April 26, 2015
Gerald Herbert/AP
Justin Rose holds up his tournament trophy after winning the PGA Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana Sunday.
AVONDALE, La. — Justin Rose birdied the final two holes Sunday to win the Zurich Classic.
Rose, who entered the week ranked ninth in the world, completed a 7-under 65 in the rain-delayed third round and closed with a 66 at TPC Louisiana for his seventh PGA Tour title.
The Englishman has won at least once in six straight seasons, the second-longest streak on the tour behind Dustin Johnson's eight straight.
Playing aggressively on a soggy course, Rose made six birdies in the final round and played the last 66 holes without a bogey. He finished at 22-under 266.
Rose's final two putts from 10 and 13 1/2 feet allowed him to hold off Cameron Tringale by a stroke. Tringale birdied the 18th for a 65.
Boo Weekley, who led after the first round, finished third at 20 under, and Jim Herman and Jason Day, ranked sixth in the world, tied for fourth at 19 under.
When Rose sank his final putt, he punched his right hand high above his head and looked straight behind the green to fans in the suite of one of his main sponsors, Zurich, which also sponsors the tournament.
He then took off his white cap whipped it across his body and later flexed his left arm to bring attention to the sponsor's logo on his sleeve.
Rose began the final round tied with Day for the lead at 16 under. But Day soon found trouble when he hooked his drive into trees lining the left boundary of the second fairway. One next swing, his ball smacked a tree and bounced right back to him.
He wound up with a bogey on the par-5 hole that he birdied in first and third rounds, which left him a couple shots off the lead after Rose, playing a couple holes ahead, birdied the par-4 fourth.
Later, Rose made birdie putts beyond 10 feet on the par-5 seventh and par-4 eighth to improve to 19 under. That was good for the lead until Tringale, several holes behind, birdied the sixth, chipped in for eagle on the seventh and birdied the eighth to reach 20 under.
TPC Louisiana, which was carved out of cypress swamp southwest of New Orleans, was soggy from rain that had fallen for much of the past month, including heavy downpours that delayed parts of the second and third rounds.
There were standing water on the edges of some fairways and mud in well-worn spots. As players walked the course, their steps produced a sound similar to water being squeezed from a sponge.
Allowed to lift, clean and place their golf in the fairways and with no roll of any significance to be found, players swung aggressively and aimed approach shots pin-high.
With the top of the leaderboard tightly packed as Rose stepped to the par-3 17th, he showed no interest in playing it safe. With the pin placed to the left side of the green, near a bulkhead dropping down into a water hazard from which alligators looked on, Rose took out it 5-iron and belted a 210-yarder straight toward the pin, landing about 10 feet behind the hole. Setting up his clutch birdie putt.
On the par-5 18th, with water to the right, Rose unloaded a 295-yard down the middle, then smacked a 3-wood 243 yards just left of the green and chipped over a sand trap to set up what would be his winning putt.
