Justin Rose remains dominant in Fort Worth Invitational victory

Justin Rose made sure this finish was never in doubt. He held off Brooks Koepka down the stretch at Colonial for a three-shot win. Here’s why this run doesn’t look like it’ll stop any time soon.

Justin Rose is (dare I say) en fuego. With all due respect to the line I just stole from Dan Patrick, there’s simply no better way to describe the clinic that the Englishman put on at the Fort Worth Invitational this week.

Rose didn’t just win at Colonial, he played it like it was his home course. On Sunday, he shot six-under 64 with two bogeys on the card. He held off Brooks Koepka – who shot 63 on Friday AND Sunday – by three shots. For the cherry on top, his aggregate of 20-under was the second lowest in the tournament’s 70-year history.

That’s no big deal though, right? I mean, they call the place Hogan’s Alley for good reason, but Justin Rose just buried the field in just his fifth trip to Colonial. Rose ranked inside the top-ten in the field in basically any stat that means anything. He missed just 19 fairways all week (tied for sixth), and he missed just 15 greens in regulation.

His putting didn’t even need to be that good to have everybody in the field eating his dust. Only three other players – Koepka, Emiliano Grillo, and Kevin Na – were less than ten shots back at the end. Oh, and Kevin Na shot 62 Thursday, then tied the course record of 61 on Sunday.

So now, the only question left is “how far can Rose take this season?” And the answer is simple.

As far as he wants to.

What’s next for Justin Rose? The sky’s the limit.

Rose’s victory on Sunday was his second on the PGA TOUR this season, joining October’s WGC-HSBC Champions. He’s 10-for-10 so far, with eight top-25 finishes and five top-tens. Those are Player Of The Year type numbers, and heading into the meat of major championship season, I wouldn’t want to be facing him on Sunday afternoon.

That, of course, is the only knock people have on Rose anymore. He’s 37 years old, in an era where the best players aren’t even sniffing their 30th birthday yet. With “just” one major on his resume, people understandably wonder if his “window” is closing. Clearly, that’s extremely shortsighted.

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Rose has quietly risen to the No. 3 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with this win. It’s his first time back in the top three since July of 2014. While the points formula will likely make it difficult for him to overtake Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas anytime soon, this is still a remarkable hot streak for Rose.

The next stop on this surging freight train is the Memorial Tournament, Rose’s final tune-up before the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Since his victory at Jack’s place in 2010, Rose has a trio of top-ten finishes at Muirfield Village, including a tough playoff loss to David Lingmerth in 2015, when Rose failed to birdie either of his last two holes for a regulation victory.

Really, for the rest of the season, there aren’t a lot of spot’s on Rose’s likely schedule that shape up poorly for him. Obviously the majors are tough, but he’s got good history at Carnoustie (T-12 in 2007), and Bellerive should level the field quite well for the PGA Championship. It’s just up to the rest of his competitors to get on Rose’s level, or hope he slips.

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All I know is that I wouldn’t be betting on that slip-up to happen anytime soon. Justin Rose looks as dialed in today as he did winning the gold in Rio. There are basically no holes in his game, and he’s somehow getting better with each start.

The majors, the FedEx Cup, and perhaps even the No. 1 spot in the world rankings are all there for the taking for Justin Rose. Don’t blink, because this could be a huge summer.

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