Justin Rose Wins Thrilling Playoff at 45 | FedEx St. Jude Championship Victory

Justin Rose reflects on his dramatic playoff win at the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. At 45 years old, Rose showcased clutch shot-making, including a perfect 6-iron into 14 and a playoff birdie to top J.J. Spaun’s long putt.

He opens up about the nerves, the joy of competing against the world’s best, and why he still feels capable of a strong run of golf. Rose also shares what it means to celebrate the victory with his longtime caddie Fooch and how this moment fuels him ahead of the Ryder Cup.

All right, good evening everyone. We would like to welcome 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship winner Justin Rose. Justin, congrats on capturing your 12th PGA Tour victory and in a playoff. What does it feel like to get it done? Oh wow. I tell you what, it feels amazing to get it done. I mean, um, today was obviously a great opportunity starting the day. There are a lot of, I guess, for me story lines involved. you know, playing with Tommy, you know, one of my best friends out here on tour. Clearly, you know, Scotty right there, a whole chasing pack, but you know, starting the day one back, clearly, you know, that’s an awesome opportunity to to have a chance of winning a tournament, but kind of wasn’t going my way. Um, front nine was slow for both me and Tommy. So, like I feel like there were loads of guy, well, there were four of us in the mix heading into the back nine. And, um, I stalled a little bit, but then, you know, the last five holes I played some of my best golf and um, I kind of felt like I pulled it together when I really had to. and even in the playoff I continue to hit great shots and that just makes it I guess so much fun as a competitor to really really really when you have to hit the shots to find them and um yeah I’ll take a lot of uh a lot of pride in that today as you just mentioned those last five holes especially what were you leaning on or what were you dialing in for those approach shots into 18 yeah it’s a strange balance of patience you know and obviously because if you try too hard in anything in life like it just doesn’t seem to happen so you you still got to let it come to you but just being committed did. But I think being brave, trying to be brave, I think is what I, you know, especially on the 14th hole. I hit a hold six iron into that back right pin. Um, that’s a, you know, that was a a pretty, you know, clutch shot, I suppose, to sort of take that one on and to pull it off. And that that sort of then gave me the little bit of momentum I needed at that time in my round. It was also the first putt that I saw disappear. You know, I kind of try to tell myself out there today that well, you know, the theory of large numbers. And I’ve kind of used this in the past, but you know, if the putts are drying up, but if you keep your routine the same, if you keep doing everything the same over time, you’re going to have your fair share go in. So, I was just kind of waiting. I was playing a waiting game before the hole opened up. And I was able to to kind of see some putts fall. So, um, fortunately, they began to fall at the right time. As a past FedEx Cup champion, what does it mean to capture first win here of three playoffs? Yeah. Um, it kind of puts me right back in, you know, the the season’s race. Um, I I haven’t even looked at where that projects me and all these types of things, but back up in the, you know, in the in the realms of where I sat for a long time. You know, I haven’t been back to East Lake since 2019 and that’s been bugging me and that’s obviously been a huge goal. So, obviously that’s taken care of and um, you know, I’ve definitely played some good golf this year when it’s mattered. Like I feel like my good my my good has been good. my consistency hasn’t been there, but I’ve been telling people that I feel like when I play my best golf, I’m able to compete with the best players in the world. And obviously today proving that I can win against the best players in the world. So, uh it’s really yeah, it’s a gratifying day for me just to know that the hard work I have been putting in is not in vain. And um you know, I haven’t really felt so focused, I suppose, coming in today that I haven’t really had had a chance to actually enjoy this yet. It’s been uh I I’ve got to see some loved ones, do you know what I mean? because obviously they’re the people that sacrifice everything with me and as soon as I see my son tonight and my family and you know even my team my wider team that’s when it’s going to really feel good for me. Speaking of loved ones, well it would have been nice to have them here in Memphis. Uh what were they saying over the FaceTime or what you said plans are to see them? Yeah, so my wife and my daughter are in Greece right now on like a a girl holiday. Um and then my son flew to Baltimore and he’s waiting for me now uh waiting for me there. So we’ll have a boys week while they’re having a girls week. So, uh, can’t wait to to sort of spend the week with my with my man now. He’s 16. Um, and obviously the girls over FaceTime and stayed up late. It was 2 a.m. in Greece and, uh, but yeah, they were delighted. So, yeah, I mean, I felt cool, calm, and collected. And as soon as you see the family, you start to choke up, but that’s what that’s what it’s all about. Perfect. With that, we’ll open up to media. Raise your hand. We’ll get a microphone over to you. Start off here in the back. We have Sean Martin. just winning at 45. What’s sort of the source of pride of doing it after, you know, you’ve been a pro for 28 years now or 27, sorry. What was it? Winning at 45. What’s the source of pride of just the longevity of your career? You know, winning at 45 now. Yeah. I mean, there’s Yeah, there’s a lot of sense of pride in that. Um, you know, I think um I’m not alone in it. You know, there’s been guys that have have done it, but it doesn’t because there’s a pretty short list of guys that are competitive in that 45 to 50 sort of age range. you know, in the historically it was a bit of a waiting room for for the Champions Tour. So, um, obviously Phil bucked the