Justin Rose reeled off four straight back-nine birdies to force a playoff then birdied the third hole of sudden death to beat J.J. Spaun for the St. Jude Championship on Sunday, as Tommy Fleetwood endured more PGA Tour agony.

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, had six birdies over his last eight holes, including the playoff — climbing up the congested leaderboard with birdies at Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 in regulation.

His final-round 67 pulled him level with reigning U.S. Open champion Spaun at 16-under par 264 at TPC Southwind — where Fleetwood, the overnight leader, had a two-shot lead with three holes remaining but faltered with a bogey at No. 17 in a 1-under 69 that left him tied for third with Scottie Scheffler at 15-under 265.

Spaun carded a 5-under 65 in the final round, posting back-to-back birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 — where he rolled in a 20-foot putt — to put himself in the playoff.

"That was an amazing last 90 minutes, really," said Rose, the 45-year-old who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the Masters in April. "Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch."

Rose claimed his 12th U.S. tour title, and his first since Pebble Beach in 2023.

He started the day one shot off the lead and was 2-over for the day through nine holes. His challenge looked like it had stalled after he followed a birdie on the 10th hole with a bogey at No. 12, but a 15-foot birdie at the 14th launched his comeback.

He drained a 10-foot birdie at No. 15, got up and down from a greenside bunker for a birdie at No. 16 and curled in a 22-foot birdie putt at No. 17. His 13-footer for the outright win on the 72nd hole just missed, and he and Spaun returned to No. 18 for the playoff.

Both two-putted for par — Rose after a tee shot that nearly found the water. They posted matching birdies the next time around — Spaun drilling a 30-foot putt and Rose making his seven-footer.

They returned to No. 18 again, this time with a new hole location, and after Rose rattled in his 11-footer, Spaun sent his seven-foot birdie attempt past the cup.

"Never stopped believing," Rose said. "I've been saying for some time when I bring my best, I know I'm good enough to play and compete and to now win against the best players in the world, so very gratifying day for me, and a lot of hard work kind of coming to fruition."

But it was the familiar feeling of disappointment for fellow Englishman Fleetwood, a seven-time DP World Tour winner who has yet to win in 162 U.S. tour starts.

After an opening bogey and 10 straight pars, Fleetwood rolled in a 33-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole and a 15-footer on the 13th to regain a one-shot lead, and he was two-up after a birdie at 15.

Scheffler's challenge was fading, but Spaun and Rose were pressing when he settled for a par at the par-5 16th and hit a poor second shot and poor putt on No. 17.

"I'm obviously going to be disappointed," said Fleetwood, who lost in a playoff at the Travelers Championship earlier this year in his sixth runner-up finish on the PGA Tour.

"There's a lot of positives to take, as much as I don't really feel like that right now. I'm just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was."

World No. 1 Scheffler, whose four wins this year include two majors, was tied for the lead through 13 holes in pursuit of a fifth 2025 triumph, but he couldn't keep pace as he closed with a three-under 67.

He remained atop the playoff standings after the first of three playoff events. The top 50 advance to next week's BMW Championship and the top 30 after the BMW advance to the Tour Championship.