I think a mix of emotions from — yeah, proud, relieved, happy. There’s a ton of emotions that I’ll probably be feeling. It doesn’t sink in for a while. Winning doesn’t sink in for a while. But what an amazing day.

Q. You had a lot of time on that back nine to walk between the holes and walk between the shots. Walk us through what you’re thinking in your mind as you’re walking there, particularly walking up to 15.

I felt like I’d lost my swing really. I got a bit erratic from the 5th. I felt like I started the round off really well, really solid, did all the right things.

Then I hit two really poor mini-drivers, 5 and 8, but I felt like I’d lost my swing a little bit, lost my timing, lost my transition, hit a big hook off the 10th, and all my focus kind of went into my rehearsals, changed my rehearsals a little bit, changed my tempo, tried to find my transition a bit. All my focus kind of went into that.

You’re always kind of aware, no matter how present you try and stay, you’re always kind of aware of the ebbs and flows of how it’s going.

The one thing I’ve done so well in the last few weeks when I’ve had the near misses is I’ve done really well in a tournament up until the closing few holes and then you have to walk to the 15th tee and stand up on that.

I said before, I really dislike the 15th shot. The angle of it doesn’t fit my eye very well. It’s a very, very tough shot. I was really pleased with the swing that I put on that.

I was just really focused on sort of where my swing was at and trying to feel like I was doing the right things, as well as managing everything else, whether it be your expectations, whether it be the doubt that’s creeping in after the last few times that it’s not gone my way, and also dealing with the sort of reality of it felt like it was — the door was getting further and further open for me as the round went on, and sort of trying to stay level-headed about it.

Q. You’ve talked about learning throughout the entire process. What did you learn about yourself through all the near misses, especially the last few weeks keep coming back?

I think it’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight. It’s different when you actually have to prove it.

There’s different types of mental strength. I’ve clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments, and I might have made the odd dodgy decision, might have put a bad swing on it.

But I’ve had to have mental strength in a different way. I’ve had to be resilient in terms of putting myself back up there, getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn’t go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in.

Think the right things, say the right things to yourself, say the right things outwardly, and I am really pleased that I can be proof that if you do all the right things and you just keep going that it can happen.

Q. Now that it doesn’t matter, was there a time during the near misses where you thought, this might never happen? Did those moments exist?

Not really. The smallest thoughts creep in. But I — no, I never really felt like it wouldn’t happen. But there’s always doubt there.

But I always sort of had belief in myself that you keep knocking on the door, you keep putting yourself up there, you keep playing well, keep learning from all the near misses and keep putting that into action in the next tournament or the next tournament or the next time you get a chance, see what is going to happen.

The people that win the most — I always feel like if you look at what the best players do and try and copy it — whether you’re as good as them or not is a different story, but if you watch what they do and you copy them as much as possible, I think that’s a good way to go.

I think that the guys that win the most, they’re in contention so much; they’re up there all the time. That’s where I want to be.

I want to be up there. It’s taken me a while to get this done, like to get this first win. I’ve never looked at it as just trying to win once.

I’ve always had the mindset that I want to win multiple. I want to win plenty. It’s just that the first one seems to have taken a long time. The next one might take a long time; I don’t know.

But I’ve always had the mindset that I just want to be one of the best players in the world, I want to keep putting myself in contention, and yeah, I always felt like it would probably happen.

Q. What do you think the broader lesson is for sports people who are trying so hard to get over a line and can’t do it? You’ll be an inspiration to them.

I think people have different ways of inspiring, and I guess that my — however big or small my inspiring story might be, it was just a story of perseverance and continuing to try and put myself in those positions.

I think the easiest thing to do when it doesn’t go your way is to sulk a little bit or to let it affect you for a little while, then get back to it.

Use excuses if you like, but I said every single time that it didn’t happen for me or where I’d let one go or where someone beat me, I just want to get there again. I just want to give myself another chance.

I felt like I did that, and I felt like people — at the time, like, you just do it, but I think people have appreciated that side of it.

I think people have, I guess, found it very positive that I’ve constantly tried to just get back on the horse, just go again, just go again.

Like I say, again, it’s almost easy to say now I’m really pleased that it’s happened now, but if it didn’t happen today, I would have said the same things.

I would have said, I just want another chance; I’m just going to go back and work and I’m just going to go again. I’ve had the opportunity to prove that, that if you just keep going, it can happen. I guess that’s my story.

Q. You talk about wanting to be the best player in the world or one of the best players. Did you always feel like you had to win in America to start that process or move that along to what you wanted?

Yes and no. I think it was definitely — it’s a step in everybody’s career that they want to make. I think I’m proud — whether I’d won or not, I think I was always proud of the consistency of the level that I’ve played for a long time, and I took a lot of pride in that.

But yeah, I think winning on the PGA TOUR was a step that I really wanted to take. You don’t need anything, but I wanted it. I wanted to do it.

Again, I go back to it, this one win, it sort of — it completes the story of the near misses and it has a crescendo to what has been building towards the back end of the season.

But when I go home, I’m just going to start practicing again. I’m going to start working again, and I’m going to look towards the next tournament.

There is always that side to it. I take immense pride in trying to compete with these guys out here. Very proud of playing on the PGA TOUR. I’m very proud of getting to these events and playing against all these amazing players.

But yeah, I think winning on the PGA TOUR was a step that I wanted to make, and hopefully it doesn’t take me as long to win another one.

