Justin Rose flirts with 59, shoots 60 in final round of RBC Canadian Open

TORONTO, Ont. – Justin Rose was on the verge of joining golf’s sub-60 club Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open, but a valiant three-eagle effort at St. George’s G&CC was thwarted by a closing bogey at the par-4 18th.

Rose matched his career low with a 10-under 60, moving from T19 to an eventual T4.

The Englishman tied the course record at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Carl Pettersson shot 60 in the third round in 2010 en route to lifting the trophy after making the cut on the number.

RELATED:Rose's scorecard

On a festive Sunday afternoon outside Toronto, Rose started fast with a hole-out eagle from 137 yards on the par-4 first hole. He added birdies on 2, 5 and 7 before a dropped shot on the par-5 ninth, turning in 4-under 30.

“To get off to a good start … holing my second shot into the first hole, I felt like, was a lovely lift,” said Rose. “I was kind of able to keep the pedal to the metal today and keep the momentum going and played my way into a great position to try and win the tournament.”

Rose caught fire on his second nine with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on Nos. 10-12, including a 30-foot eagle at the par-5 11th. He went birdie-eagle on Nos. 14 and 15, both with putts from inside 7 feet, to move 11-under with three holes to play.

After a bunkered tee shot at the par-3 16th led to a bogey, Rose responded with a short iron from 154 yards to 2 feet at the par-4 17th, the tap-in birdie setting up a scenario where he could par the finishing hole to become the 13th player to break 60 on the PGA TOUR.

Rose missed the fairway just to the right on the finishing hole, leaving 153 yards for his approach. In perhaps a combination of adrenaline and a flier lie, his second shot flew the green to leave a downhill 33-yard chip for his third shot. He chipped to 18 feet, and his par putt for 59 broke just left of the hole.

“I don't know how much was in my control or not, but … we were right in between two clubs, and I went the wrong way on a decision and paid the price for it,” said Rose. “I had never shot 59 before, so it would have been a lovely footnote on the week.”

Rose was aiming to become the first player to break 60 on the PGA TOUR since Scottie Scheffler in the second round of THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2020, in which Scheffler carded 12-under 59 at TPC Boston.

The 2018 FedExCup champion made the most of soft, scoreable conditions Sunday amidst a lively contingent of Canadian fans, the excitement palpable in the RBC Canadian Open’s first playing since 2019.

Rose completed the week at 14-under total, five strokes off the winning pace of Rory McIlroy, who successfully defended his RBC Canadian Open title.

“That was a fun day. I've enjoyed being in Canada this week,” said Rose. “All in all, I think playing an old-school golf course, it's a tournament I haven't been to for a while… I felt like the fans and the crowd and the energy the whole week has been good.”