Justin Rose played alongside Tommy Fleetwood in the final group at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year.
Entering the week, Rose had 11 PGA Tour wins to his name, while Fleetwood was stuck on zero.
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The 46-year-old obviously moved on to 12 wins after triumphing at TPC Southwind.
Meanwhile, there was a happy ending for Tommy Fleetwood after he broke his PGA Tour duck at the Tour Championship two weeks after the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Of course, Justin Rose now has 13 PGA Tour wins to his name after his runaway victory at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year.
However, Fleetwood is still stuck on one PGA Tour win.
How Justin Rose felt after stopping Tommy Fleetwood winning the FedEx St.Jude
Rose will be relishing the chance to defend his title this week at TPC Southwind.
While speaking to the media in Memphis on Tuesday, Rose made a comment about his victory over Fleetwood last year.
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“Super exciting to be back. Great memories from last year,“ he admitted.
“Obviously, yeah, there was a lot going on. Played down the stretch with Tommy, and he was vying to win his first tournament.
Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
“There were mixed emotions because of that. I always root for Tommy Fleetwood, but obviously it got to the point where I had to kind of finish out. I had a very strong finish to the back nine on Sunday and ultimately put myself in a playoff.
“Then it was myself and J.J. going back and forth playing great golf.
“Typically, I’ve never played the 18th hole so aggressively. Not normally a driver hole for me, but last year in the playoff, I just felt the way the wind was, the way everything was playing, I just kept playing aggressively, and fortunately that worked out really, really well.
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“Timely win. Obviously any time you can win at this point in the season, it really kind of gives you — that’s a huge shot in the arm as we all chase for the FedExCup at East Lake.“
Rose is clearly extremely competitive and, despite the fact that he always roots for Fleetwood, he would have wanted to destroy him in that moment.
That is what makes him such a fearsome competitor, and it’s the reason why he has 13 PGA Tour wins to his name including a major championship.
Tommy Fleetwood must try to learn from Justin Rose
Fleetwood would do well to learn from how Rose operates during tournaments.
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The 35-year-old seems to lack that killer edge. He is obviously an incredibly talented golfer, but he has historically struggled to get over the line, failing to win regularly.
However, just one PGA Tour win is simply not good enough, whatever way you look at it.
There’s nothing that Fleetwood would love more than to add another PGA Tour win to his tally this week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
However, he may well have to get past the defending champion if he is to have any chance of doing that.
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