On Sunday, Justin Rose beat US Open champion JJ Spaun in a play-off at the St Jude Championship, the first event of the 2025 FedEx Cup. Englishman Rose took home $3.6m from the total purse of $20m as he saw off US star Spaun on the third extra hole. It was a dramatic finish to an excellent event and sets things up nicely for the next two tournaments.
Amazingly, though, the biggest story from the St Jude may not be the fact that it went to a play-off, nor the fact that the game’s dominant player, Scottie Scheffler, finished tied for third, one shot back. Once again, it is Tommy Fleetwood and his struggle to get over the line that has dominated a lot of media attention.
The Southport native was four shots clear after two excellent rounds of golf. On Friday, he finished his 18 holes with four birdies in a row, which meant he signed for a 64. At the halfway point, he held a handsome advantage, on 13 under, he was four shots clear of Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia and Justin Rose.
He was playing superbly and seemed to have the tournament at his mercy. After so many near misses over the years and especially this season, it looked as though the extra experience was finally going to enable him to get over the line. However, it wasn’t to be, and the wait goes on.
Photo credit: world_pictures / Shutterstock.com.
What Happened to Fleetwood?
| Position | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Par Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Rose* | 64 | 66 | 67 | 67 | -16 (264) |
| 2 | J.J. Spaun | 68 | 66 | 65 | 65 | -16 (264) |
| =3 | Scottie Scheffler | 67 | 66 | 65 | 67 | -15 (265) |
| =3 | Tommy Fleetwood | 63 | 64 | 69 | 69 | -15 (265) |
| 5 | Cameron Young | 69 | 65 | 71 | 64 | -11 (269) |
| =6 | Akshay Bhatia | 62 | 69 | 70 | 69 | -10 (270) |
| =6 | Rickie Fowler | 66 | 69 | 66 | 69 | -10 (270) |
| =6 | Andrew Novak | 68 | 64 | 67 | 71 | -10 (270) |
| =9 | Ludvig Åberg | 67 | 67 | 70 | 67 | -9 (271) |
| =9 | Kurt Kitayama | 69 | 63 | 72 | 67 | -9 (271) |
| =9 | Patrick Cantlay | 70 | 67 | 66 | 68 | -9 (271) |
| =9 | Chris Kirk | 68 | 67 | 66 | 70 | -9 (271) |
| =9 | Ben Griffin | 66 | 69 | 66 | 70 | -9 (271) |
*Justin Rose won via a three hole playoff.
There were signs in the third round that perhaps the pressure was getting to the leader. After opening rounds of 63 and 64 he managed “just” a 69. He still had a one-shot advantage heading into the final round but Scheffler had moved into real contention with a 65, the same score managed by Span, whilst Rose carded a 67.
He began his third round well, making par then birdie, but never really recovered from making a seven at the third. He didn’t play terribly but at a course where scoring is generally good, a one-under score of 69 just wasn’t quite good enough. He ended his day on a downer too, making a bogey five on 18 after finding the rough down the right from the tee and being forced to hack out.
Even so, he was in the driving seat, right where he would want to be, with 18 holes remaining. However, with Rose, Scheffler and the emergent force that is Spaun chasing him, it is hard to believe he would have been confident of finally getting his first PGA title.
Tommy Fleetwood misses a putt and the pressure is on for a birdie 😳 pic.twitter.com/H4TvRFRGWu
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) August 10, 2025
His nerves showed as he bogeyed the first hole on the final day. A run of 10 straight pars then saw him slip out of the lead. He showed real fight to make birdies on 12, 13 and 15, and at that stage he was right in the mix. He had a share of the lead heading down 17 but made a bogey, missing a very makeable putt, to drop one behind. A par on 18 meant he tied for third with Scheffler but was one shot outside of a play-off.
What Next for Him?
Fleetwood was left ruing his mistakes as his Ryder Cup teammate and likely opponent at that biennial tournament, Rose and Spaun, respectively, headed out for extra holes. They had to play the 18th another three times to settle things, but in the end it was Rose who took the winner’s cheque, trophy and, of course, the valuable FedEx Cup points.
Both players made par fours at the first time of asking before they tied in threes the second time around. Rose, showing brilliant nerve – and excellent golf – then birdied the 18th again. His opponent could only make a four, and so it was the 2013 US Open champion, not the 2025 winner, who took glory. Rose had lost the Masters in a play-off to Rory McIlroy back in April, losing by the same method in the 2017 Masters too, to Sergio Garcia. He made no mistake here though, and his performance is an excellent omen for European hopes ahead of next month’s Ryder Cup.
Fleetwood will be part of the European team too and while there is a lot of golf to be played before then, one suspects he may relish the team atmosphere at New York’s Bethpage given he keeps being beaten in the duels of the PGA Tour. Fleetwood is continuing to break all sorts of records; he really wishes he wasn’t. He continued to put a brave face on this latest agonising loss, saying:
“I’m getting close, that’s the good side of it. On the back nine, I managed to get myself ahead, played some really good golf, putted really well.”
However, he also added:
“I just didn’t do enough. I’m obviously disappointed. I was right in there with a chance, and it’s hard.”
He has now played 161 times in PGA Tour events. Despite finishing second six times, third six times, boasting 29 finishes inside the top five and a massive 42 inside the top 10, he remains winless. 2025 has been an incredible season for him, with some stats suggesting he is currently the fifth-best golfer in the world. His official world ranking is currently 13th, which might explain his luck.
In the 162 tournaments Tommy Fleetwood has played on the PGA Tour, he has six 2nd place finishes, six 3rd place finishes and 29 top-five finishes ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/5EpBxtQEUi
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) August 11, 2025
He has earned over $7.5m on the PGA Tour this year and continues to extend his record for the highest earnings without a win. No doubt he is doing everything he can to remain calm and perhaps doing some work with a sports psychologist (or three). He cannot feel sorry for himself, though, with the BMW Championship or next before the FedEx Cup concludes with the Tour Championship.
So often sport teases us with the fairytale ending, but few players get it, whatever game they play. But sometimes neutrals do get the climax they wish for, and few golf fans would begrudge Fleetwood claiming his first PGA win by landing the Tour Championship and somehow, perhaps, overhauling Scheffler to take the outright prize.
If he does not manage to win, however, the Ryder Cup would give him the perfect environment in which to bounce back. And perhaps he can get that fairytale at the 2026 Open Championship. He is still relatively young at 34, and we certainly wouldn’t be betting against him getting over the line before he hangs up his clubs.