Justin Rose considers 54-hole leader Tommy Fleetwood will be delighted he’s not playing alongside Scottie Scheffler in the final round of the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Rose, 45, made birdie on the 18th hole to nudge ahead of Scheffler, 29, into solo second and with it set up a final-round pairing with his fellow Englishman Fleetwood, who is going in search of his first PGA Tour title in his 162nd start.
Fleetwood, 34, leads Rose by one shot on 14-under par with Scheffler in solo third on 12-under par.
In the eyes of Rose, who went on holiday with Fleetwood last week, he’s of the belief his good pal would much rather prefer a final-round pairing with himself rather than the runaway World No.1 and four-time major champion.
“I knew Scottie was 12-under and I was 12-under playing the last, and I knew it would be nice to play with Tommy on Sunday,” said Rose.
“Tommy is probably happy I’m playing with him on Sunday rather than Scottie, too, so he was probably cheering that birdie I would imagine just because it’s a comfortable environment for the two of us to play.
“There’s a whole chasing pack tomorrow that have nothing to lose, so that’s always dangerous. If you build a six shot lead, that’s something to think about. A one-shot lead, you’re expecting the whole pack to come at you. It’s going to be who comes out tomorrow, who plays free and who plays well.”
Fleetwood admitted after the third round that he’s not putting any pressure on himself to see out his first PGA Tour title on Sunday.
Watch Rose’s interview here:
Some PGA Tour fans will likely consider Rose’s comments a surprise given Scheffler is still the man to beat heading into the final round.
At least that’s how the bookmakers view it with Scheffler and Fleetwood priced at joint favourites for the title at 7/4 with 18 holes to play.
Rose is third in the odds at 5/1.
Fleetwood joins Rose in the final round
As 11-time PGA Tour winner Rose mentions in his interview above, it’s far from a three-horse race for the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Andrew Novak and JJ Spaun are waiting in the wings at three shots off the pace on 11-under par.
Spaun is seemingly a lock for the US Ryder Cup team as a result of his US Open triumph in June.
Novak also has a good chance of a pick.
Neither Spaun or Novak have previously played at the Ryder Cup.
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