Justin Rose Wins the FedEx St. Jude Championship in a Playoff Over J.J. Spaun

With five holes left at TPC Southwind, Justin Rose was three shots behind and looked like a supporting character in somebody else's breakthrough. Ninety minutes later, the 45-year-old was holding the trophy.

Rose birdied four straight holes from the 14th to shoot 3-under 67, then beat U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Both finished regulation at 16-under 264. Tommy Fleetwood (69) and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (67) tied for third, one shot out of the playoff, at 15 under.

"That was an amazing last 90 minutes," Rose said, per the PGA TOUR and AP.

Three Back With Five to Play

For most of the back nine, this looked like Fleetwood's day. The Englishman, chasing a first PGA TOUR title, holed a 35-foot birdie putt at the 12th to start a run of three birdies in four holes and walked to the 16th tee two clear. Rose, meanwhile, had bogeyed the par-4 12th, per Field Level Media.

Then Rose found another gear. At the par-3 14th, one of the toughest holes on the course Sunday, he hit 6-iron to just inside 15 feet and made the putt. A 9-foot birdie followed at 15. At the par-5 16th, he got up and down from a greenside bunker for another. At 17, he rolled in a mid-range putt for his fourth birdie in a row and a share of the lead.

He nearly ended it in regulation. His 13-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole slid past the edge.

Where Fleetwood Slipped

The tournament turned on the 16th and 17th for Fleetwood. At the par-5 16th he pitched through the green and had to scramble for par. At 17, caught between clubs, he hit a poor approach and then missed a 7-foot par putt. That bogey dropped him out of the lead. Needing birdie at the last, he drove into a bunker and made par.

It is another painful near miss after the Travelers in June. Fleetwood said he was obviously disappointed and that he had been playing next to someone who was unbelievable down the stretch.

"There's a lot of positives to take, as much as I won't feel like that right now," Fleetwood said, per the AP.

Spaun Forces Extra Holes

While the leaders fought it out, Spaun built a 65. A 20-foot birdie at the 17th pulled the U.S. Open champion into a share of the lead, and Spaun finished at 16 under to set the target.

The playoff was all played on the 18th. On the first extra hole, Rose nearly drove into the water, recovered with a wedge to about 13 feet, and missed again from the same distance as in regulation. Spaun also lipped out a birdie try. On the second, Spaun poured in a 30-footer for birdie, and Rose answered from about 7 feet, per the PGA TOUR. On the third, played to a new hole location, Rose made birdie from around 12 feet, and Spaun, closer at about 7 feet, missed on the left.

"I hung in there the best I could, and he beat me to the hole first. Just wasn't meant to be," Spaun said, per the AP. The week still clinched Spaun's first Ryder Cup spot.

Counting the playoff, Rose made six birdies over his final eight holes, and the two holes he did not birdie both ended with 13-foot misses.

A 45-Year-Old Resets His Season

This was Rose's 12th PGA TOUR win and, per the AP, his 24th worldwide. It comes in a year that already included a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at the Masters, and it arrived after a week in which Rose skipped practice rounds and the Wednesday pro-am because of illness, per Field Level Media.

The rewards are huge. Per the PGA TOUR, Rose jumped from 25th to fourth in the FedExCup, ending a run of five straight seasons without a trip to the TOUR Championship. The 2018 FedExCup champion is also expected to return to the world top 10 for the first time in five years, and the PGA TOUR called a seventh Ryder Cup appearance all but certain.

Rose's message afterward was about belief more than age. "When I bring my best, I know I'm good enough to play and to compete, and to now win against the best players in the world," Rose said, per the PGA TOUR.

Scheffler's Sunday, and the Bubble Fallout

Scheffler played the final round without regular caddie Ted Scott, who had a family emergency in Louisiana, per the AP. He shot 67, caught the edge of several putts on the back nine, and has not finished worse than eighth in 12 straight starts dating to March.

Bud Cauley holed a bunker shot for birdie at the 17th to secure a spot at next week's BMW Championship at Caves Valley. Rickie Fowler shot 69, tied for sixth and moved inside the line after arriving at No. 64. Kurt Kitayama, Jhonattan Vegas and J.T. Poston also moved into the top 50, with Poston landing exactly on No. 50 per the PGA TOUR's live projections.

Jordan Spieth was not so lucky. Spieth hit into the water at 18, signed for 68 and finished 54th in the standings, outside the top 50. Chris Kirk was projected inside until a ball in the water at the 15th led to bogey, and despite a closing birdie, Kirk ended up at No. 51, the first player out.

The Takeaway

For Fleetwood, it is one more Sunday that got away. For Rose, it is proof that a 45-year-old can still outplay the best in the world over the final hour of a big event. The Playoffs move to Caves Valley next week with Rose suddenly near the top of the FedExCup.

Catch up on the week with our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR has a full final-round recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round coverage, live blog and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, Golf Channel, RTE. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.