brendan Todd and Brandon Wu, finishing on -15.
Rose’s last triumph on the PGA Tour came back in 2019 when he won the Farmer’s Insurance Open making this a long overdue victory for the 42-year-old who still has so much to give. The win will be doubly sweet as it ensures he will have a place at the Masters in April.
This year marks ten years since Rose won the US Open, his only major win to date, but if he continues this form then he will fancy his chances of adding a second major trophy to his collection at Augusta.
A dominant performance
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Rose was so dominant throughout the back nine at Pebble Beach today. He has all the experience and class to deal with these types of situations and he didn’t give anyone else in the field a chance.
Starting on the tenth fairway, he got his round off to a solid start with a simple par putt but kicked into gear when Brendan Todd cut his lead to one shot. A birdie on 11 thanks to a 30-foot putt was followed by two more across the next three holes to leave the Englishman three shots clear of Todd, who was back in the clubhouse.
Rose completed the following four holes in a professional manner, even opting to use an iron off the tee on the par 5 18th to avoid any unnecessary risks. Rose’s playing partner on the day, Peter Malnati, was unable to get anything going throughout the day and only managed one birdie on the back nine.
Worth the wait! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/6kchfTkxov
— Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) February 6, 2023
Rose looks ahead
With victory in the bag, Rose is now looking forward to what could be a very special year for him. With a place at the Masters secured, he is now beginning to think about making the European Ryder Cup team. Speaking to reporters after his win, he said:
“Obviously a win does give you a lot of belief. We always know we can do it, but sometimes you’ve got to see the proof.
Augusta has definitely been a big part of being on my mind. I thought the simple way to approach was to try and play my way into the top 50 in the world by March. I think my world ranking is 37 so I had a few free hits so I knew that making some points was going to do me good.
It was really important for me to get off to a good start on the PGA Tour so I wasn’t under pressure later in the season, so I could turn my attentions to the Ryder Cup and the European as and when that becomes the important part of the season.”
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