The TOUR Championship: Power Ranking the top ten at East Lake
Justin Rose has been one of the best golfers in the world for a long time. From 2012 through 2015, the Englishman never finished a season ranked outside the top ten in the world. In 2016, he became golf’s first Olympic gold medalist since 1904. He’s an 18-time champion as a professional, and a proven major champion.
That has, admittedly, made his 2017 season a little harder to understand. Rose struggled through a year that most golfers would consider very, very good, but it didn’t quite live up to his standards. Rose scored seven top-ten finishes, but he went six straight tournaments over four months without being competitive at all.
Whatever part of his form he found at the Northern Trust three weeks ago, it’s clearly clicking for Rose now. He made the jump from 17th in the FedEx Cup to eighth with his runner-up at Conway Farms, and he’s feeling confident heading to East Lake.
"“Everyone knows [if] you’re in the top five and win, you win the FedEx Cup. You’re eighth, you have to have a good week,” Rose said. “It’s a lot better than it was three weeks ago. I think it’s been a nice playoff run. If I can keep trending the way I have, I have a chance.”"
Even though Rose failed to qualify for the Tour Championship in 2016, he did have four straight top-six finishes in Atlanta from 2012 to 2015, bookended by a pair of runner-ups. That’s the type of trend he’s got to look forward to, with a real chance at the FedEx Cup on the line.