Q. What were lessons from Travelers and Memphis that you applied to today, and how so?

I think there was more positives than negatives, and I think I took away that I did so many good things until the dying moments of the tournaments.

At Travelers, I was a couple of decisions out, a couple of half clubs, a bit messy on the last. The 18th hole at the Travelers went as bad as it could have possibly gone for me.

That one I felt like I gave away, even though I also feel like Keegan won it as well. I won’t take anything away from him.

I also think in Memphis, again, you look at the most recent one, I did so many good things. I putted so well. I scrambled when I had to.

I played well on that Sunday and took control of the tournament again with three holes to go, and I didn’t hit the shots that were required to finish the tournament off.

But I took away a lot of the good stuff that I did, and I did actually start today very similar to the other days as well.

I just had to keep gaining experience, keep putting myself there. I think I did an amazing job today of — like I said, I had to reset myself.

It wasn’t easy today; it wasn’t plain sailing. I lost my swing in the middle of the round. I was really erratic, and I had to find my swing, really under —

I don’t think trying to win a tournament is as much pressure as trying to keep your playing rights, things like that.

It’s a different type of pressure. I’m not going to say it’s bigger or less, it’s just a different type of pressure. It’s a joy to be in contention and try and win golf tournaments.

But at the same time, you have to deal with those little demons that are in the back of your mind, and doubt creeps in.

You remember what you got wrong, don’t want to get it wrong again, and you have to force yourself to think of the positives.

I think I really did a good job of really focusing on trying to put a good swing and trying to hit a good shot on especially 15, 16, 17.

The rhythm that I put on those swings, I was really, really pleased with. I leaned back on that really.

I think just as experience builds, at some point you’re going to get it right, and I did today.

Q. Oscar seemed a lot more emotional than you did. What does that tell you, do you think, about how hard people wanted it for you? And why do you think everyone likes you so much?

I don’t know about the last question. Yeah, Oscar is a big emotional little baba, really.

At the Ryder Cup in Italy, he was one of the first people that I saw after walking off the course in the singles, and he was in tears then, and it’s like, he’s just — yeah.

I’m so blessed with the family that I have and the love that surrounds me and the support that I get that it just makes everything that much easier really, whether it goes good or bad.

Whatever would have happened today, I would have walked off the 18th hole, and Oscar would have given me a hug. And we’d have gone home, and everything would have been great, like everything would have been fine.

I would have been gutted, we’d have all been gutted and hurt a little bit, but life would still have been great, and I think that’s something that I would never take for granted.

But I’m so lucky with — you say why do people like me so much? I’ve always been very lucky that I make a great connection with people. I try and be — if I could give my kids one piece of advice — there’s tons of advice, but I always tell them to be a good person first, and I’ve always tried to do that.

My dad always told me that, even when I was a young, aspiring amateur golfer, professional golfer, he always wanted me to be — he always said person first, golfer second.

You’re a good person first. Whatever happens after that, you try to be a good golfer second. I’ve always tried to be that.

Q. Do you think the level of popularity you have is a result of the tough losses that you’ve endured?

I think definitely people have gathered on the train that has been me trying to chase a PGA TOUR win. Like I say, I’ve tried to — a lot of it I do — you say the right things firstly for yourself.

I’m not going to come off, when I’ve had those near misses, and berate myself and make it worse. I want to be a positive impact on myself.

I know that what I want to do is get in contention again, I want to play against the best players in the world and I want to win the biggest tournaments. I’m not going to be able to do that if I have a negative attitude, if I have a poor attitude.

I try to be positive about everything and say the right things inwardly and outwardly, and then I guess people liked what I was saying. They liked the attitude that I had.

Again, I go back to my kids. That’s the things that I want those to be like. Again, it’s easy to say that you’re resilient, but it’s harder when you have to be resilient, and I think I feel lucky that I’ve had to show that side of myself. I feel lucky it actually paid off and that I won.

But yeah, I’ve been — it’s been great, the buzz that has been around me when I’ve been in contention. I

‘ve played unbelievable golf the last few weeks, the last couple months, the last year, very consistent. But to have that buzz and to have the support here, like just to have people chanting your name coming down the last few holes, for people to be carrying you on their shoulders is a very, very special feeling, and I would never take it for granted.

Q. What were the emotions like on the 18th green? You let out quite the yell there. Can you just walk us through what that actually felt like?

I guess the first thing was probably, like, take a breath, be a bit relieved that I finally got it over the line this time and that I can move forward with trying to win multiple rather than just trying to win one.

But it’s great. Down that last hole — I was hitting such good shots on the back nine — but it was always such a big effort. Nothing was flowing for me.

I had to really work hard at it. When you’ve had as many near misses as I’ve had, three-shot lead doesn’t feel like that many even on a par-5 when I’ve striped it down the — you know, I’m in play.

Yeah, so I think I was — and also, for the last two or three holes, you could kind of — you do get a sense of the ebb and flow of the tournament, door was just getting wider and wider.

It definitely looked like it was finally my time but then don’t want to get ahead of yourself. You’ve still got to hit the golf shots.

Just proud to have shown that it’s possible if you just keep going. I’m sure there was plenty of people — as much as there was people supporting me, I’m sure there was plenty of people that were doubting me as well.

I think just to prove that if you have the right attitude and you keep going that good things can happen.

