LEMONT, Ill. — Right when it looked as though Justin Rose might blow a big lead, he chipped in for birdie on the 17th hole to secure a two-shot victory Sunday in the BMW Championship that sends him to East Lake, Ga., for a shot at $10 million.
Rose closed with an even- par 71 in the rain at Cog Hill for his first win of the year. He was not assured of making the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship, and now is one of five players who only have to win at East Lake this week to collect golf’s biggest bonus. But it wasn’t easy.
Five shots ahead with 10 holes to play, Rose’s lead was down to one after he drove into the trees on the par-5 15th and made bogey. From just short of the 17th green, however, he holed a chip from 35 feet for an unlikely birdie that sent him on his way.
“Either I was going to fritter it away or make something happen to win the tournament,” Rose said.
John Senden shot 70, and his runner-up finish moved him from No. 55 in the FedEx Cup to No. 9, putting him among the top 30 at Cog Hill to advance to the Tour Championship. And Tiger Woods was among the winners, even though he didn’t play. Woods slipped to No. 49 in the world ranking, meaning he will be eligible for the Chevron World Challenge, the tournament he hosts in California on Dec. 1-4.
Footnotes.
Jay Don Blake beat fellow American John Cook on the fifth playoff hole at the Songdo IBD Championship in Incheon, South Korea. The pair finished tied at 13-under 203 with Mark O’Meara and Peter Senior, who were eliminated after bogeys on the third playoff hole.
• Sonny Skinner halved with Stuart Little, and the United States won the PGA Cup for the third straight time, beating Britain and Ireland 17 1/2-8 1/2 in San Martin, Calif.
