Memorial unfolds as Rose predicted

Turns out Justin Rose knew what he was talking about when he said he thought he was in good position despite trailing front-running Rickie Fowler by four shots going into the final round of the Memorial.

Bolstered by that positive mindset, Rose shot a near flawless 6-under-par 66 yesterday to overtake Fowler and record a three-shot victory, his first on American soil. Rose, propelled by one-putt greens on eight consecutive holes, became the 10th player under 30 to win on the PGA Tour this season.

Afterward, Rose quipped that he was glad to make it into that category just in time, with his 30th birthday looming in late July.

"I have always been described as a young gun, but now I'm certainly not," he said. "Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, these guys are the true young guys out here. I think golf's in great hands, with more than those two, but with those two especially."

Rose ran off three straight birdies before the turn, made a 20-foot par putt on No. 10 to maintain his momentum and then seized control of the tournament when Fowler hit his tee shot into water on No. 12 on his way to a double bogey.

Any chance Fowler, who finished with a 73, had of catching Rose evaporated when the former Oklahoma State standout hit a poor bunker shot on No. 16 that led to a bogey. So the closing holes lacked the drama of some other tournaments this year. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw Rose's victory 3 1/2 dog biscuits.

Fowler, a 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie trying to become the youngest winner at Muirfield Village, was atop the leader board for 48 consecutive holes until his ill-fated 5-iron on No. 12 found a watery grave.

"I just made a bad swing and paid for it," said Fowler, who also finished second in February in the Phoenix Open.

It was a tall order to expect a 21-year-old to win his first PGA Tour event at the Memorial and to do so in wire-to-wire fashion. Maybe that is why Rose, a more seasoned 20-something, wasn't worried about trailing by four shots entering yesterday's play. He knew it's easier to come from behind than it is to hold onto a lead and the final round played out just like he thought it might.

When Rose tapped in for a par on the 18th hole, he thrust his fist into the air and slammed it down, almost as joyful as when he burst onto the golf scene as a 17-year-old amateur with his fourth-place finish in the 1998 British Open.

"To win here at the Memorial, at Jack's tournament, I couldn't think of a better place to win my first (on U.S. soil) tournament," he said.

Rose, with six other victories worldwide to his credit, entered the Memorial ranked 66th in the world but feeling like a forgotten man in English golf because of the recent success of countrymen Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Luke Donald. That won't be the case any longer, especially because Rose joined Sweden's Carl Pettersson (2006) as the only two Europeans to win the Memorial.

Fowler should be comforted by the realization that Rose had played in 161 tournaments on the PGA Tour before earning his breakout victory. It's doubtful that Fowler will have to wait that long. His future is as bright as the orange outfit he wore in the final round in honor of his Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Information from ESPN.com, Golf.com and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.