MONDAY WRAP: Rose blooms in Maryland

England's Justin Rose overcame a stumbling finish to win the Quicken Loans National in extra time and break his PGA Tour win drought dating back to the 2013 US Open.

BY STEVE KEIPERT

At a US Open venue that played more like a US Open than when the 2011 championship was held there, it came as little surprise that Congressional Country Club unearthed a former US Open champion as its conqueror. Justin Rose tamed the club’s Blue course in trying weekend conditions to clinch the Quicken Loans National after a one-hole play-off with a surprise contender in world No.246 Shawn Stefani.

Both players rebounded after shooting opening-round 74s and broke free of a congested leaderboard that saw seven players sharing the lead at one stage on Sunday. But it was the experience and steel under pressure of the 33-year-old Englishman that shone in the sudden-death play-off – and indeed in the mad moments beforehand.

Justin Rose fishes his ball out of the water on the 18th hole during the final round. PHOTO: Getty Images

Needing a par at the 18th to preserve a one-shot lead, Rose drove into the left treeline and played a low, hooking second shot that was close to skipping onto the green but instead trickled left and slipped into the greenside pond. A penalty drop then a too-strong pitch left Rose with a 15-foot putt for bogey to drop to four-under and match Stefani in the group behind. Rose coolly holed the putt, clenched his fist and prepared for a play-off.

Stefani didn’t last long in extra holes. Returning to the par-4 18th, he faced a similar predicament to Rose’s in regulation play and repeated the mistake, finding the water and carding a double-bogey that was no match for the winner’s two-putt par. Earlier, Stefani reached five-under with a birdie at the par-5 16th only to spend that shot with a bogey at the next. Needing a birdie at 18 to claim his maiden Tour victory, his putt to win slipped wide of the cup.

Stefani took some consolation from the loss. He was one of four players to qualify for the Open Championship courtesy of his high finish. Joining him in booking a trip to Royal Liverpool are Charley Hoffman, Ben Martin and Brendan Steele (who tipped out Andres Romero thanks to a superior world ranking, and Brendon Todd, who had already qualified).

Justin Rose raises his arms in triumph on the 18th green. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Rose extended his streak of seasons with a victory to five, having won at least once each year since breaking through on the PGA Tour in 2010. It was his sixth Tour title and his first triumph since the US Open last June. And the champion noted the similarity in the set-up.

“Congressional got its reputation back after the US Open,” Rose said. “I really enjoy this type of golf and this type of test. I think it tested all of us. I’m delighted.”

All the pre-tournament chatter concerned tournament host Tiger Woods, who made his return from back surgery but missed just the tenth cut of his PGA Tour career. He looked decidedly rusty for 36 holes but pronounced the comeback a success based on the state of his body rather than the state of his scorecard. Sean Foley, Woods’ swing coach, made an interesting analogy, saying his pupil was like a “fighter pilot” – able to fly on a simulator for weeks but once he sees another plane in combat, it’s different chemically and adrenaline-wise. Nevertheless, Tiger looks set to hibernate again until The Open in two weeks.

As the Quicken Loans National unfolded, the talk turned to the difficulty of the golf course and the quest of leader Patrick Reed to extend his perfect record as a 54-hole leader and join an elite club of four-time Tour winners before his 24th birthday. Alas, he shot a closing 77, his chances obliterated on Sunday by consecutive double-bogeys at the 10th and 11th holes.

On a leaderboard littered with Australians, Greg Chalmers held the first-round lead while Marc Leishman and Oliver Goss – who was making just his second start as a pro – shared the halfway lead with Reed and Ricky Barnes. All found the weekend going tough with Leishman hanging on for a top-ten finish but Goss stumbling to a mid-field result, behind fellow rookie professional Brady Watt.

LEADERBOARD

*1. Justin Rose (Eng) 74-65-71-70—280

2. Shawn Stefani (US) 74-68-68-70—280

T3. Charley Hoffman (US) 72-72-68-69—281

T3. Ben Martin (US) 72-68-70-71—281

T5. Andres Romero (Arg) 70-72-72-68—282

T5. Brendan Steele (US) 74-66-71-71—282

T5. Brendon Todd (US) 72-70-69-71—282

*Won on the first play-off hole

ALSO:

T8. Marc Leishman (Vic) 70-66-73-74—283

T21. Steven Bowditch (Qld) 73-71-70-72—286