Aggressive Rose holds off Koepka
Justin Rose got his first PGA Tour victory at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. His latest came after finishing 20 under at Hogan’s Alley, three strokes ahead of defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka.
“If you are able to win at a course that has great history, has had great champions, and if I begin to look at the courses I’ve won at, this definitely strengthens that group even more,” Rose said after his closing 6-under 64 Sunday in the Fort Worth Invitational.
Along with the plaid jacket that comes with winning at Colonial, the longest-running PGA Tour event still played at its original site (since 1946), Rose added to an impressive list of traditional courses where he has won.
There was that victory at Muirfield Village in the 2010 Memorial, and the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion among his nine PGA Tour wins. His 11 international victories include the 2014 Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, and the 2007 Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain.
“I’m very proud of the places I’ve been able to win,” Rose said. “I’m not saying they suit my game, but happy my game has turned up and I’ve been inspired by some of these great venues.”
In the final round at Colonial, where Ben Hogan won five times, Rose stayed aggressive while playing with Koepka even after starting the day with a four-shot lead.
Koepka shot 63 on way to his sixth runner-up finish in three years. Both of his second-place finishes this season have been behind Rose, the 37-year-old Englishman and No. 5 player in the world who also won his 2017-18 debut in October at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Emiliano Grillo had a 64 to finish third at 16 under, his fifth top-10 in 16 starts this season.
First-round leader Kevin Na matched the course record with a closing 61 and finished fourth at 14 under. BROADHURST MATCHES SCORING RECORD TO WIN SENIOR PGA >> Paul Broadhurst shot an 8-under 63 to win the Senior PGA Championship by four strokes and match the 72-hole scoring record.
Broadhurst finished at 19-under 265 at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., matching the record by Rocco Mediate at Harbor Shores two years ago. Broadhurst, from England, won his second senior major following his Senior British Open title in 2016.
Tim Petrovic was runner-up after a 69. Scott McCarron closed with a 70 and tied for third at 14-under 270 with Jerry Kelly (65). AUSSIE LEE WINS IN ANN ARBOR, MICH. >> Minjee Lee of Australia birdied the 18th hole to close with a 4-under 68 and win the LPGA Volvik Championship by one shot over I.K. Kim.
Lee, who turned 22 on Sunday, three-putted for a bogey on No. 17, dropping into a tie with Kim, who finished her round of 67 around the same time. Lee needed a birdie to win on reachable par-5 18th. Her second shot landed a few feet to the right of the green, and she calmly chipped to about 3 feet.
She made the putt to finish at 16-under 272 at Travis Pointe Country Club. It was Lee’s fourth career victory. MOLINARI PREVAILS AT WENTWORTH >> Francesco Molinari completed a bogey-free weekend at Wentworth Club and closed with a 4-under 68 to win the BMW PGA Championship by two shots over Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy, who led by three shots after 36 holes entered the final round tied for the lead with Molinari. He didn’t make his first birdie until No. 8, and by then Molinari was two shots ahead.