Seventh heaven for Justin Rose at Zurich Classic
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Justin Rose bagged his seventh PGA Tour victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans yesterday.
It was a glorious Sunday for the Englishman as he started by completing his rain-curtailed third round in 65 before making birdies at his final two holes to close with a 66 at TPC Louisiana for a record 22-under – one clear of Cameron Tringale.
The win means that Rose has now won in six straight seasons on the PGA Tour – the longest streak after Dustin Johnson’s eight – with this latest triumph capping a swift change in fortunes. Before finishing runner-up at the Masters, Rose had missed three cuts and failed to finish higher than 37th in 2015.
‘Earlier this year it looked impossible to win,’ he said. ‘I’m very happy to have turned my game around. I took my Masters performance with a huge amount of confidence.’
Rose made six birdies in the final round and played the last 66 holes without a bogey. His last two putts from 10 and 14 feet allowed him to hold off Tringale, who birdied the 18th for a 65.
Rose was made to wait before the chasing pack completed their rounds but celebrated that final putt in style, punching the air and saluting the gallery.
‘I obviously walked off the golf course feeling like I’d done enough,’ he said. ‘The reception when I came off the golf course was I’d done enough, so it’s hard not to enjoy it.’
Rose started the final round at 16-under, level with Jason Day. However, playing 32 holes in a day took their toll on the Australian who faded away over the course of round four before finishing in a tie for fourth on 19-under.
‘The early days and the hot days and just the long days in general kind of finally caught up to me,’ Day said. ‘I played great all week, but this final round just had a lot of mental errors.’
In contrast, Rose stayed strong throughout and is eyeing a golden summer with the WGC Match Play and Players Championship next on the schedule.
‘This is a great shot in the arm of confidence and I’ve just got to keep it going,’ he said. ‘It obviously gets me up there in everything I want to be up there in, a boost in the Official Golf World Ranking, a boost in the FedExCup, a huge boost in confidence. Now I can target the major championships all the way through the summer without having to chase anything in between. It’s going to be great.’
What’s in the bag: Justin Rose
Driver: TaylorMade R15 (Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage XTS 70X shaft), 9.5
3-wood: TaylorMade AeroBurner TP (Matrix Ozik 8M3 Black Tie), 15 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade R15 (Matrix MFS X shaft), 19 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB (4-PW; KBS Tour C-Taper 130X shafts)
Wedges: TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF ATV Grind (52 and 56 degrees; KBS Tour C-Taper 130X shafts), TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF Tour Grind (60 degrees; KBS Tour C-Taper 130X shaft)
Putter: TaylorMade White Smoke DA-62 Milled Prototype
Ball: TaylorMade Tour Preferred X