Q. You mentioned you get those doubts that start to creep into your mind, but when they come, have you learned to recognize them, or do you try to erase them? What’s the strategy there?

They’re just feelings. They’re just thoughts. They don’t need to have any impact on how you play or how you execute the next golf shot. But they’re just as real as anything else that’s going on.

You just learn that they’re going to come, that they’re going to happen. Next time I’m in contention, I’ll have doubts again and I’ll deal with it.

I’ll have my positive thoughts. I’ll have my confident thoughts. I’ll have my doubts. It’s just reality. It just is what it is.

The hardest thing was when you’ve had as many — the near misses, that the doubts — there’s going to be more doubts than usual, if you like.

Like I say, always speak to yourself in the right way, always try and do the right things. Feelings are feelings; the golf ball doesn’t know any different. Just try and put a good swing on it.

Q. Curious, now that it’s all said and done, how glad are you that we’re not going to keep asking you about getting the first win here?

Well, it’s a shame that the story is gone.

I enjoyed it while it lasted in a sick way. But I hope that I can give — that we can talk about plenty more things in the future, really.

I will look back at all of this, and again, I feel like I keep repeating myself. I’ll be proud of the strength that I had to show to keep coming back and showing that it can be done if you’re resilient enough and you keep putting yourself in those positions.

I’ll look back at it and I’ll be able to tell people that I am really, really pleased that I get to talk to kids or aspiring golfers or aspiring sports people, whatever they’re trying to do, and I can genuinely talk about showing resilience or keep coming back after tough losses and keep working and all of those things and the skills that you have to use in order to put yourself there again and then finally get it done.

I’m really, really pleased that I get to do that and that I’m proof that it can happen.

I’ll miss talking about it, but I’ll be glad that I can talk to people about what can be done.

Q. People might have chopped and changed caddies after a lot of near misses. What’s it like to have your mate beside you?

I’m sure Finno had doubts about himself. I think it’s only natural, I think, that people look at what they think you need to do to improve and what you should do and how you should go about it.

I’m never — I never get sort of too emotionally involved in what people say. I think a lot of it comes from support as well. I think people probably want the best for you at times.

But for me, I’ve been doing so many good things, and I think, yeah, there’s been plenty of times where it’s not quite happened.

We’ve either got something wrong, somebody has beaten us or whatever it is. But you also have to focus on the ton of positives that were there. There was more good than bad. Just hadn’t quite got over the line.

But I’ve spent the last few weeks now being where every player that tees it up wants to be, so there were so many good things.

Yeah, it’s great — it was great walking down the 18th — I would have kind of liked to have enjoy it more with him, but I was going into this mental cocoon of trying to get through that 18th hole and I was very much head down and zoned in and let’s get the job done.

I would have liked to have enjoyed it a little bit more with him, but we had those moments on the last green. The crowds were amazing. I got to help Finno get to have those pictures forever, and it’s another accomplishment for us two as a team.

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What does it feel like to get it done?

JUSTIN ROSE: Well, I’ll tell you what, it feels amazing to get it done. Today was obviously a great opportunity starting the day.

There were a lot of, I guess for me, storylines involved, playing with Tommy, one of my best friends out here on TOUR, clearly Scottie right there, a whole chasing pack.

But starting the day one back, clearly that’s an opportunity to have an awesome chance at winning a tournament. It kind of wasn’t going my way.

The front nine was slow for both me and Tommy so there were four of us in the mix heading into the back nine.

I stalled a little bit, but then the last five holes, I played some of my best golf, and I kind of felt like I pulled it together when I really had to, and even in the playoff I continued to hit great shots, and that just makes it so much fun as a competitor to really, really, really, when you have to hit the shots, to find them. I’ll take a lot of pride in that today.

Q. You just mentioned the last five holes especially. What were you leaning on or what were you dialing in for those approach shots into 18?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it’s a strange balance of patience because obviously if you try too hard in anything in life it doesn’t seem to happen, so you’ve still got to let it come to you.

But being committed, but I think being brave, trying to be brave I think is what — especially on the 14th hole, I hit a hold 6-iron to that back right pin. That was a pretty clutch shot, I suppose, to sort of take that one on and to pull it off.

That sort of then gave me the little bit of momentum I needed at that time in my round. It was also the first putt that I saw disappear. I tried to tell myself out there today — the theory of large numbers, and I kind of used this in the past, but if the putts are drying up and if you keep your routine the same and if you keep doing everything the same, over time, you’re going to have your fair share go in.

I was just kind of waiting, playing a waiting game before the hole opened up and I was able to see some putts fall. Fortunately they began to fall at the right time.

Q. As a past FedExCup champion, what does it mean to capture the first win here of three Playoffs?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, it kind of puts me right back in the season’s race. I have not even looked at where that projects me, all these types of things, but back up in the realms of where I sat for a long time.

I haven’t been back to East Lake since 2019, and that’s been bugging me, and that’s obviously been a huge goal, so that’s obviously taken care of.

I definitely played some good golf this year when it’s mattered. I feel like my good has been good.

My consistency hasn’t been there, but I’ve been telling people that I feel like when I play my best golf, I’m able to compete with the best players in the world, and obviously today proved that I can win against the best players in the world.

It’s really a gratifying day for me just to know that the hard work I have been putting is not in vain, and I haven’t really — I felt so focused coming into today that I haven’t really had a chance to enjoy this yet.

