Justin Rose has opened up on how a setback he was dealt earlier in the week could actually end up being good news for him at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Rose got his week off to a very solid start at the FedEx St. Jude Championship after he posted a fine round of six-under par 64 to trail Akshay Bhatia by two strokes.
The PGA Tour has just three tournaments remaining this season before the FedEx Cup Fall events begin next month.
Rose, 45, has enjoyed a really successful season on the whole, despite not picking up a victory yet.
The Englishman may not play as much as he used to but he still has the same desire to win. Rose places a lot of importance on life off the golf course but he still works tirelessly on his game.
And his opening round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship proved that his swing is very much in sync right now.
Rose has admitted that his failure to qualify for the Tour Championship every single year has been a huge disappointment to him.
He’s currently sitting in 25th in the FedEx Cup points list and a top-three finish in Memphis would see him jump inside the top 12 in the standings.
Justin Rose on why playing no practice rounds ahead of the FedEx St. Jude could help him
Rose definitely isn’t as well-prepared for the tournament this week as he usually would be.
The Englishman had been suffering with illness in Memphis and had not played a practice round at TPC Southwind before his opening round on Thursday.
After day one in Memphis, Rose was asked by reporters how he was feeling.
He said: “Yeah, obviously delighted with the start. Felt well today, felt good today. Got a lot of rest yesterday, which was the focus. Must have picked something up traveling over to the States and maybe it took a couple days to manifest, but yeah, Monday night and Tuesday wasn’t really feeling great.
“In some ways, it’s kind of a good golf course to not have — even though it’s completely redone this year, I feel like the course is one that you kind of know how to play it really. There’s certain holes you’ve got to play to certain positions.
“I felt like I knew how to get around this golf course without having played it. That was good.
“I think the greens are new for everybody this year so it’s not like I’ve really suffered on the learning side of things. I think they’re very subtle. The breaks, it’s very hard to learn them at the moment, new greens. I don’t really think there was much of a detriment to not having played much practice rounds this week. I think come Sunday maybe it’s a good thing; less time in the heat.“
You know what they say – beware of the injured golfer! Rose may be playing with less pressure on himself this week due to lower expectations, and that usually results in some exceptional golf being played.
Justin Rose’s 2025 PGA Tour stats
Rose has been in contention numerous times this season, but he has also missed plenty of cuts.
That’s the way things will be now for Rose, as he approaches the twilight years of his career on the main tour.
Here are his results from 2025 so far:
| Results | Rose’s totals |
| Events played | 15 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top-10s | 4 |
| Top-25s | 5 |
| Missed cuts | 6 |
Rose was desperately unlucky not to have won The Masters.
He easily could have won at Augusta National, but Rory McIlroy was just too good in the end.
Rose would love to cap off his 2025 season with a win in one of the FedEx Cup Playoff events, and his first round at TPC Southwind has put him in a strong position to do exactly that.
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