It was just how Justin Rose envisioned it. After he tapped in on No. 18 to close out the victory, 2-year-old Leo came charging onto the green to celebrate with his dad.
In between slapping high- and low-fives, the toddler appeared a bit overwhelmed.
“Kids are great at that moment,” Rose said. “They’re so innocent. ‘What’s this all about?’ ”
It was about Rose exorcising some demons after nearly blowing a five-shot lead Sunday with 11 holes to play.
And it marked a fine final day for Cog Hill, the suburban Chicago course which in all likelihood hosted its final BMW Championship.
Rose told the crowd gathered around the 18th green that he first played the Dubsdread Course during the 1997 U.S. Amateur and “it ate me up.”
“I thought it was the toughest course I had ever played,” he said. “So it’s nice to get some redemption.”
That redemption seemed inevitable after Rose made a 36-foot birdie putt on No. 7 to take a five-shot lead over Australia’s John Senden.
But as heavy rains subsided, a sleepy final round got a shot of Red Bull. Rose’s lead shrank to three shots, then one. The man who had converted only one of his previous six 54-hole leads into victory was about to blow it again.
His approach on No. 17 came up short, leaving him 12 yards to the cup. His dilemma: Chip it or play it safe with a putter.
“You can boil the whole day down to that moment,” Rose said. “I was either going to fritter it away or make something happen. I said to myself: ‘These are the moments when tournaments are won.’ ”
With the guidance of caddie Mark Fulcher, he passed on the putter — or “chicken stick,” as he called it — in favor of his 54-degree wedge.
“It was an easy chip that needed committing to, not wimping out,” he said.
Bingo.
Rose followed the chip-in birdie with two perfect swings on the 18th that allowed him to stroll to the green, his third PGA Tour victory in hand.
He’s in good position to claim the $10 million top prize next week at East Lake in Atlanta.
“If you’re in the top five and win next week,” he told the crowd, “you scoop the booty.”
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Geoff Ogilvy was the big winner at the BMW Championships.
Not the winner, mind you, that was Justin Rose. By finishing third, however, Ogilvy not only played his way into next week’s Tour Championship, he locked up a spot for the Presidents Cup in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.
After all the projections and number crunching and arrows pointing this way and that, only three players — Rose, runner-up John Senden and Ogilvy — moved into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings to earn spots at East Lake. Jim Furyk, David Toms and Hunter Mahan all qualified for the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup.
TEEN WINS ON LPGA
At 16, Lexi Thompson has become the youngest player to win an LPGA Tour event.
The Floridian closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala., beating Tiffany Joh by five strokes to finish at 17-under 271.
Thompson shattered the age record for winning a multiple-round event held by Paula Creamer, who won in 2005 at 18. Marlene Hagge was age 18 years and 14 days when she won the single-round Sarasota Open in 1952.
The victory brought a piece of history and $195,000.
“This has been my dream like my whole life,” Thompson said. “It’s the best feeling ever.”
BLAKE TOPS COOK
Jay Don Blake beat John Cook on the fifth playoff hole to win the Songdo IBD Championship in Incheon, South Korea, for his first Champions Tour victory.
The two Americans shot 68s in the final round to finish at 13-under 203 with Mark O’Meara and Peter Senior at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. O’Meara and Senior were eliminated from the sudden death playoff after bogeys on the third hole. Blake won with a 10-foot birdie on the fifth.
TRACKING LOCAL GOLFERS on the PGA Tour
Last WEEK: BMW Championship, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Lemont, Ill. – the third of four legs of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
In the field: Puyallup’s Ryan Moore and Gig Harbor’s Kyle Stanley.
Moore’s fourth-round score: 5-under-par 66.
Stanley’s fourth-round score: Even 71.
PosiTion: Moore (1-under 283) tied for 16th in the BMW, but finished 37th in the FedEx Cup race. Stanley (even-par 284) tied for 22nd at the BMW, but faded from 30th to 34th on the FedEx list. Both missed being in the top 30 who will go to Atlanta next week for the Tour Championship.
Money: Moore earned $116,000 to increase his season earnings to $1,942,906, 37th on the tour. Stanley, a PGA Tour rookie, won $68,444 to increase his total to $1,417,044, 57th on the money list.
Recap: Both locals might be reconsidering shots that cost them a trip to Atlanta. Moore, from Puyallup, had his best round Sunday, but he missed a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 16, and barely missed a 35-foot birdie chip on the difficult 18th. … Stanley made a double bogey on the first hole for a second consecutive day, rallied with three birdies (Nos. 9, 15 and 16), then the Bellarmine Prep product left his approach to the 18th hole in the right rough, leading to a bogey.
Next for Moore and Stanley: Justin Timberlake’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, starting Sept. 29 in Las Vegas.
News Tribune staff
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