trend. He won a major at 51. I feel like that’s good motivation. I feel like uh I still feel like there is that golden summer of my career available to me. That’s what what I’ve been pushing for like and um you know moments like getting close to Trudeon and then obviously getting close to Augusta, they were there 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. I mean, will I ever be the best player that I was when I was, you know, maybe, you know, 2018, number one 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, you know, at the key times. And um, yeah, I’ve been able to to do that, you know. I’ve shown good signs, I think. But winning is winning. Do you know what I mean? And I think proving that to yourself. Um, even though I’ve come close and I felt good in contention, getting over the line is still difficult. And, um, obviously I I’ve won like twice in six years now. But, um, this one felt good. I felt like I had to hit the shots. I had to step up, you know, again and again and again in the playoff. Um, I felt ready for it. I felt calm. I felt collected. And I think that’s when you learn most about yourself. So, I’m excited about where I’m at at 45. And, um, I feel like there’s a good bit of runway ahead. Standing on 14T, what did you feel like your chances were and what was sort of that feeling that clicked in on the next five holes? Yeah, standing on the 14th T, I didn’t really think my chances were great. Um, but I knew I had just to kind of give it everything. And like I said, it was a bit of a mix of, okay, the time is now. You got to be brave and you got to take on every shot possible, but also you got to be committed and calm with it. You can’t just get yourself in a flat spin and think, right, you know, just that doesn’t it’s not how it works. But um really I guess just the two shots and 14 hitting the six iron in their hole in the pot and you kind of know that 15 and 16 are chances. So in the back of your head you sort of you know that if you play those holes right you you know you can make a little run and that’s exactly what happened. And then obviously dropping the pot on 17 I was like okay I’m right in this. Obviously that piggybacked with Tommy’s bogey but then I’d realized that JJ must have birdied because I was kind of looking at Tommy a little bit and then I realized JJ had actually I think birdie 17 to get to 16 under. So I was like a you know so that was a surprise but um and then gave myself a great great shot at it on 18 in regulation. Hit a good part. Had exactly the same putt uh in the first playoff hole. Hit it slightly differently. Still managed to miss it somehow even though it was looking great halfway. But um I’m kind of just talking nonsense now, but I guess all I’m trying to say is that there was a lot going on, but I felt like I kept stepping up and hitting great shots when it mattered. And um yeah uh super delighted to get over the line. And if I’d have imagined myself in in a different situation having lost in another playoff for example, you know, there would have been pride in how I played, but there would have been double you’d sort of it would have doubled down on the frustration maybe of Augusta. So this feels really good. If I can put in the front, Tim Buckley. Justin, was the possibility of this even in your mind when you were sick early in the week or at that point were you just thinking about trying to get through it? Yeah, I think the question was was I being sick early in the week? Yeah. Um, yeah, it was a weird one. Uh, Monday night started to not feel 100%. Tuesday I came out, I did some practice. Didn’t actually get on the golf course. Didn’t feel kind of didn’t feel like playing nine holes. Was actually going to be helpful. So, just walked a couple of holes. We walked I think we walked one, two, seven, eight, nine. And by the time I did that, I was like, just get me to the car. Um, was hoped to sleep it off. Woke up Wednesday morning kind of even worse. My resting heart rate was like 80 was normally like mid50s. Um and I remember pushing myself through a proam in early this year in Philadelphia and actually ended up withdrawing from the tournament by Saturday. So I tried to learn that lesson and I you know um pulled out the proam unfortunately on on Friday and sorry on Wednesday and was able to kind of get a lot of rest in that day and sleep and u by the time Thursday came around I felt pretty reasonable. So in in hindsight, couple less days in the heat, couple less days on the golf course maybe helps give you that mental freshness come Sunday. You know that that that’s definitely possible. So um certainly wouldn’t have projected myself to be sitting here right now on uh when I was thinking Wednesday morning how the week was going. And and did you feel drained at all during the playoff because of being sick earlier or were you just on adrenaline at that point? No. No. You know, obviously I came out and shot 64 on Thursday. So once that was behind me, I was fully into the week. You know, I’ve been very disciplined this week on my recovery, on my hydration, on my diet. But I think all the players are this week. You know, we realize how much it takes out of you. And we’re also realizing that Baltimore is a pretty big week. Big golf course hot. East Lakes hot. So I think a lot of players are very disciplined at the moment just trying to sort of wash, rinse, repeat. There’s a lot of fun going on right now. So uh yeah, there’s a lot of ice bars, a lot of good hydration, nutrition. So that’s what I’ve been focusing on this week. Maybe tonight I might break a couple rules. Directly behind me have Jason. Uh, walking off the course, where does this one sort of rank in your mind, in your career in terms of the dramatics and the thrill of the whole of the way it played out? This one felt quite stoic in the sense of determination, um, execution. There was a there were kind of a few different agendas playing with Tommy, playing in great spirits in that group and then kind of turning into the playoff and then being that dynamic as there always is with USA Europe obviously Ride a Cup around the corner. But I just felt like I just stayed really calm with it all and felt