Justin Rose inspired by Steph Curry to Zurich Classic win
At one point on Sunday in the resumption of the third round at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Justin Rose had made six consecutive pars — no good on a soft and vulnerable TPC Louisiana.
Frustrated, Rose turned to his caddie Mark Fulcher for some counsel.
“I started off hot, had gone cold and [Fulcher] said, ‘Come on, just remember Steph Curry. He went cold but he kept wanting the ball. He kept shooting threes. He kept believing in himself’,'” Rose said to CBS.
The Golden State Warriors guard had gone cold late in Thursday’s playoff Game 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, the likely NBA MVP made an incredible three-pointer to send the game to overtime, eventually leading to a Warriors 123-119 win.
The inspiration worked. Sure enough, Rose made a 12-foot birdie on that hole, the 10th, and the next as part of a 7-under 65 in the third round.
The strong play continued in Round 4, which began almost immediately after wrapping up Round 3 as the PGA Tour chose to keep the players in the same groups for the final round. Rose forced himself to remain aggressive for the final two holes, shooting 6-under 66. The frantic Sunday was good enough to hang on for a one-shot win over Cameron Tringale.
Rose, who finished T-2 at the Masters, has clearly found his form — even if it took a little inspiration to rediscover it on Sunday.
“Great athletes you look up to, that’s what they do,” Rose said. “In the big moments they want the ball. And they make big shots and big putts and that’s luckily today what I inspired myself to do.”
Curiously, Rose is now bound for where Curry plays. He’s headed to the Bay Area as a favorite in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
