MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Standing in the middle of the 15th fairway at TPC Southwind with a sand wedge in his hands, Justin Rose had one thought: “I was aware of 59. That was really my primary objective,” he said.
Sub-60 rounds are golf’s ultimate double-edged sword. If it’s on your mind, you’re playing well, but if it’s on your mind, you’re probably going to wrestle with the added pressure, which means the closer you get, the more difficult it becomes.
On Saturday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Rose’s quest to crack the sub-60 threshold came up two shots short after going 8 under for the day through 12 holes. He managed just one more birdie over his final seven holes for a course-record tying 61.
Full-field scores from FedEx St. Jude Championship
“I knew that 59 was obviously in the cards,” Rose said. “The last two holes, the wind picked up. We’re on the edge of a storm it feels like, and the last two holes played pretty tricky. But in the end, happy to end up with two pars.”
At last year’s RBC Canadian Open, the Englishman had an even better chance to shoot a 59. All he needed to do was par the final hole, but he missed the fairway with his tee shot at No. 18 and made bogey for a 60.
“That was a bad 60, a tough-to-take 60 because I didn’t feel like I did a lot wrong. You don’t often get a chance to shoot 59, so obviously, when it happens, you want to take it,” said Rose, who has rounds of 76-67-61 this week and was tied for 19th when he completed his round.
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