I’ve got to see some loved ones; do you know what I mean? Because obviously they’re the people that sacrifice everything with me, and as soon as I see my son tonight and my family and even my team, my wider team, that’s when it’s going to really feel good for me.

Q. Speaking of loved ones, while it would have been nice to have them here in Memphis, what were they saying over FaceTime or what are the plans to see them?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so my wife and my daughter are in Greece right now on a girl holiday, and then my son flew to Baltimore and he’s waiting for me there, so we’ll have a boys week while they’re having a girl week.

Can’t wait to spend a week with my man now. He’s 16, and obviously the girls over FaceTime had stayed up late, it was 2:00 a.m. in Greece. But yeah, they were delighted.

I felt cool, calm and collected, and as soon as you see the family, you start to choke up, but that’s what it’s all about.

Q. Winning at 45, what’s sort of the source of pride of doing it after — you’ve been a pro for 27 years now. What’s the source of pride, just the longevity of your career?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of sense of pride in that. I think I’m not alone in it. There’s been guys that have done it, but there’s a pretty short list of guys that are competitive in that 45 to 50 sort of age range. Historically it was a bit of a waiting room for the Champions Tour.

Obviously Phil bucked the trend; he won a major at 51. I feel like that’s good motivation. I feel like — I still feel like there is that golden summer of my career available to me. That’s what I’ve been pushing for.

Moments like getting close at Troon and then obviously getting close at Augusta, they’re signals that it’s possible. This is another really, really, really important signal that I’m on the right track with my game, and actually maybe even getting a little bit better at the moment.

Will I ever be the best player that I was when I was maybe 2018 No. 1 in the world? I don’t know, but I don’t have to be I don’t think, as long as I can find it at the key times.

Yeah, I’ve been able to do that — I’ve shown good signs, I think. But winning is winning. I think proving that to yourself, even though I’ve come close and I felt good in contention, getting over the line is still difficult, and obviously I’ve won, like, twice in six years now, but this one felt good.

I felt like I had to hit the shots, I had to step up again and again and again in the playoff. I felt ready for it. I felt calm.

I felt collected. I think that’s when you learn most about yourself. I feel excited about where I’m at at 45 and I feel like there’s a good bit of runway ahead.

Q. Standing on 14 tee, what did you feel like your chances were and what was sort of that feeling that clicked in on the next five holes?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, standing on the 14th tee, I didn’t really think my chances were great, but I knew I had just to give it everything.

Like I said, it was a bit of a mix of okay, the time is now, you’ve got to be brave and take on every shot possible, but also you’ve got to be committed and calm with it. You can’t just get yourself in a flat spin and think, right, that’s not how it works.

But really, I guess just the two shots on 14, hitting a 6-iron in there, holing the putt, and you kind of know that 15 and 16 are chances, so in the back of your head you sort of know if you play those holes right, you can make a little run, and that’s exactly what happened.

Then obviously dropping the putt on 17, I was like, okay, I’m right in there, so obviously that piggy-backed with Tommy’s bogey, but then I realized that J.J. must have birdied because I was looking at Tommy a little bit, and then I realized J.J. had actually birdied 17 to get to 16-under, so I was like, ugh, so that was a surprise.

Then gave myself a great shot at it on 18 in regulation. Hit a good putt. Had exactly the same putt in the first playoff hole.

Hit it slightly differently, still managed to miss it somehow even though it was looking great at halfway. I’m kind of just talking nonsense now, but I guess all I’m trying to say is that there was a lot going on, but I felt like I kept stepping up and hitting great shots when it mattered, and yeah, super delighted to get over the line.

If I’d have imagined myself in a different situation having lost in another playoff, for example, there would have been pride in how I played, but there would have been double — it would have double down on the frustration maybe of Augusta.

This feels really good.

Q. Was the possibility of this even in your mind when you were sick earlier in the week or at that point were you just thinking about trying to get through it?

JUSTIN ROSE: 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.

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.

Q. Did you feel drained at all during the playoff because of being sick earlier or were you just on adrenaline at that point?

JUSTIN ROSE: 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.

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 rules.

Q. Walking off the course, where does this one sort of rank in your mind in your career in terms of the dramatics and the thrill of the whole — of the way it played out?

JUSTIN ROSE: This one felt quite stoic in the sense of determination, execution. There were a few different agendas playing with Tommy, playing in great spirits in that group, and then kind of turning into the playoff and being that dynamic as it always is with USA, Europe, obviously Ryder Cup around the corner.

But I just felt like I stayed really calm with it all and felt very much just one foot in front of another, so all of the other stuff that was coming at me, I feel like I really deflected a lot, and because I did such a good job of deflecting a lot, I think I deflected a lot of the emotion and the joy of the actual winning moment, so it was quite — in some ways quite a calm win, even though I think when I look back at it, it was fireworks.

There were some great shots and birdies and putts and a lot to look back on.

I’m going to enjoy watching this one back, if I’m honest, but in the moment I was pretty flat lined.

Q. Were you surprised by the fact that it was so calm?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But I think it’s a testament to how good I felt under pressure or how I had to control my mind under pressure.

Sometimes when you hole the putt to win, you have that moment where you can let it go. I had holed the putt and then I’m waiting for J.J. to essentially miss the putt to win, so there’s not that massive spike of adrenaline moment.

It’s like that relief moment. Sometimes when you win by someone missing a putt, it sort of — it’s a different way to win, right, rather than holing the 30-footer across the green to get it done, and the elation of that moment can set you off.

Q. Justin, with the playoff being on the same hole, how much of a mental challenge was it for you and J.J. to try to figure out what to do again and again and again and how to approach the same hole three different times?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, so I’ve never really played that hole the way I played it today. Never hit driver off that hole.

I’ve never been able to cover the left side. For some reason I’ve been hitting it quite far this week and the wind was just perfect.

It was down from the right-hand side, and it meant I could just cover the left-hand side. I felt like it was playing perfect for me today with the driver. I

f I held the driver up a little bit, I probably wasn’t going to run out, and if I turned the driver over, I was going to make the carry, which obviously that angle that I was able to create to the back left pin was very advantageous.

Then obviously they changed the pin to the back right. That sort of advantage was negated a little bit. But funny enough when they changed the pin was when I won the first time around on that pin placement.

But the pin placement for the third time around in the playoff was sort of similar to day one or day two, I can’t quite remember, but I had a putt in that back section of green that I had under-read, and I actually walked over to exactly where — you could see the old cup mark, so I tried to get a feel for that part of the green and then the part of the green that I was actually putting on in the playoff, and that was definitely helpful, and holed a really good slippery left-to-right putt there.

I was able to sort of, I guess — changing it played into my hands eventually. But J.J. is obviously such a great player.

You’re never waiting for him to make a mistake. He’s so solid off the tee. But he obviously had to fit a 3-wood into probably the tighter bit of fairway, so probably a harder tee shot for J.J., especially being a left-to-right player. But I’m glad it worked out in the end.

Q. Two years ago you tied the course record here and now winning at TPC Southwind. What about this course fits your game so well even after the renovations?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I think it’s the kind of golf course that, like I said, even though I’m hitting the ball pretty far this week, it’s the type of golf course that doesn’t demand a ton of length off the tee. It’s all about fitting the ball in the fairway.

There’s a lot of strategy, a lot of doglegs hitting to the corners. Obviously Bermuda rough I think is such a great way to play, and I think the rough was thicker this year than we’ve had it in years past.

Yeah, it’s a thinking man’s golf course from that point of view, and it really — fairways and greens get rewarded here a lot. But I have been able to go low here. I’ve had a 61 here. This week was able to fit in some pretty good scores.

I think it’s also the greens are pure. I putt well on Bermuda, I guess, and I’m pretty comfortable reading them.

There’s not a ton of slope on them. But fairways and greens, I respect that, and that’s how I like to play my golf.

If you look at the tournaments I’ve won through my career, it’s been on the type of tracks that there’s a little bit more strategy involved than just sending it.

Q. Going back to the playoff, you had a longer tee shot than J.J. each of the three times. What was your strategy on that, and were you trying to get to a certain number with your approach shot?

JUSTIN ROSE: What I liked about the tee shot was just the way the angle was and the wind was, that if I pulled it I was going to go further left where the carry is longer, but typically if I pulled it on the wind, it was going to carry further, and if I pushed it a little bit up into the wind, it was going to land shorter. But the way the hole sets up, that was a good miss profile for me.

Yeah, I wasn’t trying to hit to a specific number per se, but yeah, if I hit a good tee shot, it was going to leave me sand wedge in my hand, so that was obviously a green light trying to make birdie. You’re trying to close it out.

Q. How did you keep from falling backward into the water on that one shot —

JUSTIN ROSE: Oh, thank God. I don’t know. It was close. It was nearly a Woody Austin moment for sure.

Yeah, just pure embarrassment kept me from falling in the water, I think, 100 percent.

Q. Justin, you’ve played golf all over the world. You’ve won tournaments all over the world. How would you describe the fight you brought to this Sunday in Memphis?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, that was an amazing last 90 minutes really. Seemed to be the way it got this week. When I got myself a few back, something good would happen. Never stopped believing.

The 6-iron I hit into 14 was a clutch shot; back right pin, had to hit the perfect golf shot in there. That set up the birdie that I needed just to give myself a chance.

Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch. I had so much fun with it. 18 was playing perfectly for me today. If I pulled it, I carried it, if I held it up — I hit a couple good putts in regulation and in the first playoff hole as well. Obviously J.J. dropped a bomb on me, I topped him. It was a lot of fun today.

That’s why I practice. That’s why I play. I’ve been saying for some time now, obviously Augusta, when I bring my best, I know I’m good enough to play and to compete, and to now win against the best players in the world. Very gratifying day for me and a lot of hard work coming to fruition.

Q. At 45 years of age, what did you learn about yourself today? Everyone calls you meticulous, precise and prepared, but what did you learn about what’s inside of you at this age of your career?

JUSTIN ROSE: Yeah, I’ve always known I’ve had that. I get nervous with the best of them. I feel nervous at times. But I know when it matters, I’ve still got it. I kind of feel better and better and better as it gets more important. That’s good to know.

It’s hard stuff to practice, hard stuff to teach. Nice to know that hasn’t left me at this ripe old age. Listen, I don’t want to keep saying that because I’m actually — I feel like I’m moving well, the body is feeling good, I’m training well. Yeah, I feel like there could be a good run of golf still. I can’t let the age kind of become too much of the story.

But today is huge for me. I can’t wait to share it with Fooch. We’ve been together a long time. Amazing caddie. We’ve been through our ups and downs. He feels the good and the bad as much as I do. To share it with — we kept it quite poised there. Obviously there was a lot of cheering for J.J., USA, and you’ve got to respect where you’re at, but Ryder Cup is right around the corner, so I completely understand. But yeah, this is going to be a fun one for us to celebrate.

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It caps a remarkable 2024 for the American who has won the Masters, six other PGA Tour events and an Olympic gold medal.

He is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win seven events in a PGA Tour season and the first player to earn more than $50m in a single season with a prize haul of just over $62.5m.

Scheffler, who started the final round at East Lake with a five-shot lead over nearest challenger Collin Morikawa, shot a four-under 67 to win on 30 under and collect the $25m first prize, which took his season’s earnings haul to a staggering $54m.

He finished four clear of Morikawa, who hit a 66, with another American, Sahith Theegala, in third on 24 under after a 64.

For a third successive year, Scheffler began the Tour Championship on 10 under par as the leader of the FedEx Cup standings, two clear of Xander Schauffele in second, with Morikawa among a group on four under in the staggered start – a format which Scheffler himself called ‘silly’ at the start of the week.

And he stayed ahead through the first three rounds to set up what looked like a straightforward final round.

Uncharacteristic errors

His five-shot lead was six after Morikawa bogeyed the first hole. However, Scheffler made uncharacteristic errors as he recorded successive bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes that allowed Morikawa, who birdied 4, 6 and 8, to close to within two.

A wayward drive left Scheffler hacking out from under a tree down the left of the seventh, while he plain shanked a greenside bunker shot on the eighth that squirted out right and ended up further away from the hole.

In typical Scheffler style, he immediately bounced back making birdies at nine, 10 and 11 to reestablish his four-shot lead. Morikawa responded with a birdie on the 13th, but Scheffler drained a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14^th to move five clear, and he parred his way home to secure his first FedEx Cup title.

“It’s been a wild year”

“I feel like I’ve lived almost a full lifetime in this one year, Scheffler said, reflecting on a season that has also seen him become a father for the first time and seen him being arrested – wrongly – on his way to competing in the second round of the PGA Championship. “It’s been nuts. I’m just proud of the work that we put in. It’s hard to put into words what this year has been like for me. It’s been wild at times, and it’s been emotional.”

For the final leaderboard from the Tour Championship, click here.

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VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I feel like things are getting better every single week, so that’s nice to build on. Obviously I had a really nice week in Memphis and played okay last week. I just couldn’t get anything going with my putter.

I’d rather play bad if I putted poorly instead of hitting it all over Denver. I’m taking some good things into this week. Obviously a completely different golf course, so kind of have to spend some time getting used to the new golf course, but still just kind of working on the same processes, and hopefully it clicks a little bit better this week.

Q. You’re making your fifth consecutive start here at East Lake and the newly restored golf course is top of mind. Can we get some comments on that and what it’s like? I heard you played the front yesterday.

I only played the front yesterday, and just as soon as I walked on the property, I was kind of shocked. It looks nothing like it used to. Seems like he’s basically changed every single hole out there. It was just kind of wild how much you can actually change the holes with not really moving holes around. It’s all kind of in the same place, but yet none of the holes look exactly the same.

I could probably try to describe a person that’s never been here before what it used to look like, and it’s almost like you can’t imagine it.

It’ll be interesting to kind of get used to it, that’s for sure.

Q. What was the biggest change out here that got your attention? What hole?

Well, No. 1 was like — I started off of 1, so when I saw 1, I’m like, wow, this is completely different. It’s way longer.

I think the green areas — as soon as I saw the green areas, that was like, okay, wow, this is going to be a completely different golf course because now you have huge undulating greens with big runoffs, and instead of having tight Bermuda around the greens, you have really, really tight zoysia. It’s just going to play completely different.

I felt like the rest of the course was kind of indicative of what I saw on No. 1.

Q. What did you think of 9?

I think it looks fine, but I also thought what it used to be was fine, as well. I think maybe it was getting a little bit too severe towards the back portion of the old green, but now with the greens being so firm and if you put the tees all the way in the back, those left hole locations, I’m not sure you can even stop it there.

I think you might have to put the tee forward on that hole. But yeah, I thought it was okay. It wasn’t my favorite hole.

Q. From a strategy standpoint, are the changes more off the tee and having to change your lines or around the greens? You talked about some of the chipping areas.

One of the things — I wouldn’t say East Lake ever had a lot of strategy off the tee before. It was always kind of tree-lined fairways, narrow fairways, and you had an occasional bunker here and there. But usually it’s just kind of — you either hit driver or 3-wood, and you have to hit it straight.

I really do appreciate that kind of golf because I think trees really add a lot to the strategy of the golf course.

But at least here when he’s taken away so many trees, you really have to emphasize the strategy portion of it or else it just becomes a bombing-fest where everyone hits driver.

And I do think Andrew has done a great job with positioning certain bunkers in there. You really have to think, okay, well, if I want to cover this bunker, I have to worry about the next bunker and what kind of angle I’m getting in there and all that stuff. I think he’s done a pretty good job with that.

Q. Do you like the changes? And how do you take it as this is the course to decide the FedExCup? Does that help it, hurt it?

I think if I would have shown — now, speaking in mind I haven’t been to the back nine yet, I’ve only seen the front nine, but if the front nine is kind of indicative to the back, then I would say if I showed up here and I’d never seen the golf course before, then I would say, yeah, looks pretty good. It’s a pretty good golf course. Looks pretty hard, as well.

But just from being here four or five times before and just remembering what it used to be, I just think it was a way more kind of simplistic golf course before, but it was still — it was simple but it was very, very good. I’m still a little bit biased towards what it used to be.

But I understand the whole look of the golf course, as soon as I stepped foot here and saw the green areas and stuff, I thought, okay, this is a major championship golf course. That seems like what he’s tried to do with the place.

In my heart, it’s like, East Lake was never — it never had that look, and it’s such a historic place. It’s like, should we really try to make East Lake look like a major championship golf course. That’s kind of the only place I’m at. But I don’t think he’s done a bad job. It’s just the style of it.

Q. Last week you were the defending champion at a totally different course in a different state. This time you’re at the same course. But do you feel like you’re defending at a different course?

It’s almost the same scenario as last week it feels like. Yeah, just every single hole is different. It’s going to take a slightly different game to play well this week compared to what it used to be last year.

Q. Do you have a sense of what a winning score could be?

I’d have to see the back first, but I think it’s definitely going to be harder. It depends also where you put some of those pins at because I was looking at a couple of potential pin locations, and for example, on 2 when you tuck the pin to the right there just over the bunkers — because the greens are so firm, no one is going to go for the pin.

But in the middle of the green you have a slope that’s right to left. So where you want to hit it, you’re hitting good shots middle of the green, but then the ball slopes away from the pin.

I don’t know where the certain pin locations are going to be, but you could make this place very difficult.

Q. How would you compare your game this week versus how you felt coming in here last year?

Well, if last year was a 9 out of 10, I’d probably say we’re still at a 5, 5 out of 10, 4, 5 out of 10 right now. I know I can still shoot good numbers, but it just feels like it’s a little bit more hard work. It’s tougher for me to kind of string the good rounds together day by day.

Last year I played well. I knew I played well. Every single day was a good day. Whereas now it just feels like a little bit more hard work. But at least I’m on the right track.

Q. On No. 1 today, what did you hit into the green, having hit a driver off the tee? Was it different from last year? If so, what was the club, and what similarities or differences did you see on the holes that you played?

So last year — yesterday when I played, I didn’t really warm up. I just went straight to the first tee. But I hit a really nice drive and it was slightly into the wind, and I tried to hit a 6-iron going into the green and I still left it short of the hole.

For me, probably the right club would have been a good drive and a good 5-iron into a slight breeze yesterday. Whereas last year we were hitting driver, wedge on that hole. That’s a pretty big difference, especially into a green that’s uphill. It’s blind. It’s a huge green. You don’t necessarily know all the slopes and where to land it.

As for similarities, I don’t —

Q. Other than No. 1, are there different distances you were hitting your approach shots on other holes on the front side?

I would say they’re fairly similar. Like the par-5, 6th was a little bit different because it’s a dogleg right now, so it was a driver, 4-iron in there, but I’ve hit driver, 4-iron in there in the past, as well. Not too crazy different on the remaining holes.

Q. We know this year was kind of a roller coaster for you, but how do you evaluate your performance throughout the year, tournament results? Do you even look at that, or are you basing everything off of feel and how your swing is feeling?

I wouldn’t say I’ve been very happy with this year, but I do think I’ve learned a lot. What’s really cool is that I’ve still made it to this week playing what I felt like is absolute garbage. I think that’s something that’s pretty cool to kind of have in my back pocket is that okay, we can struggle and we can still come out here and have a chance to win tournaments.

I think that’s really cool. That’s kind of how I’m processing this. Yeah, I’ll sit down by the end of the year and really look at the whole course of the year. But I feel like I do a pretty good job of that, of analyzing each week as they go, so I know where I’m at.

It’s not like I have to play three months in a row and go, what did I do the last three months. I’m always kind of present and analyzing what’s going on.

I’m just happy we’re moving in the right direction.

Q. In the off-season what will you do with your time mostly?

I don’t know. We’ll see. I’d definitely like to practice a little bit more and kind of really integrate some of these changes or the path that I’m moving on. I really want to make sure that we’re solidifying that path and it’s headed to a good direction so that for 2025 I’m ready to go and just get after it.

Q. Along those lines, what part of you was pleased or disappointed coming out of Memphis, realizing that you were well outside and you were pretty locked into here? I can’t imagine this was written in ink, being here this year.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: No, it wasn’t. Obviously what Hideki did, birdie-birdie finish, I would have liked to have finished a little bit better, but I couldn’t be very disappointed. After being 2-over par after 15 holes on Thursday and then having a chance to win the golf tournament with a couple holes left, that obviously — instead of just trying to make it into Denver, I was already locked up here.

I mean, I was super pumped just to come back and turn a pretty bad year into an okay year, making it here.

I’m just kind of pumped that the curve is trending upwards, and I’ve just got to ride that wave and keep it going.

Q. Next year is going to be our fourth year in a row of doing Memphis, rotating BMW and then East Lake. Are you okay with that, or would you like to see a little more variety in the post season?

I think it’s pretty cool kind of going back to the same places. I think TPC Southwind is a great golf course. I’ve always been a fan of East Lake, so kind of having two similar — or the same stops out of the three — I think BMW is a cool one to rotate around, and we’ve been to some amazing places the few years that I’ve played that event.

