Justin Rose has still got it. Still has his nerves. Still has his swing. Still has sufficient power and level of fitness. Still knows how to shake off adversity. Still has the ability to perform in the clutch.

He still knows how to win.

At age 45, Rose became the oldest winner on the PGA Tour in five years on Sunday in Memphis when he defeated reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Trailing fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood by three strokes with five holes remaining in regulation, Rose reeled off four straight birdies to surge past his European Ryder Cup teammate and join Spaun at 16-under 264 at TPC Southwind. Then Rose birdied the last two holes of the playoff, the first to stay alive after Spaun buried a long birdie of his own, and the second, from 11 feet, for the title, his second in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the 12th of his PGA Tour career.

“Yeah, that was an amazing last 90 minutes really. Seemed to be the way it got this week,” said Rose, who didn’t play a practice round on the renovated layout because of illness but broke par each round, including a closing three-under 67. “When I got myself a few back, something good would happen. Never stopped believing. Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch. I had so much fun with it.

“That’s why I practice. That’s why I play,” he added. “I’ve been saying for some time now, obviously [at] Augusta, 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 made reference to Augusta, recalling how he fired a final-round 66 at the Masters to push Rory McIlroy into a playoff only to see McIlroy birdie the first extra hole to complete the career Grand Slam. It was a heartbreaker for the former U.S. Open champion, who lost his second playoff at Augusta National Golf Club and saw his tour playoff record fall to a frustrating 1-4.

It looked like he might slip to 1-5 when Spaun, summoning the same putting magic he displayed to close out the U.S. Open at Oakmont, drilled home a 30-footer on the second playoff hole. But Rose calmly answered from seven feet to extend the playoff, which was conducted exclusively on the 18th hole and began with each man making par.

When Rose holed out first on the third extra hole—after a new pin was cut as per tour plans should the playoff be extended beyond two holes—Spaun sized up a seven-footer to tie but pulled the putt. Winner for the first time since the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Rose pumped his first emotionally and hugged his longtime caddie Mark Fulcher.

Spaun, continuing a career year, shot a final-round 65 that included birdies on the 16th and 17th holes that pushed him into a brief tie with Fleetwood, the 54-hole leader who was trying to end a winless drought that has now stretched to 162 starts. Spaun’s performance came in the company of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, The Open and PGA champion, who had a 67 to tie for third at 265.

Scheffler posted his 12th straight top-eight finish, which leaves him one shy of Tom Weiskopf’s mark set in 1973.

“Yeah, it sucks to miss a seven-footer, but tricky read and pulled it a little bit,” said Spaun, who lost his second playoff this year, the first coming at the hands of McIlroy at the Players Championship. “I hung in there the best I could, and he beat me to the hole first. Just wasn’t meant to be.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me, honestly,” Spaun, 35, added after he rose to sixth in the world. “I think I’m just content with what I’ve done in this game and now it’s just kind of free rolling. Just trying to win, and I think that’s a freeing mentality to have.”

That’s a feeling Fleetwood dearly covets.

Just as he did at the Travelers Championship in June, the 34-year-old Fleetwood couldn’t summon the necessary shots to close out the elusive win. On this occasion, after three birdies in four holes kick-started by a 33-footer at the 12th, his first birdie of the day, Fleetwood stood on the tee at the par-5 16th with a two-shot lead. But he managed only a par on the easiest hole on the course, and then made a hash of the 17th, missing the green short and left and then chipping to seven feet. His par save ignored its intended destination from the start.

“I’m obviously going to be disappointed. I said last time, there’s a lot of positives to take, as much as I don’t really … I won’t feel like that right now,” a dejected Fleetwood mustered. “I’m just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was. You know, we move on. There’s another week that’s next and I’ve just got to reflect on today and obviously keep pushing forward and try and put myself in that position again.”

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Despite his last punch to the gut, Fleetwood found it in himself to compliment his good friend Rose. “Yeah, he’s great, isn’t he. I love his dedication. I really do. I’ve always loved how he’s gone about the game. Yeah, at 45 he’s not slowing down at all. He’s cracking on. He’s still very fit, very healthy, very motivated. I think he’s a great person in golf to look up to.”

Rose, whose dedication extends to travelling with his own recovery trailer to remain fit, became the oldest winner since Phil Mickelson captured the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50. He is the second-oldest player to win a playoff event behind Vijay Singh.

“The last five holes, I played some of my best golf,” said Rose, who recognised the Ryder Cup atmosphere during the playoff against Spaun, who will make his debut for the U.S. team next month at Bethpage Black. “I kind of felt like I pulled it together when I really had to, and even in the playoff I continued to hit great shots, and that just makes it so much fun as a competitor to really, really, really, when you have to hit the shots, to find them. I’ll take a lot of pride in that today.”

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Andy Lyons

He also takes home $3.6 million, moves up to second in the European Ryder Cup standings (same as Spaun on the American side) and returns to the top-10 in the world, coming in at No. 9.

Winner of the 2018 FedEx Cup title, Rose argued in April after his loss to McIlroy that he remained capable of winning. Now that prediction has come to fruition with a statement victory that was as much about determination as it was execution. He deserves to take pride in the achievement.

And he deserves to believe more is possible. He is right to believe it.

“I still feel like there is that golden summer of my career available to me,” he ruminated. “That’s what I’ve been pushing for. Moments like getting close at Troon [in last year’s Open Championship] and then obviously getting close at Augusta, they’re signals that it’s possible. This is another really, really, really important signal that I’m on the right track with my game, and actually maybe even getting a little bit better at the moment.

“Will I ever be the best player that I was when I was maybe 2018 [or] No. 1 in the world? I don’t know, but I don’t have to be I don’t think, as long as I can find it at the key times.”

He found it this week in Memphis at the most crucial time. Yeah, Justin Rose has still got it.

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Main Image: Andy Lyons