JJ Spaun and Justin Rose engaged in a fierce playoff battle in the St Jude Championship of the FedEx Cup Playoffs in Memphis, Tennessee.
Following a tie after the 18th hole in the final round of the championship, Rose and Spaun engaged in an epic sudden-death battle to determine the winner of the St Jude Championship. Eventually, Rose got the better of Spaun in the third hole and won.
How Sudden Death Works
The FedEx St Jude Championship uses the same sudden-death format as other FedEx Cup playoff events. In the event players are tied after 72 holes, the process of determining the winner happens in the sudden-death format. It starts with the players starting again on hole 18 and repeating as needed, until a winner emerges.
Thus, as per the PGA rules, Spaun and Rose will be playing repeatedly until one of them scores lower than the others on a hole, and will have to forfeit the championship.
Rose managed to force a playoff at the FedEx St Jude after birdieing four of his last five holes on regulation, preventing JJ Spaun from taking the title right away. As the dramatic playoff unfolded in Memphis, Rose took a lead in the third round and emerged as the winner, as per the sudden-death format of the championship.
Here’s the moment when Justin Rose won the St Jude Championship: