Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth took playing for second very seriously during Sunday’s final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
With eventual winner Justin Thomas alone on the lead lap, Rose and Spieth played the back nine as if finishing second was the same as placing first. Both talked about it after the final round and neither was kidding — particularly Rose.
“I think I won the other competition this week, so take a little bit of credit from that because he’s obviously hot right now,” Rose said of finishing alone in second at 20-under 260 to Thomas. It was last year’s winning score by Fabian Gomez, but Rose was a distant seven shots off Thomas’ record-setting pace.
“I’m not joking when I say I won the other tournament,” Rose said. “Coming down the stretch, we were playing for second. I turn on and went through a couple of gears there. Birdieing three of the last four to win second was exactly what the day was all about for me. I take confidence in that, that I pulled out some good shots when I needed to.”
Spieth was a few groups ahead of the closing threesome of Thomas, Rose and 2009 Sony Open champion Zach Johnson. The Dallas native and world No. 5 golfer birdied the first three holes on each side and closed birdieing two of the final three to shoot a 7-under 63. His lone blemish was a bogey at four.
“I was a little nervous out there at 18,” Spieth said. “We were still playing for something.”
Spieth was alone in second at 19 under for the event after biridieing the last, one shot ahead of Rose. But Rose would have none of it. The British golfer showed why he won the 2016 Olympics with birdies at 15 and 16, and a chance for eagle at the last with two beautiful shots that left him 8 feet for eagle. He just missed that putt, but the tap-in birdie was enough to break the tie with Spieth for second. He earned $648,000 for the runner-up finish.
It was Rose’s first appearance here since 2011. He could have played at the winners-only SBS Tournament of Champions a half-dozen times, but opted to remain in Europe for the holidays. He thought maybe his gold medal would give him a chance to play on Maui this year, but no offer was forthcoming. He did not win a tour event in 2016.
This year, a new rule is in place for tour golfers. If they don’t tee it up in at least 25 events, a touring pro has to add an event he hasn’t played in for at least four years. Rose chose this one. In four previous appearances dating back to 2005, his best finish was a tie for 12th in 2010. He now has earned nearly $1 million at this stop.
“I took a lot of confidence for sure,” Rose said. “I haven’t played that much golf of late. So it was nice to come out and just get a read on my game. I think this was a great tournament to do it. Perfect weather. You really could understand where your game was this week.
“I think there’s a lot of positives for me and a lot of things to work on, too. Exactly what I wanted to do the first week of the year; gauge where I’m at and it’s nice to know that I’m not far way.”
As for tracking down Thomas, he knew that was a long shot, but he played well enough to put some pressure on the 23-year-old had he come unglued.
“We all knew he was going to be hard to catch today,” Rose said. “We all needed help from him. Had he had a bad day, I was there to pick up the pieces. But that was never going to happen. He’s on cruise control right now.”
