Justin Rose’s final-round meltdown cost him a victory in the Tour Championship
Justin Rose faltered in the final round of the Tour Championship and failed to record his second PGA Tour victory this season.
The 32-year-old recorded a victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship – his fourth on the PGA Tour.
Heading into the final round on Sunday, he had a great chance of adding another title to his resume, as he was sharing the lead with Brandt Snedeker at an eight-under par 54-hole score.
He got off to a reasonably good start and parred each of the first four holes. Yet, he required something more than that. He tried to go aggressive on the next two holes but the strategy did not work out for him.
The Englishman’s tee shots went way out of the greens and he had to play his shots from heavy roughs on the course. As a result, he did not manage to save the pars and lost two shots on the fifth and the sixth hole.
He then tried to make a comeback with birdies on the 11 and 15th hole. However, a bogey on the 17th hole completely ruined his chances to get to the top once again.
At the end of the tournament, he was standing at the second position with a seven-under par overall score.
Snedeker, in the meantime, kept on playing good shots, and managed to post a two-under par 68, despite losing two shots on the sixth hole.
According to Rose, his putting in the final round was not up to the mark. Otherwise, he would have easily challenged the American on the top.
“I didn't get the momentum going on the greens,” he said. “I hit a couple of good putts early in my round that didn't go in. But I felt like I got a little tentative on the greens, unfortunately. I'm quite early down the track of what I've been working on
with my putting”.
He also stated that he took the pressure of the lead, heading into the final round. In contrast, Snedeker kept his confidence high and did not let the double bogey overhaul his overall performance at the East Lake Golf Club.
“It's days like today where it gets really tested under pressure, and I've just got to be a little more confident on the greens, I suppose. That will come over time. There is no doubt,” Rose said.
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