Rose blooms at right time to win BMW Championship

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Justin Rose held his nerve to secure his place at the Tour Championship next week by winning the BMW Championship in Chicago.

The Englishman chipped in on 17 en route to a two-shot win over Australian John Senden in the penultimate FedEx Cup playoff event, his third PGA Tour title, moving him up to third in the points standings.

Luke Donald continued his hot streak with his twelfth top-ten of the season by finishing fourth while the last winner in the playoffs, American Webb Simpson, finished fifth.

Entering the final day four strokes ahead, Rose extended his lead with birdies on holes six and seven but then faltered with bogey-sixes on nine and sixteen, which slimmed his lead down to just one shot after Senden made back-to-back birdies.

But after missing the green on the penultimate hole, Rose chipped in for birdie giving him a comfortable two-shot lead on the final hole.

Rose battled through the rain and wind on Sunday and later admitted: “I took on a few crazy shots.”

He added: “The manner in which I won this tournament, it rates as high as the best tournament I’ve ever won, just by going wire-to-wire. I think mentally this is the best I’ve ever been in terms of being very under control with my emotions, being very calm, being very aware of the situation and feeling comfortable with it.”

Rose now controls his own destiny; a win in Atlanta next week will guarantee him the $10m FedEx Cup jackpot. Last year’s winner of both the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, Jim Furyk, failed to qualify for the Tour Championship, ending up 36th in the standings.
 
Good performances from YE Yang and Frederik Jacobson secured their places in the top-30, while Scotland’s Martin Laird and Masters Champ Charl Schwartzel narrowly missed out.

Camilo Villegas’ stunning round of 66 wasn’t quite enough to get him in, a bogey on the final hole scuppering any chance he had of qualification.

It was also a fairytale week for Geoff Ogilvy who finished third after a final round 69 to earn him both a place at next week’s Tour Championship and the final slot on the International Presidents Cup team.

The biennial matchplay event will be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in November and the Aussie has a house by the 14th fairway, making it an extra-special event for him to qualify for. It meant Senden narrowly missed out on the last spot. 

Team Captains Greg Norman and Fred Couples will have two captains’ picks after the Tour Championship, but the automatic places have now been decided and the teams line up as follows:

America: Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, David Toms, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk.

International: Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, KJ Choi, Kyung-tae Kim, Retief Goosen, Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els, YE Yang, Ryo Ishikawa.

The Today’s Golfer Fantasy League stays in America for the Tour Championship this week. With double points on offer, prudent choices are a must. Sign up or choose your team here.

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