Rose Ends Title Drought with Playoff Victory
 Justin Rose celebrates sinking the winning putt at the FedEx St Jude Championship playoff
Justin Rose claimed the FedEx St Jude Championship following a playoff thriller, defeating US Open winner J.J. Spaun in a three-hole playoff. At 45 years old, Rose is now the oldest European player to triumph on the PGA Tour in the modern era, breaking his two-year title drought for his next victory.
Rose began the last day a stroke behind Tommy Fleetwood but bogeyed to begin the round and fell further behind with another bogey on 12. It was three behind with six remaining, and Rose made a key run with six birdies on his final eight holes. Four straight from 14 to 17 had him at 16 under, and he ran out of space on the last hole, missing a 13-footer to at least take it to a playoff.
Playoff Went to Third Extra Hole
Rose and Spaun battle in playoff on the 18th hole
The playoff started when both Spaun and Rose failed to birdie 18. Spaun sank a long putt from his second, equalising Rose’s nearer approach, which the former had to return for a third time down the hole. Due to the shadows, the pin was changed, and Spaun ended up at seven feet, whereas Rose holed a 14-foot birdie on 18 to win the match.
This win was Rose’s first since 2023 and qualified him for the Tour Championship for the first time in six years. It also qualified him for the top five in FedEx Cup standings, securing him a spot in the Ryder Cup team.
Spaun’s Solid Challenge Rains Out
The last 65 (birdies in two of his last three plays) secured J.J. Spaun a place in the playoff. Pin seeking was used to stay in the game all week, and the wins during crunch time were high as well.
Never losing grip of the lead, Spaun managed to rank among the FedEx Cup top 3 and attain the United States Ryder Cup team. His breakout season, which thus far had already featured a win at a major championship, was cited as the reason of his second-place finish.
Fleetwood Misses Another Chance
Tommy Fleetwood again threatened to end his losing streak in PGA Tour as he was two in front through three holes to go. He came out of the reckoning at the par-5 16th with a par and a bogey at the 17th.
Fleetwood misses key shot, falls short of victory
They needed a birdie on 18 to force the playoff and Fleetwood hit into the bunker and went long with his second shot. He wound up with a 69, an out-of-playoff, tied-for-third shot. It was the 29th top-five finish in his career where he did not win a golfing tournament on the PGA tour.
Scheffler and Others Just Miss Playoff
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished a shot off the playoff pace after two birdies in his final three holes Sunday with a 67. Scheffler, caddying for himself because of a family emergency in addition to his normal caddie, extended his streak of top-eight finishes to 12 events.
Even some of the players close to the FedEx Cup top-50 cutoff had clinching moments. Bud Cauley birdied a bunker shot at 17 to make it into next week’s BMW Championship. Rickie Fowler, Kurt Kitayama, Jhonattan Vegas, and J.T. Poston made it through, but Jordan Spieth and Chris Kirk did not.
Key Final Round Moments
His comeback started with a birdie at the 4th hole and pars at the two positions, that is 15th and 16th holes. And a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 17 got him into a tie with Spaun before he came up inches short in regulation on the decisive putt.
The anti-Clutch play and putting style of Spaun kept the event alive, especially his long birdie on the second hole of the playoff. It was the lapse of completing the putts at the 17th of Fleetwood, together with his poor judgment on the approach at the 18th, that eventually denied him the opportunity to win the title.
 Final leaderboard after Rose’s 2025 FedEx St Jude win
Final Thoughts
It was a fine mix of determination and clutch play that led Justin Rose to his win at FedEx St Jude Championship. It is his playoff poise along with his Sunday performance that awarded him his 12 th PGA Tour title and a rebirth among the best in the game. Late charge of Spaun and continuing the search of his first major title by Fleetwood are complemented to the theatrics of the day as the beginning of FedEx Cup Playoffs is giving an impressive ending.
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