I think it works, but if the fans want to see somewhere else, maybe that should be something to look at, but I also think it works. We go to Augusta every year, and I don’t think people complain about that.

Yeah, I think it works.

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The in-form Norwegian, who won the previous week’s BMW Championship, led by six shots going into Sunday’s final round, after shooting 68, 64 and 66, but was pressed by Xander Schauffele, who shot a 62 and closed to within three strokes with six to play. However, Hovland birdied the final three holes to win by five strokes on 27 under.

“It’s pretty surreal to be standing here right now,” said Hovland, who moves up to world no.4 with the win. “The gameplan before starting was to hit the middle of the green, make a lot of pars and make Xander get after it, which he did early so I had to change my gameplan a little bit.”

Hovland and Schauffele had equally fast starts, both picking up four birdies in their opening six holes after a near two-hour delay because of lightning and heavy rain. The American holed further birdie putts on 8, 11 and 12 to reduce the deficit to three as Hovland missed chances of his own but also made some crucial par putts.

It looked like Hovland’s advantage may be further reduced at 14 after he hit a poor chip, but he sensationally holed a 23-foot putt to save par. “That was just huge for momentum because two shots with four holes to go is a lot different from three shots,” Hovland said. “And after that I really relaxed.”

His fifth birdie of the day came on 16, to end a run of nine pars, and he added two more on the 17 and 18 to seal his sixth PGA Tour victory and the biggest win of his career in the season-ending tournament.

Schauffele also had a bogey-free round as he finished on 22 under to claim the $6.5m runner-up prize from the $75m bonus pot. US Open champion Wyndham Clark finished third on 16 under.

World no.1 Scottie Scheffler, who started the week two shots ahead of Hovland on 10 under par as leader of the FedEx Cup standings, had a disappointing week and closed with a level-par 70 to finish on 11 under. Three-time champion Rory McIlroy, who had been battling a back injury all week, closed with a 65 to finish fourth on 14 under.

“As the week went on it got looser and today it was pretty close to 100%,” the Northern Irishman said. “I wish I had felt like this the rest of the week, but even without a bad back I’m not sure I’d have been able to hang with the two guys in front.”

For the final leaderboard from the Tour Championship, click here. 

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The 25-year-old Norwegian carded seven birdies on the back nine on his way to a course record 61 and a 17-under-par winning total. It was the lowest score in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs and good enough to see him beat third round leaders Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick by two shots.

Hovland had started the final round three shots behind Scheffler and Fitzpatrick, and it seemed likely to remain a battle between the two Major winners for some time. However, the Norwegian then put on a masterclass in ball striking, birdieing every hole bar the two par 3s on the difficult back nine of the North Course at Olympia Fields in Chicago to reel in the leaders and then pull away.

“To win the BMW Championship at a course like Olympia Fields, and against the world’s best players, is a really incredible feeling,” said Hovland. “That has to be the best round I’ve ever played. Given the circumstances – a playoff event, this golf course – the way I played the back nine was pretty special.”

With Scheffler and Fitzpatrick tied second, Rory McIlroy finished a further three shots back in fourth, with Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa a shot back in a tie for fifth.

Second place for world no.1 Scheffler was enough to keep his nose in front at the top of the FedExCup standings going into this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Hovland climbed to second, with McIlroy still third. Fitzpatrick jumped from 40th to tenth.

The BMW Championship is the penultimate FedExCup Playoff tournament at which just 30 of the 50 players who started the event in Chicago qualify for the season finale. The last three spots were secured by Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka.

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Rory McIlroy carded a final round 66 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to win the Tour Championship by four shots and secure the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup title and the $15 million first prize.

McIlroy started the tournament on five under par, due to the FedEx Cup’s new handicap system, but would still have won the tournament outright if it had been played on level terms, as he finished well ahead of his title-chasing rivals. Justin Thomas led McIlroy by five shots at the start of the week, but finished on 12 under to share third with Brooks Koepka, while Xander Schauffele took second, four shots in arrears.

With weather delays on Saturday – during which six spectators were taken to hospital following two lightning strikes – the leaders had to play two-thirds of their third round on Sunday morning, before setting out on the final round later in the afternoon.

Koepka held a one-shot lead with 18 to play, but the world no.1 failed to find his best form when it mattered most, hitting a double bogey on the seventh – his first in 142 holes – and racking up three consecutive bogeys on the back nine to finish with a 74.

McIlroy, meanwhile, was back to his imperious best. Still smarting after being outgunned by Koepka at last month’s WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, and his defeat in this tournament 12 months ago at the hands of Tiger Woods, the 30-year-old from Northern Ireland showed the kind of form that took him to the FedEx Cup title in 2016. With birdies at six and seven, he took the lead from Koepka, and despite dropping shots at 14 and 15, birdies at 12 and 13, and two more at 17 and 18, put the icing on a particularly rewarding cake.

“To play like that alongside Brooks and win, it’s awesome,” said McIlroy. “He got one over on me in Memphis last month, and I wanted to sort of try to get some revenge today. My goal twas to go and shoot the lowest score of the week. It’s been such a cool way to end what has been for me a great season.

To win three times is awesome. I feel like I could have won more, but to win the FedEx Cup again, to keep giving myself chances, even when I was getting knocked back, I’m very proud of myself and I’m going to enjoy this one.”

RORY’S STATS IN 2018-2019 PGA TOUR SEASON

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