Rose shoots 6-under 64, wins Colonial by 3 shots
FORT WORTH, Texas – Justin Rose closed with a 6-under 64 and finished at 20 under Sunday at Colonial for a three-stroke victory over defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka in the Fort Worth Invitational.
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 HSBC Champions 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.
Rose got that stroke back with a 23foot birdie putt at the 474-yard fifth hole, the toughest at Colonial, to restore his lead to four over Koepka.
PGA Tour Champions
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Paul Broadhurst shot an 8-under 63 to win the Senior PGA Championship by four strokes and match the best 72-hole score in tournament history. The 52year-old Englishman finished at 19-under 265 at Harbor Shores for his second senior major victory. The 63 was the best fourth-round score by a winner.
LPGA Tour
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Minjee Lee birdied the 18th hole for a one-stroke victory over In-Kyung Kim at the LPGA Volvik Championship.
European Tour
VIRGINIA WATER, England – Rory McIlroy left his victory charge too late at Wentworth as Francesco Molinari delivered a clinic in front-running to win the BMW PGA Championship by two shots with a 4-under 68. McIlroy entered the final round tied for the lead with Molinari on 13 under par but a shootout at the European Tour’s flagship event never really materialized.