The first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the PGA Tour started in Memphis, Tennessee with the St. Jude’s Championship. It was a hot weekend on the course, and that could be said for the scoring as well. The finish itself was noteworthy as fans were treated with a tremendous playoff, another collapse, and plenty of big name players trying to work their way through the field to make it inside the Top 50 and qualify for the BMW Championship this upcoming weekend.

In the end, it was 45 year-old Justin Rose who outlasted J.J. Spaun in a playoff to win the $3.6 million dollar purse, and his first victory of the season. Not to think Rose hasn’t played well, he absolutely has this year, but finally getting over that proverbial hump was something which felt like a monkey being removed from his back.

“Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch,” Rose said of the St. Jude’s Championship. “I had so much fun with it. [The 18th hole] was playing perfectly for me today. If I pulled it, I carried it, if I held it up — I hit a couple good putts in regulation and in the first playoff hole as well. Obviously J.J. dropped a bomb on me; I topped him. It was a lot of fun today.

“That’s why I practice. That’s why I play. I’ve been saying for some time now, obviously Augusta [National], 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 had six birdies across his final eight holes, including a barrage of four straight from Nos. 14-17 that took him from well back of the leaders to tied atop the field at TPC Southwind late on the back nine. He posted a final-round 67 finished the week at 16 under as Spaun, who shot a 65, birdied two of his final three regulation holes to create the sudden death opportunity.

The Englishman found himself three strokes back of of 54-hole leader Tommy Fleetwood in the middle portion of their back nine before Rose was able to obtain those four birdies to match Spaun’s clubhouse lead. During that stretch, Rose rolled in birdie putts from 15 feet, 9 feet, 6 feet and 23 feet before missing from 13 feet on the 72nd hole.

With the victory, Rose, at age 45, becomes the oldest winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship, the oldest winner in the postseason since Vijay Singh and the first player in his 40s to win on the PGA Tour this season. The win pushes Rose inside the top five of the FedEx Cup standings, assuring him of a spot in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019.

Throughout his illustrious career, Rose still feels the nerves of a big moment.

“I’ve always known I’ve had that,” Rose said. “I get nervous with the best of them. I feel nervous at times. But I know, when it matters, I’ve still got it. I kind of feel better and better and better as it gets more important. That’s good to know.”

Despite Rose’s win, another narrative which just refuses to die is that of Tommy Fleetwood failing down the stretch to claim his first professional win of his career. It was more of the same for Fleetwood after the tournament.

“Did a lot of good things today, really. Right at the end again. I’m getting close. That’s the good side of it. I feel like I’m getting really close,” He said after the round. “On that back nine, managed to get myself ahead, played some really good golf, putted really well. … I just didn’t quite do enough. … I’m obviously disappointed.”

Fleetwood will get another chance this weekend in Owing Mills, MD at the BMW Championship, but you have to wonder if he is truly snake bitten as a player.

There are two weeks left in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, leading up to the Tour Championship at East Lake.

Jeff Hartman is also the host of the Fairways & Dreams podcast, and the latest show can be heard in the player below: