Justin Rose ends 4-year drought, cruises to win at delayed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Rose grabbed his 11th PGA Tour win on Monday, whic makes him eligible for the Masters
Justin Rose’s PGA Tour drought is over after going more than four years without a win.
Rose, who entered the delayed finish with a two-shot lead, cruised to a quick three-shot win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday morning in California. The victory marked the first at the event by a European-born player, and it also made the former World No. 1 eligible for a spot in the Masters later this spring.
"Time flies by, doesn't it?" Rose said on CBS after the win. "It's amazing how long it's been ... It's amazing how time does fly. This is just a moment to say thanks to the people that believe in me probably more than I do."
1,471 days since his last victory 📆
Today, @JustinRose99 is in the winner's circle once again. pic.twitter.com/dxnxREmnZa— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 6, 2023
Rose didn’t waste any time Monday morning at Pebble Beach. He started midway through the 10th hole, where he left off Sunday night when play was called. The tournament was delayed significantly Saturday after high winds and storms stalled play, and forced the amateur event — which Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won alongside Ben Silverman — to play just 54 holes.
Rose closed out the 10th hole with a par, and then birdied three of his next four holes. From there, Rose cruised to his 6-under 66 and the three-shot win.
Brendon Todd and Brandon Wu finished in a tie for second at 15-under. Denny McCarthy, Keith Mitchell and Peter Malnati tied for fourth a shot back.
Rose now eligible for spot in the Masters
Despite 24 career wins worldwide, Rose has been relatively quiet in the past few years.
His previous win came at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019, more than four years ago when he was ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Since then, he has struggled.
Rose fell out of the top 50 in the rankings, and was at risk of not qualifying for the Masters, which was stunning considering he has been eligible for every major since 2010. The 11-time PGA Tour winner won the U.S. Open in 2013.
Rose is not only eligible now for a spot at Augusta National in April — where he finished runner-up in 2017 and has been inside the top-25 in all but two years since — but he has jumped up to No. 35 in the OWGR. And after coming close a few times to finally getting back in the winner’s circle, Rose figured out how to stay out of his own head.
“I think overall, if I had to think about one thing it was just knowing I'm trending, just sometimes when you're trending you kind of try a little too hard,” Rose said. “I think the format this week, playing with amateurs, kind of just mellowed me out to the point where I let it happen. I let my good golf come forward.
“It's obviously a learning lesson in that … One thing I have realized is obviously I haven't been playing enough great golf, but when I do play half decent I do give myself chances to win.”
