Rose keeps calm in winning AT&T National by a stroke
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Justin Rose kept saying he was only interested in becoming a better player.
He only stopped saying that when he looked like one at the AT&T National.
Buried beneath that boyish smile was a bruised ego from having blown a three-shot lead a week earlier at the Travelers Championship. Rose was going for his second straight PGA Tour victory when he suddenly looked like the guy who once missed 21 cuts in a row.
A week later at Aronimink, he had a chance to redeem himself.
Rose had a four-shot lead going into the final round of the AT&T National, then a five-shot lead when he made the turn after hitting 5-wood from 264 yards to tap-in range for eagle on the par-5 ninth. Even as his margin shrunk to a single shot for the final two holes, he kept his calm for a one-shot victory Sunday over Ryan Moore.
And then the truth came out.
"Obviously, I was in here talking about how I wanted to be getting better as a player, that is ultimately the truth," Rose said, grinning. "But I knew having not closed out last week, it was important for me — just for myself — to do it today. I felt like I really did put into play the lessons I learned at Hartford. I played much slower. And I really felt calm."
Rose had every reason to be sweating, and not just from the steamy conditions.
Tiger Woods was long gone. He caused pages to be turned in the record book with his performance at the tournament where he once was the host. With a 71 in the final round — completed as Rose was teeing off — Woods failed to break par in four rounds of a regular PGA Tour event for the first time since the Bay Hill Invitational in since 1999. He tied for 46th, his first finish outside the top 40 since the Players Championship in 2005.
"Go watch some real players," he said, laughing as he headed into the dining room for lunch.
Rose sure looked like the real deal when he made the turn, five shots clear of anyone else.
It all changed so suddenly. Rose had a three-putt bogey on the 10th hole when he didn't hit it hard enough up the ridge. Then came a three-putt bogey on the 11th hole when he hit it too hard up the ridge. This was especially unusual because Rose had gone 274 consecutive holes on the PGA Tour without three-putting.
That's about the time Moore began his amazing charge, one-putting the final eight greens for a 65.
After the second three-putt bogey, Rose walked slowly up the hill to the 12th tee. He didn't look rushed. He pulled out a driver, took a deep breath and belted just through the fairway. Over the final hour, his pulse felt the same. He never lost his composure. All he did was hit every green the rest of the way, and two-putt them all for par.
"Every two-putt felt like hard work coming in, I've got to tell you," Rose said.
