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Justin Rose has won enough times on the strongest golf courses to appreciate how one mistake can make a difference.
He got away with one at Congressional to win the Quicken Loans National.
Shawn Stefani did not.
With the poise and the putting touch of a US Open champion, Rose atoned for a four-iron he hit into the water on the 18th, making a 15-foot bogey putt that got him into a play-off and gave him new life.

	I really enjoy this type of golf and this type of test. I think it tested all of us. I'm delighted

	Justin Rose 
On the 18th hole in the play-off, Stefani hit the same type of shot - and his ball rolled into the same pond left of the green.
There are no second chances in a sudden-death play-off.
Rose won with a par on the first extra hole for his first victory since the US Open last summer at Merion. This one required about as much work, with Congressional far more difficult and unrelenting than when it hosted a soggy US Open three years ago.

"Congressional got its reputation back after the US 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."
The Englishman had thought he had thrown this one away.
Tied for the lead as he played the 18th, Rose tried to squeeze a four-iron through a tiny gap in the trees from 209 yards away, playing towards the right of the green for a chance at par. Instead, he turned it over and realised as he jogged towards the fairway that it was headed for the water.
His caddie, Mark Fulcher, told Rose that Stefani had just made bogey behind them on the 17th.
"Everything else was forgotten at that point," Rose said. "I wiped the slate clean and just focused on my putt on 18. An amazing feeling in any sort of championship when you make a putt like that. That's special.
"And then the play-off, it was just up to me to not do what I did the first time around."
He left that to Stefani, who had drilled his tee shot in regulation and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for his first PGA Tour victory.
In the play-off, Stefani pulled his tee shot in the trees, from where grandstands blocked his view of the green. He chose a six-iron to punch it around the trees.

"The grass closed the club down," Stefani said, "and it went left into the water. I was trying to play it down the right and have a chance at a putt, two putts for a par. That's the way it goes. It was great to have a chance to win."
Both competitors closed with a one-under 70 to finish on four-under 280 on a course that looked and played like a US Open as so many contenders - seven players had at least a share of the lead at some point - tumbled down the leaderboard.
Only six players broke par in the final round. And it was only the second time this year that the winning score was higher than the 36-hole lead of six under. That also happened at Torrey Pines, which like Congressional, previously hosted a US Open.
No one crashed harder than Patrick Reed, who had a two-shot lead to start the final round, still had a two-shot lead at the turn and did not even finish in the top 10. He made back-to-back double bogeys, shot 41 on the back and closed with a 77 to tie for 11th.
"This definitely burns and definitely gets me more fired up for more events coming up," Reed said.
Associated Press


Play-off let-off for Justin Rose after stumble in Quicken Loans National

Justin Rose cradles his Quicken Loans National trophy at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland after winning the play-off. Photo: EPA

Briton Justin Rose reacts to missing a putt on the 16th hole at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Photo:  EPA

Shawn Stefani removes his cap as he walks off the 17th green after bogeying the hole during the final round. Photo: AP 

Sport

Golf

Englishman recovers poise on first extra hole at Congressional, with Stefani finding the same water his opponent had in regulation play


Play-off let-off for Justin Rose after stumble in Quicken Loans National

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Englishman recovers poise on first extra hole at Congressional, with Stefani finding the same water his opponent had in regulation play

Englishman recovers poise on first extra hole at Congressional, with Stefani finding the same water his opponent had in regulation play