AT&T Pebble Beach Pro - Am 2023 : Justin Rose wins at Pebble Beach to end 4-year drought

At the beginning of the year, Justin Rose had a different set of objectives. His back was beginning to hurt him. His position in the globe dropped to its lowest level in 13 years. He also has good cause to consider alternatives to Augusta National for the first full week of April. All of that changed on Monday morning when Rose finished a demanding week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with three rapid birdies and four solid pars, giving him his first victory in four years by three shots. His 23rd victory overall and 11th on the PGA Tour comes with a $1.62 million reward, a crystal trophy, and an invitation to the Masters. Since St. Andrews, Rose has been eligible for every major.2010—a streak he wished to continue. Rose remarked, "Augusta's obviously been a significant part of being on my mind," after finishing with a 6-under 66 in ideal, cold Pebble Beach conditions. I figured the simplest strategy would be to attempt to play my way into the top 50 in the world, climb the global rankings, and achieve that position. He tapped a crystal on a table nearby and declared, "Obviously, this is a better way to make it by winning a tournament." So, from that perspective, a great relief. With an eagle-birdie-par stretch down the seaside on Sunday night, Rose pushed himself to a 2-shot lead and forced a Monday finish due to the tournament's wind delay. Then, at various points on the course, he dealt a knockout blow to as many as a dozen players who were within three strokes of the lead.

 

After a solid two-putt par on the 10th to continue his round, Rose sank birdie putts of 25, 20, and 8 feet on the 11th, 13th, and 14th, respectively. He then hammered a wedge shot to the back shelf of the par-5 14th hole for a third birdie. After then, it was just about staying safe and taking in the scenery. The last three hours saw a gorgeous blue sky and tremendous surf, with waves slamming onto the cliffs and adding to the landscape that is already among the greatest in golf, despite the weather this week, which was everything, all the time. Brendon Todd (65) and Brandon Wu were three shots behind Rose at the final line (66).Rose described the last week as "an wonderful week from start to end, with so much occurring in my favour." The Englishman, 42, who was ranked No. 1 in the world in 2019, Torrey Pines, was his most recent victory. His lowest ranking since early 2010 came at No. 76 when he concluded the previous year. Amazing how long it's been, Rose commented after his triumph, which saw him climb to No. 35.

The back nine, which was so challenging in the late hours of Sunday night, posed little of a danger on Monday. If anything, the wind was blowing towards the players' backs as opposed to into them and was light. All during the week, the weather had a significant impact, and Rose profited the most. He fired a 5-wood into the par-3 ninth at the Monterey Peninsula when he was 6 strokes off the lead and in no position to catch up, facing the worst wind of the week. The wind drove his ball about 4 feet farther away before he had a chance to mark it.The ninth and fifteenth greens at Monterey Peninsula were the problem, and it was enough for the officials to suspend play on all three of the courses in the rotation. Rose came back early on Sunday and sank a 7-foot birdie putt. If golf balls — his and others' — weren't flying about at that moment, what were his prospects of winning? It causes them great pain. Rose answered, "Yeah, that was a break. "I think if you are out here on tour for long enough, sometimes you get a good break." That was a decent one, then. He finished the last 10 holes in 6 under par to grab the lead with a 65, and a crucial stretch on Sunday night gave him a lead. Rose then continued by giving a master class.When play resumed, Denny McCarthy was two strokes down and missed birdie opportunities on holes 16 and 17.

He ultimately shot 64 and, along with Keith Mitchell (68) and Peter Malnati, ended four strokes behind (69). Pebble gave a little bit of everything this week, although the weather was more about wind than rain. On Sunday, all four weather conditions—rain, wind, hail, and sunshine—coexisted for almost an hour. All of it had vanished by the time Rose had finished, her smile as radiant as the sun. It was a pretty beautiful moment, he added, "just the stroll up 18 to be able to establish a little of a lead, to kind of savour it." "Consider it when you're hungry."for a victory, and the fact that it finally arrived today on a day with the weather we did and at the location we did was well worth the wait."