Justin Rose’s 6-under 29 on Friday’s front nine now feels like a decade ago. A day after blistering Oak Hill’s opening nine, Rose saw his championship aspirations all but disappear over Saturday’s first nine holes.
PGA Championship 2013: Justin Rose limps into the turn
Justin Rose went from being in a tie for fifth place into a tie for 31st in the blink of an eye on Saturday.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Rose began the round at 6-under and three strokes off of the 36-hole lead. He then played the front nine to near-perfection during the first two rounds, carding 10 birdies and just one bogey. It was a different story in the third round, however.
After an opening par, Rose got into trouble with a bogey on the second and followed that with a double bogey on No. 3 to put him 3-over through three holes. The issues continued with another bogey at No. 4 followed by his second double bogey of the round at the fifth.
That meant Rose went from 6-under to even par in an astonishing five holes. He later carded his third bogey of the front nine on No. 7 and finished with a score of 42 through hist first nine holes -- 13 strokes worse than he did on Friday.
Coming off his win at the U.S. Open and following his surge on the front nine on Friday, Rose was a trendy pick to walk away with the Wanamaker Trophy. His blowup on the front nine all but eliminated those chances, though, and now he’ll need a strong closing stretch just to finish under par.
Here’s a closer look at Rose’s front nine:
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Strokes | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 42 |
| Status | E | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | - |
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