From out of nowhere into the winner’s circle, Justin Rose raced through the finish line and a congested chasing pack atop the leaderboard Sunday to edge U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun across three sudden-death playoff holes and claim the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the 2025 St. Jude Championship. In doing so, he won his first PGA Tour event since 2023 and atoned for a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy earlier this year at the Masters.
“Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch,” Rose said. “I had so much fun with it. [The 18th hole] was playing perfectly for me today. If I pulled it, I carried it, if I held it up — I hit a couple good putts in regulation and in the first playoff hole as well. Obviously J.J. dropped a bomb on me; I topped him. It was a lot of fun today.
“That’s why I practice. That’s why I play. I’ve been saying for some time now, obviously Augusta [National], when I bring my best, I know I’m good enough to play and to compete, and to now win against the best players in the world. Very gratifying day for me and a lot of hard work coming to fruition.”
Rose scored six birdies across his final eight holes, including a barrage of four straight from Nos. 14-17 that took him from well back of the leaders to tied atop the field at TPC Southwind late on the back nine. He posted a final-round 67 finished the week at 16 under as Spaun, who shot a 65, birdied two of his final three regulation holes to create the sudden death opportunity.
The Englishman found himself three strokes back of of 54-hole leader Tommy Fleetwood in the middle portion of their back nine before Rose scored those four birdies to match Spaun’s clubhouse lead. During that stretch, Rose rolled in birdie putts from 15 feet, 9 feet, 6 feet and 23 feet before missing from 13 feet on the 72nd hole.
Rose made amends on the third extra hole as he drained a birdie from inside 12 feet to secure the St. Jude Championship. This after Rose and Spaun made impressive dueling birdies on the second playoff hole, extending the tournament over an hour past its expected conclusion.
With his triumph, Rose at age 45 becomes the oldest winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship, the oldest winner in the postseason since Vijay Singh and the first player in his 40s to win on the PGA Tour this season. The win pushes Rose inside the top five of the FedEx Cup standings, assuring him of a spot in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019.
Beginning the day one stroke behind Tommy Fleetwood in the final pairing, Rose started his final round with a head-scratching three-putt bogey. His game was slightly off across the front nine as he found the water on the par-4 9th for the second straight day and himself three strokes off the pace after a birdie on No. 10 was offset by a bogey on No. 12.
In jeopardy of being taken out of the conversation, Rose marched louder. A birdie on the difficult par-3 14th gave him a sliver of hope before solid conversions on the next two holes. It was only when a long-distance connection on the par-4 17th coincided with a bogey from the blade of Fleetwood that Rose’s chances felt real, and real they were indeed.
After missing a chance to win in regulation, Rose rode back to the tee box on the par-4 18th. His missed from a similar position and from a similar distance on the green on the first playoff hole, but he kept at it — emblematic of this performance and his career resurgence in 2025.
Birdies were matched on the second before a birdie was solely his on the third and final playoff hole as Rose raised his hands to the sky, clinched his fist and secured what not only the trophy but the knowledge this his best is still capable of beating the best in the world.
“I’ve always known I’ve had that,” Rose said. “I get nervous with the best of them. I feel nervous at times. But I know, when it matters, I’ve still got it. I kind of feel better and better and better as it gets more important. That’s good to know.” Grade: A+
Here are the rest of the notable names on the leaderboard at the 2025 St. Jude Championship.
2. J.J. Spaun (-16): A tough end to a tremendous tournament for Spaun, who continues to prove he is no flash in the pan. The dream season continues with the 34-year-old, who had one PGA Tour win to his name before capturing the U.S. Open, now No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings only behind Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who did not play this week. Spaun and Rose each saw tournament-winning putts lip out on the first playoff hole with Spaun continuing his tremendous putting from 30 feet and beyond this week in Memphis. A position on the United States Ryder Cup team has now been clinched, and with two more playoff events to play, Spaun has every opportunity to continue cashing checks amid this tremendous campaign. Grade: A
T3. Tommy Fleetwood (-15): Another painful defeat for Fleetwood, who seems to find new, excruciating ways to fall short each time he is in contention at a PGA Tour event. After a slow start, he found his footing on the greens and made three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the middle of his back nine to assert himself on the leaderboard. He was met with runs by Rose and Spaun but walked to the par-5 16th with the tournament in his hands. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, Fleetwood carded a poor par on the par-5 16th before a bad bogey on the 17th pushed him back from his peers. This marks the sixth third-place finish in Fleetwood’s PGA Tour career.
“Did a lot of good things today, really. Right at the end again. I’m getting close. That’s the good side of it. I feel like I’m getting really close,” He said after the round. “On that back nine, managed to get myself ahead, played some really good golf, putted really well. … I just didn’t quite do enough. … I’m obviously disappointed.” Grade: A-
T3. Scottie Scheffler (-15): Scheffler traversed the final round without caddie Ted Scott by his side as Scott was forced to return home due to an unexpected family emergency. Without his right-hand man, Scheffler sauntered through TPC Scottsdale in his typical manner driving the ball as well as he had all week and giving himself ample birdie opportunities from inside 15 feet.
Getting more comfortable on the greens as the week progressed, Scheffler saw a number of those birdie chances burn the edge on Sunday, which was the ultimate difference maker. Still, he heads into the BMW Championship in the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings, and he has not finished outside the top 10 since the Players Championship. Grade: B+
T6. Rickie Fowler (-10): Two months ago, Fowler found himself well outside the top 70 that qualifies for the postseason and in major flux given his lack of status for next season. A strong summer launched at the Memorial and bookended by a nice run at the St. Jude Championship will see the former Players Championship winner qualify for the BMW Championship and all eight signature events in 2026.
Fowler’s ball striking carried the load this week at TPC Southwind as he led in terms of proximity through three rounds and kept the wheels on the track in the final. While the success is something that should be celebrated, Fowler’s work is far from done as he will try to climb inside the Tour Championship bubble where major championship exemptions wait for next season. Grade: B+
T22. Xander Schauffele (-6): In his first start since back-to-back top 10s across the pond, Schauffele was stuck in neutral. Putting inconsistencies which have been the tale of his season riddled his first two rounds, and not even a third-round 65 could kick him on in the right direction. Because of this, he finds himself in a precarious position heading into the BMW Championship — well outside the top 30 that qualify for the Tour Championship. Schauffele has become synonymous with East Lake given his success at the venue, but he is at major risk of not playing in this year’s postseason finale unless a strong start shows up in Baltimore. Grade: C
T38. Jordan Spieth (-3): He gave it a valiant effort, but Spieth’s season came to a close at the St. Jude Championship as he moved from No. 48 in the FedEx Cup standings to outside the top 50 by the time his 72nd hole concluded. This likely means his chances of being chosen for the U.S. Ryder Cup team have been extinguished as he will not be able to make a case to captain Keegan Bradley over the next two weeks. It was a solid campaign following offseason wrist surgery but one without any highlights. Spieth was above average in every strokes-gained category but outside the top 20 in each of them as well, which kind of sums it all up. His early exit from the postseason marks the second straight year he has fallen short of the BMW Championship. Grade: D
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