very much just um one foot in front of another. just didn’t really so all of the other stuff that was coming at me I just felt like I did I really deflected a lot and because I did such a good of deflecting a lot I think I deflected a lot of the emotion and the joy of the actual winning moment so it was quite uh in some ways quite a calm win um even though I think when I look back at it it was pretty fire you know it was fireworks you know there were some great shots and birdies and putts and and a lot to look back on and I’m going to enjoy watching this one back if I’m honest but in the moment I was pretty flatline did that catch you off guard were you surprised surprised by the fact that it was so calm. Uh yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But I think it’s testament to to sort of how good I felt under pressure or how I had to control my mind under pressure. So um yeah, and sometimes when you hold the putt to win, you have that moment where you can let it go. I’d hold the putt and I’m waiting for JJ to essentially miss the putt to win. So there’s not that massive spike of adrenaline moment. It’s like that relief moment. So sometimes when you win by someone missing a part, it sort of Yeah, it’s a different it’s a different way to win, right? Rather than holding the 30-footer across the green to get it done and that that that elation of that moment can set you off. Yeah. Moving over to the left side here, we have John, then we’ll go back to Parker. Justin, with the playoff being on the same hole, how much of a mental challenge was it for you and uh JJ to try to figure out, you know, what to do again and again and again and how to approach the same hole three different times? Yeah. So, I’ve never really played that hole the way I played it today. Um, never hit driver off that hole. I’ve never really been able to cover the left side. Um, for some reason I’ve been hitting it quite quite far this week and the wind was just perfect. It was down from the right hand side. It meant I could just cover the left side. I felt like it was playing perfect for me today with the driver. If I held the driver up a little bit, I probably wasn’t going to run out and if I turned the driver over, I was going to make the make the carry, which obviously that angle that I was able to create to the back left pin was very advantageous. Um, then obviously they changed the pin to the back right. Um, that sort of advantage was negated a little bit, but funny enough that’s the when they changed the pin was when I won, you know, the first time around on that on that pin placement. But uh the pin placement for the third time round in the playoff was sort of similar to day one or day two, I can’t quite remember, but I had a putt in that back section of green that I under red and I actually walked over to exactly where because you could see the old the old cup mark. So I tried to get a feel for that part of the green and then the part of the green I was actually putting on in the playoff and that was definitely helpful and hold a really good slippery left to right putt there. So, um, yeah, I was able to sort of, I guess, yeah, changing it played into my into my hands eventually, but, you know, JJ’s obviously such a great player. You’re never waiting for him to make a mistake. He’s so solid off the tea, but he obviously had to fit a 3-wood into the probably the tighter bit of fairway. So, probably a harder T- shot for JJ, especially being a left to right player. But, um, you know, I’m glad it worked out in the end. Time for just a few more. We have Parker. Justin, two years ago you tied the course record here and now a win at TPC Southwind. What about this course fits your game so well even after the renovations? Yeah, I think it’s um it’s the kind of golf course that even like I said, even though I’m hitting the ball pretty far this week, it’s the type of golf course that doesn’t demand a ton of length off the tea. It’s all about fitting the ball in the fairway. Um there’s a lot of strategy, a lot of hitting to the dog legs, hitting to the corners. Um, obviously Bermuda rough I think is uh such a great way to play and I thought the rough was thicker this year than we’ve had it in years past. But um, you know, it’s um, it’s it’s a yeah, it’s a thinking man’s golf course from that point of view and it really fairways and greens get rewarded here a lot. But I have been able to go low here. Yeah, I’ve had a 61 here. I’ve, you know, this week was able to, you know, fit in some pretty good scores. So I think it’s also the greens are pure, you know, putt well on Bermuda, I guess, and pretty comfortable reading them. There’s not a ton of slope on them, but fairways and greens, man. I I respect that and that’s how I like to play my golf. If you look at the tournaments I’ve won through my career, it’s been on the the type of tracks that there’s a little bit more strategy involved than just sending it. Going back to the playoff, you had a longer T-shot than JJ each of the three times. What was your strategy on that? And were you trying to get to a certain number with your approach shot? What I liked about the T-shot was just the way the angle was and the way the wind was that if I pulled it, I was going to go further left where the carry is longer. But typically, if I pulled it on the wind, it was going to carry further and if I pushed it a little bit up into the wind, it was going to land shorter. But the way the hole sets up, that was a good miss profile for me. So, um, yeah, I wasn’t trying to hit to a specific number, per se. But, um, yeah, if I hit a good T-shot, uh, it was going to leave me sand wedge in my hand. So, um, that was obviously a green light trying to make birdie. You’re trying to close it out. We’ll finish up with Jason unless there are any others. How did you keep from falling backward into the water on that uh on that one shot? Oh, thank God. I don’t know. Um, kind of close. It was nearly a Woody Austin moment for sure. Um, yeah, just the just pure embarrassment kept me from falling in the order, I think. 100%. Yeah, perfect. That’s all the questions we have, Justin. We appreciate the times and again, congrats. All right.