Sweet smell of victory for Rose at Memorial; Tiger nowhere to be found
DUBLIN, Ohio - Winless for more than two years, so far down the world ranking that he was in danger of being forgotten, Justin Rose decided to stop being obsessed with results and think only about the shot in front of him.
It led to a result that was long overdue.
With a flawless final round to overcome a 4-shot deficit, Rose had 1-putt greens on eight consecutive holes Sunday and closed with a 6-under 66 to win the Memorial Tournament for his first title in America.
"I've had a few close calls over time, and you start to sometimes wonder why you can't get it done," Rose said.
Rose ran off 3 straight birdies before the turn, made a 20-foot par putt to keep his momentum, then seized control when Rickie Fowler took a double bogey with a tee shot into the water on the 12th hole. Fowler shot 73 to finish 3 shots behind.
When he tapped in for par on the final hole, Rose thrust his fist in the air slammed it down, as joyful as he was when he burst onto the golf scene 12 years ago as the 17-year-old amateur who tied for fourth in the 1998 British Open.
Even his 16-month-old son Leo approved. As Rose held him aloft in his arms, the infant clapped his hands. Then came a handshake from the tournament host, Jack Nicklaus, who told the 29-year-old Englishman two years ago he would win the Memorial one day.
"To win here at the Memorial, at Jack's tournament, I couldn't think of a better place to win my first tournament," Rose said.
Tiger Woods, the defending champion and a four-time winner, closed with a 72 and tied for 19th to finish 12 shots behind. It was his worst finish at the Memorial since 2002, although he found one highlight.
"I'm capable of playing four rounds in a row," said Woods, who has done that only once this year, at the Masters. He missed the cut at Quail Hollow and withdrew from The Players Championship in the final round with a sore neck.
It was not an inspiring performance, especially with the U.S. Open two weeks away at Pebble Beach.
For the third tournament in a month, Phil Mickelson had a chance to get to No. 1 in the world with a victory. He got on the leaderboard with a strong start, but lost it on the par-5 15th when his drive was so far left that he wound up taking a penalty drop on the cart path from the 17th hole. He hit driver off the path up near the 16th tee, but he wound up 3-putting for double bogey.
Mickelson shot a 69 in his final tuneup for the U.S. Open.