Gary Player explains why Justin Rose really reminds him of Jack Nicklaus after his FedEx St. Jude Championship victory

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It would probably be unfair to Justin Rose to claim that he rolled back the years with his victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship this past week.

Justin Rose secured his 12th PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with the 45-year-old producing a superb playoff performance to beat J.J. Spaun at TPC Southwind.

It was his first victory in more than two years. However, the Englishman has definitely been knocking on the door at times this season.

Of course, he finished as the runner-up at both the 2024 Open Championship and The Masters earlier this year, with Rory McIlroy beating Rose in a playoff at Augusta National.

Gary Player lauds Justin Rose after his victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship

There should be no doubt at all that Rose has had a Hall of Fame career. He won the 2013 US Open while he became an Olympic gold medalist three years later. He has also featured in six Ryder Cups.

Rose will make his seventh appearance in the event at Bethpage in September.

Nevertheless, Rose will probably be the first to admit that it is unbelievably high praise to mention him in the same sentence as Jack Nicklaus, particularly when that praise is coming from Gary Player.

But following Rose’s win in Memphis on Sunday, Player took to social media to laud the veteran and suggest the similarity he has with arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen.

Why Jack Nicklaus will probably agree with Gary Player’s comments on Justin Rose

There is very good reason to believe that Nicklaus himself would be more than happy with the comparison.

Rose played such an important role for Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup, taking Robert MacIntyre under his wing. The pair were unbeaten in their two matches together. Rose also went out third in the singles and pushed USA’s best player, Patrick Cantlay, almost all the way.

Rose was awarded the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award that week in Rome. The award – inspired by The Concession in 1969 – was introduced to recognise players who embrace both sportsmanship and the competitive nature of the Ryder Cup in equal measure.

Certainly, most of his teammates at Bethpage will be absolutely delighted if they can remain anywhere near as competitive as Rose by the time they reach a similar age.