Rose shoots 20 under to take Fort Worth Invitational by three strokes
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Justin Rose closed with a 6-under 64 and finished at 20 under Sunday for a three-stroke victory over defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka in the Fort Worth Invitational golf tournament.
It was the ninth career PGA Tour victory for Rose, the 37-year-old Englishman and No. 5 player in the world who also won his 2017-18 season debut in October at the Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation tournament in Shanghai.
He is the fifth player with multiple wins this season. Rose got nearly $1.3 million and a plaid jacket for winning at Hogan’s Alley.
Koepka shot 63, but had started the day four strokes behind Rose in the final group. Emiliano Grillo had a 64 to finish third at 16 under.
While Rose missed matching Zach Johnson’s 2010 tournament scoring record of 259 because of bogey on the 72nd hole, first-round leader Kevin Na matched the course record with a closing 61 and finished fourth at 14 under.
Fourth-ranked Jon Rahm shot 68 and was tied for fifth at 10 under with Louis Oosthuizen (68) and Kevin Tway (67).
The win at Colonial, the longestrunning PGA Tour event still played at its original site (since 1946), adds to an impressive list of traditional courses where Rose has won.
Rose got his first PGA Tour win at Muirfield Village in the 2010 Memorial, and won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. His 11 international victories include the 2014 Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, and the 2007 Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain.
After birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 for the third day in a row, Rose gave up a stroke at the difficult 459-yard third when his drive went into a fairway bunker and he hit from there into the rough.