At the end of a marathon day at TPC Louisiana, Justin Rose was the last man standing in the Zurich Classic. Here’s what you may have missed from a busy Sunday outside New Orleans:
Leaderboard: Rose (-22), Tringale (-21), Weekley (-20), Herman (-19), Day (-19)
What it means: The win is Rose’s seventh on the PGA Tour and his first since last year’s Quicken Loans National. Tied for the lead with Jason Day after the completion of the third round Sunday morning, Rose went back out in the afternoon and posted a bogey-free 6-under 66 punctuated by a closing birdie on the 72nd hole. The Englishman played his final 56 holes at the Zurich without a dropped shot and 30 holes on Sunday in 10 under. The victory gives Rose a Tour title in each of the last six seasons, leaving him behind only Dustin Johnson (eight straight) for the circuit’s longest active streak. No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking to start the week, Rose figures to be on the way up again. Speaking of which, Rose is the third member of the OWGR top 10 to win in as many weeks, following Jordan Spieth at the Masters and Jim Furyk at Harbour Town.
Round of the day: Seven players – Tingale, Weekley, Herman, Steve Wheatcroft, Whee Kim, D.A. Points and Scott Stallings – turned in rounds of 7-under 65 on a very soft (they played lift, clean and place), very gettable TPC Louisana.
Best of the rest: Tringale found himself atop the leaderboard through 12 holes of his final round but lost all momentum with a bogey on the par-4 13th. From there, he made four straight pars and left his eagle chip at the par-5 18th to tie Rose at 22 under a foot short. Tringale tapped in for birdie, a Sunday 65 and solo second.
Biggest disappointment: Day was tied with Rose after Round 3 but struggled to generate much forward progress as the rest of the field poured in birdies. After opening with three straight birdies on Nos. 5-7 in the morning, Day played his final 27 holes in just 3 under to finish fourth.
Shot of the day: D.H. Lee closed out his round in style with this ace at the 210-yard, par-3 17th, and then birdied 18 to fire a final-round 67.
Quote of the day: “It’s an event I’ve played many times. I feel like year in and year out I’ve been closer and closer, and I always joke with the Zurich guys that this is my fifth major. They’ve become such good friends of mine. Any win is sweet but when you get to share it with people you’re close to, it’s fantastic.” - Rose
