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Rose Ends Winless Drought with Pebble Beach Pro-Am Triumph

Rose Ends Winless Drought with Pebble Beach Pro-Am Triumph

Justin Rose claimed his first PGA TOUR victory in four years with an imposing victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.

The Englishman made a final round 66 to finish on 18 under and achieve a three-stroke victory, finishing comfortably ahead of his nearest challengers, Americans Brendon Todd and Brandon Wu.

The former World No. 1 entered the final day, which was delayed until Monday due to weather delays, with a two-stroke advantage. Behind him were eight players separated by only three shots. However, the 42-year-old impressed as he increased his advantage with a superb back-nine display.

“I feel like I have been fortunate enough to win at some great venues, but Pebble’s right up there,” Rose said. “Just that walk up 18, to sort of be able to build a bit of a lead to kind of enjoy it, was a very special moment.”

“I think obviously when you’re a bit starved for a win as well, the fact that it came today on a weather day like we had and at a venue that we had today was just worth waiting for.”

This is Rose’s first victory on the PGA TOUR since the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open but his 11th overall and means that he has now secured a spot at this year’s Masters at Augusta in April. The win also boosts his chances of gaining qualification for Europe’s Ryder Cup team for the tournament later on in the year.

“Augusta’s definitely been a big part of being on my mind. I thought the simple way to approach it was try to play my way into the top 50 in the world by whenever the date is,” Rose added.

“I knew that making some points was going to do me good. That was my intention, to come out and play solid and earn some points and claw my way up the world rankings and make it that way.

“Obviously this is a better way to make it by winning a tournament. It’s a big relief from that point of view to be able to plan a little bit more of the run into Augusta now.”

Former Wales, Real Madrid, and Tottenham star, Gareth Bale, finished joint-16th in the amateur competition, his debut on the PGA TOUR. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers topped the leaderboard.

“The last couple of weeks have been amazing,” said the former Real Madrid forward, who plays off a two handicap.

“People giving me compliments on my game is incredible, they have put a bit too much pressure on my shoulders!

“I am a big golf fan and appreciate what these players do on the golf course. It is great to play with them, interact and watch what they do.”

The next event on the PGA TOUR is the WM Phoenix Open taking place in Arizona commencing on 9th February.