Justin Rose reveals what was really ‘weird’ about his preparation for the FedEx St Jude Championship  

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Justin Rose is a winner once again as he held off J.J. Spaun in a dramatic playoff to seal win number 12 on the PGA Tour at the FedEx St Jude Championship.

Rose battled brilliantly all day and forced in six birdies in eight holes to reel in Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood, before beating Spaun over three playoff holes to seal the win.

It was Rose’s second big playoff of the season, having lost to Rory McIlroy at The Masters.

In fairness to the Englishman, he has been playing well all season.

Now 45-years-old, Rose spoke of being inspired by Phil Mickelson as he suggested he could very much still win a major if he’s on form.

However, while Rose produced the goods at TPC Southwind, he has admitted to his actual preparation not being ideal thanks to a bout of illness.

Justin Rose says why he nearly didn’t play the FedEx St Jude Championship

While Rose went into the tournament feeling good about his game, the same can’t be said for his physical state.

Arriving at TPC Southwind, there were some question marks over whether he’d actually play at all.

And speaking to the media, Rose has revealed the extent of his issue.

“Yeah, it was a weird one. Monday night started to not feel 100 percent. Tuesday I came out and did some practice, didn’t actually get on the golf course, didn’t feel like playing nine holes was actually going to be helpful, so I just walked a couple of holes. I think we walked 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and by the time I did that, I was like, just get me to the car. I was hoping to sleep it off. Woke up Wednesday morning kind of even worse. My resting heart rate was like 80, and it’s normally mid 50s,” Rose admitted.

“I remember pushing myself through a pro-am earlier this year in Philadelphia and actually ended up withdrawing from the tournament by Saturday. So I tried to learn that lesson and I pulled out of the pro-am, unfortunately, on Friday, and, sorry, on Wednesday, and was able to get a lot of rest in that day and sleep.

By the time Thursday came around, I felt pretty reasonable. In hindsight, a couple less days in the heat, a couple less days on the golf course maybe helps give you that mental freshness come Sunday. That’s definitely possible. Certainly wouldn’t have projected myself to be sitting here right now when I was thinking Wednesday morning how the week was going.”

Asked if he felt drained at all during the tournament, Rose suggested that come tournament time, he was actually ok.

“No, obviously I came out and shot 64 on Thursday, so once that was behind me I was fully into the week. I’ve been very disciplined this week on my recovery, on my hydration, on my diet. I think all the players are this week. We realize how much it takes out of you, and we’re also realizing Baltimore is a pretty big week, big golf course, hot. East Lake is hot. So I think a lot of players are very disciplined at the moment just trying to sort of wash, rinse, repeat. There’s not a lot of fun going on right now,” Rose continued.

“There’s a lot of ice baths, a lot of good hydration, nutrition, so that’s what I’ve been focusing on this week. Maybe tonight I might break a couple of rules.”

• READ MORE: Tommy Fleetwood says if he regrets any shots he hit during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship

All of Justin Rose’s wins on the PGA Tour

Justin Rose is a major winner and will go down as one of the best players to ever emerge from Great Britain in doing so.

Now up to 12 wins, he’s also cementing himself in terms of a PGA Tour legacy and the way he’s playing, you wouldn’t bet against him adding even more wins.

Rose first won in 2010, meaning it’s now 15 years between his first and (potentially) last win on the TOUR.

In between, he’s won big tournaments like the US Open, the BMW, a World Golf Championship and of course, he was victorious at Pebble Beach in 2023.

Right now, Rose is looking as good as ever and for Luke Donald and Team Europe, it is brilliant news for their Ryder Cup hopes.