By Jay Betsill
When big names like tournament host Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner all missed the cut, U.S. Open-like scoring broke out at Congressional Country Club. So it only makes sense that past U.S. Open champion Justin Rose was atop the leaderboard at the Quicken Loans National when the final putt dropped.
Rose almost gave the tournament away when his 4-iron on No. 18 went in the water before he rebounded with a 15-foot bogey putt that put him in a playoff with Shawn Stefani. On the first playoff hole, Stefani made a shot identical to the one Rose hit in regulation that rolled into the water hazard surrounding the 18th green. Rose also won this event in 2010 when it was held at Aronimink outside of Philadelphia.
“Congressional got its reputation back after the U.S. 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.”
Patrick Reed began the final round two-shot lead but closed with a 77 to tie for 11th. He shot a 41 on the back including back-to-back double bogeys.
Stefani, Ben Martin, Charley Hoffman and Brendan Steele all earned spots at Royal Liverpool next month as part of the new Open Qualifying Series. They were the top four finishers not otherwise exempt for the Open Championship among the top 12 at Congressional.
Next up on the PGA Tour is the Greenbrier Classic played at the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs, WV. Notables in the field include Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, John Daly, Darren Clarke, Bill Haas, Davis Love III, Jimmy Walker and defending champion Jonas Blixt.
NOTES
— Bernhard Langer edged Jeff Sluman on the second playoff hole to win the Senior Players Championship. It was the third victory of the year and third major title on the Champions Tour for the two-time Masters champion.
— Golf.com, golfdigest.com, the San Francisco Chronicle and Golfweek all reported this week that the 2020 PGA Championship will be played at Harding Park in San Francisco. The PGA Championship was last played on the West Coast in 1998 at Sahalee near Seattle.
